Claims
Collision damage and third-party liability
| Section | What it answers for | What decides the number |
|---|---|---|
| Hull and machinery | Repair or replacement of your own vessel | Sum insured, agreed or market value basis, hull excess |
| Third-party liability | The other boat, the structure, injury, legal costs | Liability limit, separate liability excess, apportionment of fault |
| Removal and recovery | Towing, lifting and holding the damaged vessel | Often a sub-limit expressed as a share of sum insured |
Responsibility and navigation rules
Road-accident habits mislead people here. Marine collision is decided against the collision regulations, and the usual outcome between two moving vessels is a split — 70/30, 60/40 — rather than one party wholly at fault. Both boats can be found partly in breach: one for failing to give way, the other for failing to keep a proper lookout or take avoiding action in time. That split then drives how much each insurer contributes.
- Give-way and stand-on obligations under the collision regulations, including the stand-on vessel's duty to act when collision becomes unavoidable.
- Proper lookout — by sight, by hearing and by radar or AIS if fitted and working.
- Safe speed for the visibility, traffic density and the water you were in.
- Local speed limits, no-wake zones and channel rules, which harbour authorities enforce separately from any insurance question.
- Whether either vessel was under sail or power at the moment of the incident, which changes which rule applies.
Collision evidence to record
- The other vessel's name, registration, hull identification number, owner contact and insurer if they will give it.
- Photographs of both vessels showing the damage and, critically, the relative positions and angle of impact.
- Your track — chartplotter log, AIS history or phone GPS — before it is overwritten.
- Names and contact details of anyone who saw it, including people on the pontoon or on nearby boats.
- Time, position, wind, sea state, visibility and who was at the helm.
- Any report made to the water police, the harbour master or the marina office, and the reference number.
Collision claim assessment issues
Damage that is not visible at the scene
A hard impact on a sailing boat can load the rig, the chainplates, the keel floors or the bulkhead tabbing without leaving a mark on the topsides. Ask for the inspection to cover structure and rig, not only the cosmetic damage. A repair signed off on the visible damage alone can make a later structural claim very hard to connect back to the same event.
Hitting something that is not a boat
Marina fingers, pile berths, navigation marks and public jetties are owned by someone who will invoice for them, and marina berth licences frequently make the boat owner responsible for damage to the berth regardless of fault. That invoice is a liability claim, so pass it to the insurer rather than paying it to keep the peace.
Who was driving
If someone other than you was at the helm, the claim turns on whether the policy covers other operators, and on any age, experience or licensing condition attached to them. This is worth checking before you lend the boat, not after.
Read the wording before you need it
Almost every disputed marine claim turns on a definition, an exclusion or a condition the owner had never read. The PDS guide explains which sections decide claims.
Marina and mooring collision claims
Low-speed contact in a marina is the most common collision claim there is, and also the one most often paid out of pocket. Before you do that, compare the repair cost to your excess and to the effect on your renewal — and remember that the other owner may discover further damage weeks later and come back to you. A claim notified and closed for nil costs you nothing; an unreported incident that resurfaces can breach the notification condition.
Collision claims at a glance
- Settled under
- Hull section and liability section, separately
- Typical fault outcome
- Apportioned between both vessels, not all-or-nothing
- Governing rules
- The international collision regulations, as applied in Australian waters
- Common trap
- Admitting liability or agreeing to pay at the scene
- Hidden risk
- Rig and structural loading that leaves no visible mark
Related guides
- Boat Insurance Claims Australia: Incidents and Disputes
- Grounding Boat Insurance Claims Australia
- Third Party Boat Insurance Australia
- Boat Insurance Excesses Explained
- How to Make a Boat Insurance Claim
- Product Disclosure Statement Guide for Boat Insurance
- Boat Insurance Claims: Documenting a Collision