Connecticut Yacht Insurance: Theft Prevention

A yacht is a very significant investment that you will want to protect as best you can. Insuring your vessel is one of the key things you can do to get protection from liability or damage. But in addition to that, you’ll want to protect your yacht against theft. Your goal should be to make the boat a “hard target”, or in other words, not easily available. Criminals look for vulnerability and opportunity when selecting a target for theft. So, how do you achieve this?

The key to protecting your boat is to simply make it inaccessible. For security purposes, “rack and stack” buildings are ideal, however this is neither an option nor a desire for most yacht owners. Instead, yachts are typically stored dockside, at a mooring, or in a trailer.

If you store your boat at a dock or mooring, chain or cable the boat as far away from the dock as possible. Use regular or motion sensor floodlights, and mount a security camera in a highly visible location. Even fake cameras work to deter thieves. If possible, limit access to your vessel with a security gate and fencing.

Many boat owners are surprised to find that trailered boats are stolen more often than any other boat. There are a number of ways to reduce your chance of theft if your boat is trailered or parked in a driveway. You could chain the trailer to another object, remove your hitch tongue from the trailer or have a removable one constructed, remove at least one tire and wheel, or even install a trailer theft alarm. Also, keep your neighbors informed so if they see anything suspicious, they can alert you or the authorities.

The Yacht specialists at Sinclair will protect your investment by providing you with an individualized risk assessment and tools to help reduce or even eliminate risks that threaten your fair-weather asset. To learn more, at your leisure please call us at 203.265.0996.