The insurance of a boat is not mandatory in France
In France, the insurance of a pleasure boat is not compulsory, but it is strongly recommended. As long as the use of the boat remains strictly personal, the yachtsman can do without an insurance contract, even for civil liability. The only drawback to this rule is that harbors usually require an insurance certificate with at least civil liability coverage for damage caused to harbor structures or to other boaters.
The multi not always well seen by insurers
For sailors, multihulls are not boats like the others, and neither are the insurers! Since the 1990s, the catamaran has demonstrated its robustness and its offshore qualities. It is increasingly accepted by insurers who consider it a "good risk". The catamaran does not have an image of an accident-prone sailing boat.
As for the trimaran, it still has some way to go. In spite of the sailing qualities that are specific to it, this multihull suffers from a bad reputation with insurers. Too often assimilated to racing yachts, it is sometimes difficult to find insurance solutions. To overcome this bad reputation, it is important that the owner of the boat puts together a real technical file for the attention of his insurer (photos, plan, expertise, sea trials...). He must make his insurer understand that the trimaran is not necessarily a racing boat and can perfectly correspond to a family cruising program. We are talking here about models from certain shipyards that specialize in the construction of cruising trimarans: Neel Trimarans, Dragonfly, Corsair Marine.
What about sport multihulls?
Sport catamarans and trimarans, or "light sailing", also have insurance needs. If the civil liability appears essential for these sport boats, the damage guarantees are not necessarily necessary. The owner of this type of boat can ask his insurer for a simple civil liability contract ("third party") by choosing in addition a total theft guarantee of the boat. The insurance premium will be less important and the guarantees better adapted.
