Do I need a separate policy for charter use, or can it be added to my existing hull policy?

Charter use — whether bareboat or crewed — needs to be explicitly endorsed on your hull and machinery policy and your P&I cover. A standard pleasure-use policy excludes commercial operations, and a claim arising from a charter trip on an unendorsed policy is likely to be declined. Tell your broker about any charter activity before binding, not after a claim.

What happens if my catamaran is in the Bahamas when a named storm forms?

Your hurricane plan governs what you are required to do and where you are permitted to be. If your plan names a specific Bahamian anchorage or marina as your storm-season location, you need to be there — or have notified your insurer of a deviation — before a named storm watch is issued. Acting after a watch is posted may be too late to satisfy the plan's requirements. Review your plan and your policy's storm-season geographic conditions before you leave US waters in June.

How long does it take to bind catamaran insurance?

For a straightforward pleasure-use catamaran with a current survey and a clean claims history, cover can often be bound within one to three business days of receiving a completed submission. Complex risks — high-value performance cats, charter operations, extended Caribbean navigation, or vessels with recent claims — take longer because the underwriter may need additional information or a fresh survey. Starting the process two to three weeks before your desired effective date gives you room to negotiate terms without pressure.

What does the Inchmaree clause actually cover on my catamaran?

The Inchmaree clause extends your hull and machinery cover to losses caused by the negligence of a master, officer, or crew member, and to damage resulting from a latent defect in the hull or machinery — provided the defect was not known to you before the loss. On a catamaran, this is particularly relevant for machinery damage caused by crew error during docking or engine operation, and for structural failures that trace back to a manufacturing defect. Without it, those losses could fall outside your basic hull cover.

Does my Florida-based catamaran policy cover a passage to the US Virgin Islands?

Only if your navigation limits include the USVI. Many Florida-issued policies cover coastal US waters and the Bahamas as standard but treat the Caribbean islands — including the USVI — as an extended navigation area requiring a specific endorsement. Check your policy schedule before you depart. If the USVI is not listed, contact your broker to add the endorsement before the passage, not from a marina in Charlotte Amalie.

What do you need from me to get a quote started?

The essentials are: vessel year, builder, model, LOA in feet, hull material, engine details and hours, current agreed or market value, most recent survey date, primary cruising area, charter or pleasure use, captain's USCG license details, and your claims history for the past five years. If you have a current policy, a copy of the declarations page is useful so we can compare terms directly. The more complete your information, the faster we can get to a meaningful quote.

Catamaran Insurance Phone Number & Cover Guide

Written by the Florida Yacht Cover editorial team · reviewed by Anton Kuznetsov, founder

If you are trying to reach a specialist on catamaran insurance, the fastest route is a direct phone conversation — not a web form that routes your details to a generalist. Catamarans carry a distinct risk profile that separates them from monohulls of equivalent length: wider beam, twin engines or twin rigs, bridgedeck exposure, and a higher replacement cost per foot. Those differences show up in how underwriters assess your hull and machinery cover, your named storm deductible, and whether your navigation limits actually match where you sail. This page explains what to have ready before you call, what questions to ask, and how the key policy structures work for cats based in Florida and cruising the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and the Gulf coast.

Why Catamarans Are Underwritten Differently

Underwriters look at a catamaran's beam-to-length ratio, bridgedeck clearance, and the structural loads that come with offshore passages. A sailing cat running downwind in the Bahamas is exposed to different stresses than a monohull of the same waterline length, and the repair economics reflect that — a damaged crossbeam or a delaminated hull panel on a performance cruising cat can cost significantly more to put right than a comparable monohull repair. Your hull and machinery limit needs to reflect actual replacement or agreed value, not a figure that made sense at purchase five years ago.

Motor catamarans present their own considerations. Twin-engine installations, generator placement in the hulls, and the tendency to carry larger fuel loads all affect how underwriters think about fire and machinery risk. The Inchmaree clause in your policy is the provision that extends hull cover to loss caused by the negligence of a master or crew member and to latent defects in machinery — make sure it is present and that your policy does not carve out machinery breakdown in a way that leaves your engines unprotected after a fuel contamination event.

Agreed value versus actual cash value is a decision that matters more on a catamaran than on many other vessel types. Depreciation schedules applied to composite construction can produce an actual cash value settlement that falls well short of what you need to replace the boat. Agreed value policies fix the insured amount at inception; if the hull is a total loss, that is what you collect, subject to the policy terms. Ask your broker to confirm which basis applies and to document it clearly on the policy schedule.

