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Charter yacht insurance in Greece for owners

Charter yacht insurance is commercial yacht insurance for owners chartering out a yacht in Greece, bareboat, skippered or crewed, with the underwriter's prior approval. DigiCare Insurance adds guest and crew liability and optional loss of charter hire to our yacht insurance, with the terms and IPID before you pay. Renting a yacht for your holiday? Skipper liability and deposit cover are separate charterer products.

  • 100% of the agreed value on a total loss of the yacht, machinery and equipment, less your deductible
  • Liability at or above the Greek minimum, with charter guests and paid crew added as extensions in your Schedule
  • Optional loss of charter hire on skippered and crewed charters: up to €600 a day for up to 67 days per accident, the first 7 days not paid

Charter is covered only with the underwriter's prior written approval, and bareboat charter needs a written charter agreement. A yacht with private status may not be chartered in Greece.

Get a charter yacht quote

Reviewed by Costas Matheou, licensed insurance agent

Law 4926/2022, Art. 17

What charter yacht insurance covers, and what Greek law requires

Greek law requires every pleasure craft over 7 m and under 300 gt, private or in charter, to carry liability cover for everyone on board and for third parties: at least €150,000 per person and €700,000 per event (Law 4926/2022, Art. 17). The private yacht policy we arrange excludes charter guests and crew, so charter cover adds the passenger and crew extensions to your Schedule.

Third-party liability

Greek legal minimum
Craft under 300 gt. Injury €150,000 per person, €700,000 per event, €2,100,000 per period; property and pollution each €150,000 per event, €450,000 per period

Your charter policy

Limit at or above the minimum, on your Schedule

Charter guests injured aboard

Greek legal minimum
Included: the minimum covers everyone on board

Your charter policy

Commercial passenger liability extension, with a sum in your Schedule

Paid skipper or crew injured aboard

Greek legal minimum
Included: the minimum covers everyone on board

Your charter policy

Crew liability extension, with a sum in your Schedule

Hull, machinery and equipment

Greek legal minimum
Not required

Your charter policy

Agreed value, total and partial loss

Bareboat charterer at the helm

Greek legal minimum
Not required

Your charter policy

Covered person under the Bareboat Charter Endorsement, if qualified and named in the charter agreement

Yacht embezzled by a charterer

Greek legal minimum
Not required

Your charter policy

Bareboat endorsement, if you checked the charterer's identity and address through a third-party reference

Yacht arrested because of a charterer

Greek legal minimum
Not required

Your charter policy

Bareboat endorsement: loss or damage and reasonable release costs, if you were not in charge and did not consent or know

Lost charter income

Greek legal minimum
Not required

Your charter policy

Optional endorsement on skippered and crewed charters: up to 67 days, first 7 days not paid, at most €600 a day

Insurance certificate

Greek legal minimum
On board, in Greek or English

Your charter policy

Confirmation of Cover issued by London Marine

On the quote form, declare the charter type, the base and season, the maximum guests per charter, any paid crew and your management company. Sources: London Marine policy wording (passenger and crew extensions p.6, general conditions 26 and 27) and clauses (loss of charter hire p.5, Bareboat Charter Endorsement p.11).

Bareboat Charter Endorsement

Bareboat, skippered or crewed: what each charter needs

Bareboat: a qualified charterer skippers
Declare and extend: Bareboat charter insurance: declare charter without captain; passenger extension and Bareboat Charter Endorsement; each approved charterer named in a written agreement with a hold-harmless clause for insurers
Skippered: your skipper, guests aboard
Declare and extend: Declare charter with captain and the skipper's certificates; passenger extension, plus crew liability for a paid skipper
Crewed: skipper and crew
Declare and extend: Declare the paid crew and how many; passenger and crew extensions. Greek law sets the crew over 24 m, and up to 24 m with 15 or more guests on charters over 12 hours or 26 or more on shorter ones
Yacht in a charter-management fleet
Accepted: Approval per yacht; the manager can be named on the Declaration Page and checks charterers; it charters out with your written authorisation
Your own use between charters
Accepted: Declare your own-use weeks; file them in e-Ναυλοσύμφωνο
EU or EEA flag, Greek charter base
Accepted: e-Μητρώο registration with a class-society inspection certificate; flag on the quote form
Yacht with private status
Not on this policy: May not be chartered or advertised for charter in Greece
Cabin charter or ticketed day trips
Not on this policy: Banned for charter yachts; day-trip boats have their own rules
Charter to another charter company
Not on this policy: Only with the underwriter's written agreement
Paid rental while berthed, no sailing
Not on this policy: Allowed by Greek law for a Greek-flag yacht with insurance in force; declare it for the underwriter's approval
Trimaran, ferro-cement or "cigarette" hull
Not on this policy: Not insured on this policy

Hull terms by boat type are on our sailboat, catamaran and motor yacht pages.

No published price

How much does charter yacht insurance cost?

