What Your Insurance Carrier Needs Before You Hire a Delivery Captain

Every new client asks the same question in the first five minutes of our first call: "So how do we handle insurance?"

It's the right question — and the one that tells me whether we're going to have a smooth engagement or a complicated one. The honest answer is that insurance isn't handled by the captain. It's handled by the owner, working with their underwriter, well before the captain ever sets foot on the boat.

What follows is exactly how to do it — written plainly, because there's no reason this should be complicated. If you're thinking about hiring a delivery captain for the first time, read this from start to finish. If you've hired one before and something went sideways with your carrier, you'll probably find the explanation here.

The short version

Your boat is insured under a policy that assumes you — the named owner — are the primary operator. The moment someone else takes command of the vessel, your coverage may or may not follow them. It depends entirely on what your policy says and what your carrier has been told.

The fix is simple. You formally notify your carrier that a specific, licensed captain will be operating the vessel for a specific voyage. They respond in writing — usually within a few business days — confirming that coverage extends to the captain. That written confirmation is what you want in hand before the delivery begins.

Without it, you could be running uninsured for the length of the trip. Nobody wants to discover that after something has gone wrong.

The three things your carrier will ask for

In twenty-plus years of this work, I've yet to see a rider request that didn't come down to the same three pieces of information. Doesn't matter whether it's Progressive, BoatUS, Markel, or Chubb — the request looks almost identical every time.

1. The captain's USCG credentials

Your carrier wants to know the captain is licensed for the specific vessel and the specific waters involved. That means two data points: the type of license, and the scope.

For my deliveries, that's 100 Gross Ton Master for the Great Lakes and Inland Waters, plus a 50 Gross Ton Master for Near Coastal, both with Commercial Towing Assistance. Carriers want it in exactly that format — specific, verifiable, and backed by the physical license documents. I send copies of both licenses with every engagement.

If a captain tells you they're "Coast Guard licensed" and doesn't get specific, that's marketing language, not a credential. A real professional can tell you the tonnage, the waters, and the endorsements without hesitation.

2. The USCG Mariner Reference Number

Most owners don't know to ask for this one, and it's the piece carriers care about most.

Every licensed merchant mariner in the United States has a unique reference number — a single identifier that lets the Coast Guard track the credential and lets carriers verify that the license is real, active, and belongs to the person claiming it. Mine is 2913289. You'll find it at the bottom of every contract I send, every credential document, and in the footer of my website.

If a captain won't share their reference number, that should end the conversation. Legitimate professionals hand it over without thinking twice.

3. A written request from you, the owner

This is the piece the captain literally can't handle for you. Your insurance is a contract between you and your carrier. The captain is a third party. For coverage to extend, the request has to come from the named insured — you.

The format varies by carrier. Some have a standard form. Some accept a letter. Some will take an email. What you're asking for is a written endorsement or rider that confirms the captain is an approved operator for this specific voyage.

One important note: don't accept "we'll note it in the file" as a final answer. You want the confirmation in writing, in your inbox, before the delivery begins. If something goes wrong underway — a collision, a grounding, weather damage — the first question the adjuster will ask is whether the captain was properly disclosed. The answer needs to be a document, not a phone call somebody may or may not remember.

The goal isn't paperwork for paperwork's sake. The goal is making sure that if something goes wrong, the conversation with your adjuster is short — not a forensic investigation of what anyone told whom.

How long it takes

Most carriers turn around a captain rider in one to three business days. Some are faster. A few take up to a week during peak season.

What slows it down is almost never the carrier — it's the owner waiting too long to start. If you've booked a delivery three weeks out, begin the insurance conversation the day you sign the contract. If you've booked two months out, start it that same week.

What you don't want is the captain arriving at the marina and the rider still not confirmed. At that point you have three options, all bad: delay the delivery (expensive — daily rates often still apply), run it uninsured (unwise), or try to settle for verbal confirmation (won't hold up if anything actually happens).

What a professional captain will provide

If you're hiring a professional, none of this should be your responsibility to assemble from scratch. A captain who does delivery work regularly has it packaged and ready to hand you on day one.

In my case, every engagement begins with a document called a Professional Mariner Credential Submission. One page. Contains my license types, scope, reference number, and a short formal statement of the purpose of the engagement. You forward that document to your carrier, they send back the rider, and the insurance piece is handled.

If the captain you're considering doesn't have something equivalent, it's not automatically disqualifying — but you're going to end up assembling the information yourself, which means the process will take longer and you'll be doing work a professional should have done for you.

Red flags worth watching for

While we're on the subject of professionalism, a short list of things that should give you pause before handing anyone command of your vessel:

• Reluctance to share their USCG Mariner Reference Number. There's no legitimate reason to withhold it.

• No written engagement agreement. A professional arrangement is documented in writing — scope, rates, cancellation terms, liability allocation. A handshake works at the yacht club bar. It does not work for someone taking command of your second-largest asset.

• Dismissiveness about insurance. "Don't worry about that, my license covers it" is not how boat insurance works. The captain's license does not insure your vessel. Your policy insures your vessel. These are different things, and any real professional knows it.

• Vague language about credentials. Phrases like "Coast Guard licensed" without specifics are marketing. Ask what tonnage, what waters, what endorsements. A legitimate captain will answer without thinking.

Why this is the owner's responsibility

One last thing worth saying, because it comes up on nearly every engagement.

Your insurance is between you and your carrier. The captain is not on that policy. I can provide everything the carrier needs — my licenses, my reference number, a formal credential document — but the request for coverage extension has to come from the named insured, because that's whose policy it is.

I understand the impulse to push this onto the captain. Nobody wants another item on their list, especially when they're already paying a professional. But the carrier won't take the call from me. They'll take it from you. A good captain makes the process as easy as possible by giving you everything you need in one clean document. What a good captain can't do is make the phone call for you.

The checklist

If you're about to hire a delivery captain — or you're mid-setup and want to make sure you haven't missed anything — here's the sequence that works every time:

1. Sign the engagement letter with the captain.

2. Request their credential submission document, or copies of licenses and mariner reference number if they don't have one ready.

3. Forward the documents to your insurance carrier with a written request to add the captain as an approved operator for the specific voyage.

4. Wait for the written rider or endorsement back. Don't accept verbal confirmation.

5. Forward the confirmation to the captain so they know it's handled on your end.

6. Proceed with the delivery.

Five minutes of your time, spread across a few business days. That's all it takes to eliminate one of the biggest risks in hiring a delivery captain. Worth every second.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Captain Tom Ketelhut is the owner of Offshore Captain Services LLC, based in Grosse Ile, Michigan. He holds a USCG Master 100 GRT for the Great Lakes and Inland Waters, a Master 50 GRT for Near Coastal, and a Commercial Towing Assistance endorsement. Mariner Reference #2913289. Thirty-six years in the marine industry, a lot of water under the keel.

Offshore Captain Services provides vessel deliveries, captain's coaching, and first mate coaching from Lake Erie to Lake Huron. To discuss your vessel, visit captainoffshore.com or call 248.497.5791.