Florida Boat & Marine General Liability Insurance
Who needs Marine General Liability?
Marine liability insurance is essential for all marine businesses. Marine insurance covers ships, cargo on the ships, and even terminals. Alternatively, those who transport goods via mail or courier should consider getting shipping insurance. People often make the mistake of assuming that ships and their cargo are part of shipping insurance, but they’re not.
Transporting products through water on ships isn’t cheap. In fact, water transportation is a risky business when considering all of the hazards involved. The risk is amplified as the transportation distance increases. A water vessel transporting goods through the Mediterranean Sea is less likely to face difficulties compared to another moving through an ocean. As the distance increases, so does the risk of storms or crashes which could lead to damages worth millions.
Without insurance, the owner of the vessel would have to pay for repairs out of his or her own pocket. Damages to the products being transported will also be a serious financial loss with a significant impact. By purchasing marine liability insurance, marine business owners could potentially save themselves heartache as well as large sums of money in losses.
It may occur to someone who owns a business in the marine industry to save money by ignoring marine liability insurance, but that could be a huge mistake. Saving money by not getting insured could end up with a loss of millions of dollars if catastrophe strikes. Of course, catastrophe may never strike but no one is capable of knowing that for sure. It’s always better to be safe than sorry especially when it comes to matters concerning the sea and oceans.
Marine contractors, marina operators, terminal operators, charterers, ship repairers, wharfingers, and stevedores are the main people and professions that should be concerned with marine liability insurance. Naturally, those not participating in the marine industry should have absolutely no reason to purchase this type of insurance.
It goes without saying that marine contractors and operators need insurance, but what about stevedores and wharfingers? Wharfingers are owners or keepers of docks while stevedores are responsible for loading and unloading ships. Mistakes and losses are liable to happen with both of these jobs and so they’re not exempt from seeking marine liability insurance. Ship repairmen are also encouraged to seek insurance to protect themselves from any potential errors that might occur.
The marine industry can be dangerous and complicated, and it employs a lot of people providing them with stable income. As the industry increases, so do its costs and risks. There are very few industries that carry as much risk as to the marine industry, perhaps the air travel industry comes to mind but it’s not used for the transport of products as much as the marine industry.
As the risks increase, so does the need for protection. Most of those working in the marine industry should look for marine liability insurance policies in order to protect themselves and their finances from any potential damages that can occur.