Charter yacht insurance has no published price: the underwriter rates each charter yacht individually, and you see the figure in writing before you pay. The quote is free and commits you to nothing.

  • Every charter yacht quoted individually
  • Terms in writing before you pay
Get a charter yacht quote

  • Charter type

    What we ask
    Bareboat, skippered or crewed

  • Charter season

    What we ask
    Weeks in charter per year, which months, and your own-use weeks

  • The yacht

    What we ask
    Builder, model, year, length, hull material, flag

  • Agreed value

    What we ask
    Hull, machinery and equipment together

  • Guests and crew

    What we ask
    Maximum guests per charter; paid crew and how many

  • Base and cruising area

    What we ask
    Charter base marina and the navigational limits you need

  • Liability

    What we ask
    The limit you want, plus the passenger and crew extensions

  • Skippers and charterers

    What we ask
    Your skippers' certificates; the qualification you ask of bareboat charterers

  • Loss of hire

    What we ask
    Your published weekly charter rate, if you want the endorsement

  • Claims and deductible

    What we ask
    Claims in recent years; a hull deductible, a percentage of the hull value (1% to 5% in the policy clauses)

Quotes are for 12 months, paid by bank transfer against the invoice.

Placed in the London insurance market through London Marine Insurance Services Ltd, a Lloyd's-accredited broker.

Exclusions

What charter yacht insurance does not pay

  • Charter or any paid use the underwriter did not approve in writing
  • Any charter while the yacht has private status: it is illegal in Greece, and the policy requires you to follow local law
  • A skipper or charterer who is not listed as an operator or named in the charter agreement
  • A bareboat charter without a written agreement containing a hold-harmless clause for insurers
  • Injury to charter guests without the passenger extension, and to your crew or employees without the crew extension
  • Cancelled charters, unpaid charter fees, bad debt, a charter company's insolvency, detention or demurrage
  • Lost charter income without the loss-of-hire endorsement, and the first 7 days even with it; nothing after a total loss
  • Charter to other charter companies or businesses, unless the underwriter agrees in writing
  • Fines and penalties imposed by any authority
  • Your hull deductible: recovered from the charterer's deposit only if your charter agreement says so

Example: 21 days off hire

€9,450

You · €3,150Endorsement · €6,300

Illustrative, for a skippered charter booked with a signed agreement and a paid deposit: a published weekly rate of €3,500 (€500 a day) less €50 a day of costs the idle yacht no longer has leaves €450 net a day. A covered collision keeps the yacht out of charter for 21 days: the first 7 days, €3,150, are yours; the endorsement pays the next 14 days, €6,300.

4 steps

How to insure a yacht for charter

  1. 01

    Fill in the quote form

    Charter use is preselected; add the charter type, base, season, guests and crew.

  2. 02

    Complete the questionnaire

    London Marine's questionnaire and, for bareboat, the Bareboat Charter Supplementary Sheet. A survey may be asked: approved within 45 days of the start date, its recommendations done within 30 days of the survey date; missing either voids the policy from the start.

  3. 03

    Get the approval and pay

    The underwriter approves the charter use in writing; you get the terms, IPID and invoice first and pay by bank transfer.

  4. 04

    Keep the papers on board

    London Marine issues your Confirmation of Cover. Keep the certificate, in Greek or English, on board (Art. 17(1)) next to each charter party you file in e-Ναυλοσύμφωνο.

Documents: registration papers and e-Μητρώο entry, last survey or photos, your charter agreement template, skipper and crew certificates.

  • Registration
  • Survey or photos
  • Charter agreement
  • Skipper licence

Before your first charter

Greek charter rules your policy depends on

Only a yacht with professional status may be chartered from a Greek base. The usual route is a tax-office certificate for the charter business and an entry in AADE's e-Μητρώο register, with every charter filed in e-Ναυλοσύμφωνο (Hellenic Coast Guard) with the signed charter party on board. Chartering a private-status yacht carries a fine of €20,000 to €500,000 (Law 4926/2022, Art. 3 and 20), and the policy requires you to follow local law.

  • 105 charter days per 3 years, 75 where the law sets the crew; less for older, wooden or traditional yachts (Art. 4)
  • Crew social insurance is separate from crew liability
Get a charter yacht quote

