Boat Insurance: What is Marine Legal Protection?
Marine Legal Protection was an option under the boat insurance policy which could provide cover for legal adviser’s costs to help policyholders pursue or defend a claim in the following situations:
- Uninsured Loss Recovery: To pursue claims against those whose negligence had caused the policyholder to suffer loss of their insurance policy excess or other out of pocket expenses arising from a collision, impact, fire or flooding of the vessel.
- Personal Injury Pursuit: To pursue claims against those whose negligence has caused injury or death to the policyholder arising from a collision, impact, fire or flooding whilst they were in, boarding or alighting the vessel.
- Contract Disputes: To pursue or defend a legal action following a breach of a contract the policyholder had for buying goods or services in connection with the vessel, including the purchase or sale of the vessel.
- Prosecution Defence: To defend a legal action in respect of a criminal offence arising from the policyholder's ownership or use of the vessel
In addition, this option could provide access to both a legal advice helpline and a health and medical information service.
The maximum amount payable in respect of legal adviser costs was £100,000. There was no excess to pay in respect of this cover option unless the policyholder opted not to use one of the provider's panel solicitors, in which case there was an excess of £1,000.
There were various exclusions which applied to this option, such as there being no cover for contract disputes arising from the manufacture of the vessel or arising from any commercial use of the vessel.
Unfortunately, the company through whom we arranged Marine Legal Protection withdrew the product from the market in early 2025. This meant we were unable to offer it on any new or renewal quotes created from 01/03/2025 onwards, although those policyholders who already had the cover in place would still be protected by it until the next renewal date of the policy.
