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Forcible and Violent Entry – Are you Covered?
As more people become interested in boating the numbers of small boat thefts is rising. This has resulted in Insurers using common exclusions when writing the terms for the boat insurance policies.
One of the most common examples is “theft only covered following forcible and violent entry into a permanent locked building” or “theft only covered following forcible entry into a locked compound”.
Up till now the legal rulings have said that the meaning of “forcible entry” may actually only involve the use of very little force, in fact even the turning of a handle and pushing a door open has been held to constitute “forcible entry”. Relating this to a boat for example, the opening of an unlocked locker could be considered to be forcible entry.
However, most pleasure craft insurance policies states theft following “forcible and violent” entry so therefore technically and in reality there should be evidence of violence having taken place.
To summarize, theft following forcible and violent entry in the context of insurance means that the use of force (which might be minimal) must be accentuated or accompanied by some act of entry, which should be of a violent category and could be only the turning of a stolen key in some cases.
This is complicated and confusing to understand however as its difficult to provide a definition of “forcible and violent” that will cover all circumstances; each claim is usually considered by underwriters in its own light.
If you require further clarification on your levels of boat insurance cover consult your insurance broker who will be happy to help.
