Yacht accident in Cologne: Court forces insurance company to pay in full!

Yacht accident in Cologne: Court forces insurance company to pay in full!

A significant ruling by the Cologne Regional Court is causing a stir in the insurance industry. How ASSCompact reported, an insurer must pay the full insured sum of 1,030,000 euros. The background to the case is an accident that occurred when a motor yacht was craned out. The yacht was significantly damaged.

The yacht owner had taken out sports boat comprehensive insurance in the form of all-risk insurance, which is of central importance in this case. At the time of the accident, the motor yacht was being lifted out of the water using a travel lift when a beam on the lifting device broke. As a result, the yacht fell and suffered severe damage.

Dispute over insurance coverage

The insurance company initially refused to fully settle the damage, citing an exclusion clause for transport damage. The yacht owner, who considered the accident to be covered by insurance, sued for the full amount of compensation. A central question of contention was whether the process should be classified as “transport” or “harvesting”.

The court made it clear that the accident occurred during the landing, which was insured. The exclusion clause for transport did not apply. The insurance company's attempt to minimize the payment obligation by using the argument of a 75 percent share in the contract also failed. The court noted that open coinsurance requires the policyholder's consent, which was not present here. Therefore, the insurance remains 100 percent obligated.

Damage assessment and legal aspects

The amount of the necessary repair costs was determined by an expert and exceeds the insured amount. This leads to a total economic loss of the yacht. In addition, the defendant's attempt to assert previous damages failed. The argument that there had been no proper damage report was also rejected because an email from the agency documented the damage report.

The judgment of the Cologne Regional Court was made on December 11, 2023 (ref. 20 O 18/23) and could have far-reaching effects on future disputes in the area of ​​water sports insurance.

Water sports insurance at a glance

In the context of insurance for water sports enthusiasts, the ADAC different tariffs. These include, among others:

• Wassersport-Haftpflicht: Deckungssumme bis zu 15 Millionen Euro für Personen- und Sachschäden.
• Wassersport-Kasko: Beinhaltet Risiken wie Slip-, Dock- und Winterlagerrisiko.
• Skipper- und Crew-Haftpflicht: Weltweiter Versicherungsschutz mit einer Deckungssumme von bis zu 10 Millionen Euro.

The insurance can be taken out by both members and non-members, although ADAC members can benefit from discounts. In addition to extensive all-risk coverage for damage to boats, water sports insurance includes numerous additional services and options that could be urgently needed in the event of damage.

The clarification of the insurance claims in the case of the damaged yacht could have a signal effect for future cases and shows the importance of carefully choosing a contract for water sports insurance.