Imported post
[b said:
Quote[/b] (Andy the Commie 2 @ Nov. 02 2003,12:45)]I voted YES,
I feel that and waterbourne user should have a good insurance behind them to cover any incident.
I don't think it's right , that a club dive boat that loses a pair of divers and is broken down , should put £ 20 in the lifeboat box . The insurance company that covers that club should pay for all expenses.
Same goes for yachtsman down to canoists.
Example. A offshore lifeboat burning X amount of fuel, a seaking costing £ 3,500 an hour....then the costs of transport to chambers and the use of chamber and staff . someone should pay for this ,,,,,, why not the insurance company........
Just my thoughts .
Andy
Hmm, a communist advocating the compuslory handing over of money to a capitalist company
I think it appropriate for all boat users to have 3rd party insurance.
However when it comes to rescue etc. we already pay this in taxes, apart from the RNLI, which now cost £300,000 a day to run. So a Seaking costs £3,500/hour to run. Does it cost this when on exercise, as well as on rescue. I would say it would cost around the same. If the military helicopters were not rescuing, they would have to exercise more often. I think most of the exercise is to be able to rescue in milary operations. The civilian use is a benefit which we have already paid for. A similar argument could be applied to the Coastguard. Is rescue the only thing the choppers do? (thinking slick spotting etc.)
Now the RNLI is tricky situation. They are fiercely independant and I'm not sure what they think of insurance paying for costs. As the charity income is reducing, there could be an option here, but it could be a slippery slope to the collapse of the RNLI as we know it. Don't know. Nearly half of RNLI rescues are for pleasure craft. Some will be RNLI members, some not. What would the membership be for, if they also have to pay insurance anyway? How would a premium be calculated? Size, time/distance out at sea, value, no of people on board?
There is talk of charging small boats for light fees, I wonder what will happen to the cash if this goes ahead.
13% of rescues are to commercials, who would likely be very against further premiums. Like most of us, we don't like spending money when some tells us we must. The decline in car owners having insurance could be a good indicator of just how many might pay such new premiums.
I vote NO
Adrian