Ask a Maritime Attorney: Have marine insurance policies changed over the past few years?

Question:   I just received a surprise from my insurance company when they denied coverage after my boat was partially submerged at the dock. There is some question as to the cause of the incident, but they are claiming that a hose clamp failed on a water intake hose used for engine cooling. They told me the claim was denied because there was no evidence of an impact from an unforeseen cause. I don’t understand this, since I have made successful claims in the past for damage that was not related to any kind of an impact. Have marine insurance policies changed over the past few years?   Answer   Different insurance companies may use different language to describe the scope of coverage of their marine insurance policies, but their basic provisions tend to be similar and our reader’s claim was probably not due to any recent changes in his insurance policy. Our reader may have misunderstood the communication from his insurance company. It is true that a marine casualty must result from an “unforseen” incident for coverage to exist, but it does not require an “impact” or collision. Instead, the boat owner must prove that the loss was “fortuitous.” This standard usually requires the loss to...