Named Storm Cover and Hurricane Plans for Florida Cats

The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. For a catamaran based in Florida — Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach, the Keys, or Tampa Bay — named storm cover is not optional; it is the exposure that shapes the entire policy structure. Named storm deductibles are typically expressed as a percentage of the insured hull value and apply separately from your standard all-risk deductible. On a high-value catamaran, that percentage deductible can represent a meaningful out-of-pocket figure, so understanding it before a storm forms is essential.

Most underwriters will require a hurricane plan as a condition of cover. Your plan needs to specify where the vessel will be positioned during a named storm watch or warning, whether that is a designated hurricane hole in the Bahamas, a covered marina berth in South Florida, or a haul-out facility. Plans that are vague — 'vessel will be moved to safe harbor' — are routinely rejected. Your plan should name the facility, describe the tie-down or haul-out procedure, and confirm that the location falls within your policy's approved storm area. If you cruise to the Bahamas between June and November, confirm with your broker whether your hurricane plan needs to cover both US and Bahamian locations.

Some policies impose a lay-up condition during peak hurricane season, requiring the vessel to be out of a defined geographic zone — typically south of a named latitude — or hauled and stored ashore. Violating a lay-up condition by keeping the boat in the water in a restricted area during a named storm event can void your named storm coverage entirely. Review the lay-up clause before you sign the policy, not after a storm track appears on the National Hurricane Center map.

Navigation Limits, the Bahamas, and Caribbean Passages

Your navigation limits define the geographic boundary of your hull and machinery cover. A policy written for 'coastal waters of the United States' does not cover your catamaran the moment you cross the Gulf Stream toward Bimini. If you cruise the Bahamas, the Caribbean, or the Gulf coast beyond US territorial waters, your policy must explicitly include those areas. Confirm the wording: 'Bahamas' should appear by name, not be assumed under a general 'adjacent waters' clause.

Extended Caribbean navigation — down-island passages to the Virgin Islands, the Leewards, or the Windwards — typically requires a separate navigation endorsement and may affect your premium structure. Underwriters will want to know your intended itinerary, whether you carry a licensed captain for offshore passages, and how the vessel is crewed. A catamaran making a bluewater passage with an owner-operator and one crew member is assessed differently than the same boat with a professional captain and full crew.

US Coast Guard documentation and state registration both affect how your policy is structured and how a claim is processed. If your catamaran is documented with the USCG, confirm that the documentation number appears correctly on the policy schedule. Errors in vessel identification can create friction at the worst possible moment — during a claim. If the boat is state-registered in Florida, the registration number and state should also be on the schedule.

Protection and Indemnity: What Your Liability Cover Needs to Include

Protection and indemnity (P&I) cover is your third-party liability layer. For a catamaran, the key exposures are collision liability, injury to guests or crew, wreck removal, and pollution. The collision liability section of your hull policy — the running-down clause — typically covers a portion of your liability to another vessel after a collision, but it does not cover bodily injury to third parties or pollution. P&I fills those gaps.

If you carry paying guests under a charter arrangement, your P&I policy must be endorsed for charter use. A standard pleasure-use P&I policy excludes liability arising from commercial operations. The distinction between a 'bareboat charter' and a 'crewed charter' also matters: under a bareboat arrangement, the charterer assumes operational control and may need their own cover, but your hull policy still needs to permit bareboat use. Under a crewed charter, you retain operational responsibility and your P&I exposure is direct.

Crew cover under the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) applies to commercially operated vessels with professional crew. If your catamaran operates under a charter license with employed crew, MLC 2006 imposes obligations around crew medical cover, repatriation, and compensation for injury or death. Your broker should confirm whether your policy satisfies those obligations or whether a separate crew cover is required. For owner-operated pleasure use with unpaid guests, MLC 2006 does not apply, but you still want medical payments coverage for anyone aboard.

What to Have Ready Before You Call

A productive first call with a specialist broker takes fifteen to twenty minutes if you arrive prepared. The underwriter will need specific information about the vessel, its use, and its crew before any terms can be discussed. Having the following ready means you leave the call with a clear picture of what cover is available and what it will require from you.

For the vessel itself, know the year, builder, model, overall length in feet, hull material, and current agreed or market value. For the engines, have the make, model, year, and total hours. If the boat has had recent survey work, have the surveyor's name and the survey date — underwriters will almost always require a current out-of-water survey for a catamaran above a certain age or value, and knowing where you stand before the call saves time.

