Does your policy pay if a storm or flood damages your boat?

It depends on your wording. The published boat wordings of Sukoon, GIG Gulf and Arabia Insurance do not use the words “storm”, “named windstorm” or “flood”, so whether weather damage is paid turns on how your wording defines the causes it covers.¹²³

How do the wordings treat bad weather?

The rows come from Sukoon’s comprehensive wording,¹ Arabia Insurance’s wording,³ GIG Gulf’s handbook and page,²⁴ and Union Insurance’s page.⁵

Ask your insurer in writing whether storm, flood and wind damage at the berth and at sea are covered, and under which clause.

Will the marina pay if a storm damages your boat at the berth?

Usually not. AD Ports’ public marina terms say the operator is not responsible for damage to vessels due to natural disasters.⁶ The Roads and Transport Authority says its Al Garhoud facility is not responsible for damage such as sinking, fire or natural disasters.⁷ More is on marina berth contracts.

Your own policy is the cover that applies at the berth. Check it before the storm season.

What happened to insurance after the April 2024 floods?

The Central Bank told banks and insurers to allow six-month deferrals on personal and car loan instalments for people affected. It said homes and vehicles damaged by the flooding “are covered by insurance if there is an insurance policy against loss and damage or what is normally referred to as ‘comprehensive insurance’”, CNBC reported on 23 April 2024.⁸ The statement named homes and vehicles, not boats.

AGBI reported in October 2024 that, according to the Central Bank’s quarterly review, gross paid claims across all insurance rose 34% to AED 18.9 billion, and linked the rise in the first half of 2024 to the floods as well as inflation and population growth.⁹

If a flood damages your boat, report it to your insurer as soon as you can, with photos and dates.

What must you do when bad weather is coming?

Take reasonable steps to protect the boat. The Maritime Law says the insured “shall exercise the utmost care to save the insured items”, and the insurer pays the costs of protecting the insured property from an insured risk.¹⁰ Under the Institute Yacht Clauses you must act to avert or minimise a loss, and the insurer contributes to the cost.¹

Bad weather sinks boats: the UAE Coast Guard rescued six crew after their wooden boat sank in adverse weather in February 2024, Khaleej Times reported.¹¹

Before a storm, double your mooring lines, remove loose gear, and keep receipts for what you spend protecting the boat.

The small print

• Institute Yacht Clauses. Perils of the seas is clause 9.1.1 and the heavy weather exclusion clause 10.10. Clause 15 is the duty to avert or minimise loss; clause 15.5 says the insurer’s share is on top of the claim but capped at the vessel’s sum insured. Sukoon’s machinery damage extension is Institute clause 332.¹
• Maritime Law. Article 286(1) and Article 294(1) of Federal Decree-Law No. 43 of 2023.¹⁰