What insurance do I need as a yacht charter guest?
The charter yacht itself carries hull, liability and Protection & Indemnity (P&I) insurance arranged by its owner, which covers the vessel and third-party liability — you don't need to arrange this. As a guest, the cover worth considering separately is trip cancellation and interruption insurance, and personal travel/medical insurance, since the yacht's own policy is not designed to reimburse you if you have to cancel or need medical treatment.
Key facts
- The yacht's hull, liability and P&I insurance is arranged and paid for by the owner — it is never the charterer's responsibility to source.
- Charter cancellation insurance reimburses your deposit and fees if you must cancel for a covered reason, and is worth it given the MYBA agreement's non-refundable cancellation schedule.
- Standard travel/medical insurance is not automatically included in a charter and is worth arranging separately, especially for remote cruising grounds.
- Your broker can point you to charter-specific insurance providers, but is not itself an insurer and doesn't sell policies.
What the yacht's own insurance covers
Every legitimate charter yacht carries hull insurance (damage to the vessel), P&I insurance (third-party liability, injury and pollution) and often loss-of-hire cover, arranged and paid for by the owner or management company. This protects the yacht and, by extension, third parties — it isn't designed to compensate you personally if your holiday is disrupted.
Your broker confirms the yacht carries valid, current cover as part of vetting it, so this is one thing you don't need to arrange or verify yourself.
What's worth adding as a guest
Charter cancellation and interruption insurance is the cover most charterers actually benefit from adding: it reimburses your deposit and charter fee if you have to cancel for a covered reason (illness, family emergency, and depending on the policy, sometimes named severe weather), which matters because the MYBA agreement's own cancellation schedule is otherwise largely non-refundable close to departure.
Standard travel and medical insurance is also worth checking, particularly for cruising grounds far from major hospitals — most home health policies don't automatically extend to being at sea on a private yacht in another country.
How to arrange it
Specialist yacht-charter insurance providers offer policies built specifically around the MYBA cancellation schedule, so the cover matches what you'd actually lose. Ask your broker for a recommendation — they won't sell you the policy, but they know which providers understand charter contracts well.
Arrange it as soon as you book, not closer to departure: like most cancellation cover, it typically excludes reasons that are already foreseeable by the time you buy it.
Common questions
Am I liable if I accidentally damage something on the yacht?
Minor wear and tear is expected and covered by the owner's policy, but the charter agreement typically holds the charterer responsible for damage caused by negligence, which is another reason some guests add personal liability cover on top of standard travel insurance.
Does travel insurance I already have cover a yacht charter?
Sometimes only partially — check whether your existing policy excludes 'private vessels' or high-value trip cancellation, since many standard travel policies cap cancellation cover well below a typical charter fee.
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