For use and crew, be ready to describe your primary cruising area, whether you charter the boat (bareboat, crewed, or both), and who captains the vessel. If you use a professional captain, have their USCG license number and years of experience on catamarans specifically. If you are the primary operator, your own sailing or powerboating experience and any formal qualifications are relevant.

Year, builder, model, and LOA in feet
Hull material (fiberglass, carbon fiber, composite)
Engine make, model, year, and hours
Current agreed or market value
Most recent survey date and surveyor name
Primary cruising area and any planned offshore passages
Charter use: bareboat, crewed, or none
Captain's USCG license number and catamaran experience
Current insurer and any claims in the past five years
Hurricane plan or intended storm-season location

Renewal: What Changes and What to Watch

Catamaran insurance does not auto-renew on the same terms indefinitely. At renewal, your broker should be reviewing the agreed value against current market replacement costs — catamaran values have moved significantly in recent years, and an agreed value set three years ago may leave you underinsured today. Ask for a written comparison of expiring terms versus renewal terms, not just a premium figure.

Named storm deductibles and hurricane plan requirements are the two areas most likely to change at renewal, particularly after an active hurricane season or if your cruising area has expanded. If you added a Caribbean endorsement mid-term, confirm it is reflected in the renewal policy and not silently dropped. Navigation limits that were broadened by endorsement sometimes revert to the base policy wording at renewal if the endorsement is not explicitly renewed.

If you have had a claim during the policy year, be prepared to discuss it in detail. Underwriters will want to know the cause, the repair cost, and what steps you have taken to prevent recurrence. A well-documented claim with a clear repair record is handled very differently from an undocumented one. Your broker's job at renewal is to present your risk in the best possible light — which means having the full claim file, the repair invoices, and any survey reports ready before the renewal submission goes out.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate policy for charter use, or can it be added to my existing hull policy?: Charter use — whether bareboat or crewed — needs to be explicitly endorsed on your hull and machinery policy and your P&I cover. A standard pleasure-use policy excludes commercial operations, and a claim arising from a charter trip on an unendorsed policy is likely to be declined. Tell your broker about any charter activity before binding, not after a claim.
What happens if my catamaran is in the Bahamas when a named storm forms?: Your hurricane plan governs what you are required to do and where you are permitted to be. If your plan names a specific Bahamian anchorage or marina as your storm-season location, you need to be there — or have notified your insurer of a deviation — before a named storm watch is issued. Acting after a watch is posted may be too late to satisfy the plan's requirements. Review your plan and your policy's storm-season geographic conditions before you leave US waters in June.
How long does it take to bind catamaran insurance?: For a straightforward pleasure-use catamaran with a current survey and a clean claims history, cover can often be bound within one to three business days of receiving a completed submission. Complex risks — high-value performance cats, charter operations, extended Caribbean navigation, or vessels with recent claims — take longer because the underwriter may need additional information or a fresh survey. Starting the process two to three weeks before your desired effective date gives you room to negotiate terms without pressure.
What does the Inchmaree clause actually cover on my catamaran?: The Inchmaree clause extends your hull and machinery cover to losses caused by the negligence of a master, officer, or crew member, and to damage resulting from a latent defect in the hull or machinery — provided the defect was not known to you before the loss. On a catamaran, this is particularly relevant for machinery damage caused by crew error during docking or engine operation, and for structural failures that trace back to a manufacturing defect. Without it, those losses could fall outside your basic hull cover.
Does my Florida-based catamaran policy cover a passage to the US Virgin Islands?: Only if your navigation limits include the USVI. Many Florida-issued policies cover coastal US waters and the Bahamas as standard but treat the Caribbean islands — including the USVI — as an extended navigation area requiring a specific endorsement. Check your policy schedule before you depart. If the USVI is not listed, contact your broker to add the endorsement before the passage, not from a marina in Charlotte Amalie.
What do you need from me to get a quote started?: The essentials are: vessel year, builder, model, LOA in feet, hull material, engine details and hours, current agreed or market value, most recent survey date, primary cruising area, charter or pleasure use, captain's USCG license details, and your claims history for the past five years. If you have a current policy, a copy of the declarations page is useful so we can compare terms directly. The more complete your information, the faster we can get to a meaningful quote.

Call us directly to discuss cover for your catamaran. Have your vessel details, cruising area, and current policy ready and we can work through your hull, P&I, named storm, and charter requirements in a single conversation. No web forms, no callbacks from a generalist — a specialist on the line from the start.