From Chubb:

Alcohol and Fireworks Just Don't Mix, Chubb Warns Boaters

WARREN, NJ, June 29, 2015—Many boat owners are looking forward to heading out onto the waterways this July 4th to watch the fireworks. But what starts off as just another fun experience can end in tragedy.

“Crowded waterways, alcohol and fireworks are a recipe for disaster,” said John Villas, vice president and worldwide marine claim manager for the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies. “We’ve seen too many lives and too much property unnecessarily lost when boats collide, capsize or catch fire under these circumstances.”  

The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary reports that more than one-third of all boating-related accidents and fatalities occur between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

That’s why Villas is encouraging boat owners to:

• ensure that passengers and crew members remain sober;
• appoint a designated boat operator in the event someone else needs to take control of the steering wheel;
• prohibit fireworks from being brought onboard;
• comply with their vessels’ maximum weight and passenger capacities;
• provide a readily-accessible approved life vest to every passenger and crew member;
• obey speed, zone and other waterway restrictions;
• refrain from turning off boat safety lights; and
• watch attentively for other boats and swimmers.

Villas also recommended that boat owners be mindful of water and weather conditions before and after they leave the dock. “Winds can whip up suddenly, and even the most experienced boater shouldn’t mess around with Mother Nature,” he said.

A leading insurer of yachts and other watercraft and a sponsor of U.S. Sailing, Chubb has been helping protect customers from maritime risks since its founding on the docks of New York City in 1882. Today, owners of small and large boats alike can obtain coverages from Chubb that typically are excluded in other policies. Depending on the coverage they have purchased, Chubb policies can include broad navigational limits on a year-round basis and coverage for full-time paid crew member liability, personal effects and fishing tackle for crew and guests, mechanical breakdown due to faulty repair, ice or freezing, and emergency towing and repair.

About Chubb
Since 1882, members of the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies have provided property and casualty insurance products to customers around the globe. These products are offered through a worldwide network of independent agents and brokers. The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies is known for financial strength, underwriting and loss-control expertise, tailoring products for the needs of high-net-worth individuals and commercial customers in niche markets and select industry segments, and outstanding claim service.

The Chubb Group of Insurance Companies is the marketing term used to describe several separately incorporated insurance companies under the common ownership of The Chubb Corporation. The Chubb Corporation is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and, together with its subsidiaries, employs approximately 10,000 people throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia. For more information regarding The Chubb Corporation, including a listing of the insurers in the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, visit www.chubb.com.