Every year agents and agencies are graded on many factors, one of which is the losses incurred over a number of time periods. While making this analysis, we suddenly saw a shocking increase in our loss ratio in the second half of that year. Come to find out it was caused by a million-dollar boat liability loss by one of our insureds. Here is the breakdown of what we discovered. 

Our insured was enjoying a beautiful day on the intracoastal waterway here in South Florida, sitting still at a popular spot for hanging out. Suddenly a smaller boat piloted by a young man smashed into the sitting craft and that driver was unfortunately killed. Automatically looking at this situation, the fastest conclusion to draw is it was not my insured’s fault, right? Not so fast.

In the state of Florida, fault in a boating accident is determined by finding the owner and operator of a boat to be negligent in their operation of said vehicle. In the instance that more than one boat is involved, one or both operators may be found to be liable, and the fault may be assigned to each depending on the circumstances of the case. The at-fault boat operator may be assigned full liability, but for a case to be successfully brought against them, negligence must be established.

As Florida is a state operating under comparative fault law, two parties may each be assigned an appropriate percentage of liability based on the ruling of a judge or jury. Such a determination may be made, for example, if two boats collide, and one driver is determined to have been speeding and the other to have been operating under the influence.

In our insured’s case, thankfully they chose to cover themselves well.

It’s important that you consult with an insurance professional, so you can make the right selections when choosing the right boat insurance coverage for you. Be sure to contact one of our agents today or fill out this form.