FAQ

Questions about charter yacht insurance in Greece

Does my private yacht insurance cover chartering?
No. The policy may not be used commercially unless the underwriter approved it in advance, and the questionnaire asks whether you charter with or without a captain. Greek law adds that a yacht with private status may not be chartered or advertised for charter at all; the fine is €20,000 to €500,000. For private cover, see yacht insurance in Greece.
What do I need to charter out my yacht legally in Greece?
Professional status (at most 49 passengers, with passenger accommodation), a tax-office certificate for the charter business and an entry in AADE's e-Μητρώο (Law 4926/2022, Art. 1 and 3), each charter filed in e-Ναυλοσύμφωνο with the written charter party on board (ΦΕΚ Β' 3798/2024), and liability insurance in force with the certificate on board. Your charter manager or a maritime lawyer handles the filings.
Are my charter guests covered if they are injured aboard?
Charter guests need the commercial passenger liability extension, with a sum in your Schedule: without it, the liability cover excludes passengers carried under charter. Greek law requires liability cover for everyone on board, so for charter we add the extension; its exact terms are in the wording you receive before you pay. It sits inside your liability limit, with a deductible per claim.
Is my skipper or crew covered?
Crew liability applies only with a crew sum in your Schedule: it pays what you are liable to pay hired crew under any applicable law, inside your liability limit. Without it, injury to your employees and crew is excluded. Their social insurance (e-ΕΦΚΑ or ΝΑΤ, or the flag state's scheme on some EU-flag yachts) is a separate duty.
Does loss of charter hire insurance pay my lost income?
Only with the optional Loss of Yacht Charter Hire endorsement. After a covered loss it pays the net charter fees for each day the yacht cannot earn hire, up to 67 days per accident, with the first 7 days of lost hire not paid, at most €600 a day, and only for charters signed with a deposit paid before the accident. It pays nothing after a total loss, repairs must be finished within 3 months of the policy's expiry, and the yacht must be under a professional skipper you appoint, so ask us about it for bareboat charters.
Who pays the deductible when a charterer damages my yacht?
You do, under your policy: the hull deductible is a percentage of the hull value (the policy clauses offer 1% to 5%), as your Schedule states. You recover it from the charterer's deposit only if your charter agreement says so.
Who is insured when I charter bareboat?
With the Bareboat Charter Endorsement the charterer is a covered person if a competent, qualified person commands the yacht under way, as declared in the Bareboat Charter Supplementary Sheet; the charter is paid by card, bank transfer or cheque with the charterer's bank details recorded (cash: a card deposit plus an ID copy); and you or your manager check the charterer's qualifications and brief them, including the Emergency Manual, before handover. The charter agreement must be in writing with a hold-harmless clause for insurers, and anyone not listed is not covered.
What if a charterer embezzles the yacht or gets it arrested?
Under the Bareboat Charter Endorsement, embezzlement of the yacht by a charterer is covered if the operator obtained a third-party reference on the charterer's identity and address, beyond a passport or licence copy. If an act of the charterer, captain or crew without your consent, knowledge or approval leads to arrest, detention or confiscation while you are not in charge, it pays the loss or damage and reasonable costs to get the yacht released. A breach of a policy warranty by the charterer, captain or crew without your consent, knowledge or approval does not remove cover for the resulting damage to the yacht.
My yacht is in a charter-management fleet. Who should the policy name?
You, as owner and named insured; the manager can be named on the Declaration Page and then checks charterers. Greek law lets a ship agency, charter broker or travel agency charter the yacht out for you with your written authorisation, jointly liable with you. Charters may go only to individuals for recreation, not to other charter companies, unless the underwriter agrees in writing. We consider individually managed yachts case by case; fleet-wide programmes for charter companies are outside this offer.
How much does charter yacht insurance cost?
There is no fixed price: the underwriter rates each yacht on its charter type and season, agreed value, guests and crew, base, liability limit and claims history, and you see the figure in writing before you pay.
Can I use the yacht myself between charters?
Yes. Greek law allows own use of a professional yacht once it is filed in e-Ναυλοσύμφωνο, but those days do not count towards the minimum charter days. Tell us your own-use weeks too, so the policy covers private and charter use.
Can a foreign-flag yacht be chartered from a Greek base?
An EU or EEA-flag professional yacht can register in e-Μητρώο with an inspection certificate from a recognised class society. A non-EU yacht qualifies only if it is over 35 m, built in steel, GRP or aluminium; otherwise its charters must start and end abroad. For large yachts, see superyacht insurance. Russian-flag yachts and owners on a sanctions list are not accepted.
Important information

Cover is placed in the London insurance market through London Marine Insurance Services Ltd, a Lloyd's-accredited broker, and underwritten by the insurers named in your policy Schedule. Terms, exclusions and limits are in the policy documents (IPID and policy wording) provided in English before purchase. Charter use is covered only with the underwriter's prior written approval.

The policy is governed by English law; disputes go to arbitration in London.

Greek law requires liability insurance for pleasure craft over 7 m, covering sailing, mooring and anchoring, with the certificate on board, and allows charter only for yachts with professional status (Law 4926/2022, Art. 3 and 17).

This page is general information about insurance, not legal or tax advice on chartering.

DigiCare Insurance is a licensed insurance intermediary. Legal information · How we review content

Complaints: contact us first; you can also turn to the Consumer Ombudsman (Συνήγορος του Καταναλωτή).

Reviewed by Costas Matheou, licensed insurance agent · Last updated: