Innovator in sailing technology Cyclops Marine has partnered with specialist marine insurance brokers Soak to bring a visionary insurance solution to market.
Soak Insurance has secured a 10% premium discount for race boat owners who install a Cyclops Marine Load Sensor to their rig. In some cases, this discount will cover the cost of the sensor within a short period, all the while allowing sailors to enjoy the performance benefits of live and logged rig load data to their smartphones or on-board instruments.
Cyclops Marine’s versatile load sensing technology has drawn attention from across the marine industry, sparking intrigue as more opportunities for its application arise. The Smart range: smartlink and smarttune (load sensors for soft and standing rigging respectively) have until now been used primarily to improve performance, seeing solid results as top sailors around the world are using the data to build winning habits.
This partnership marks a watershed moment in the use of load sensing for insurance purposes and aims to tackle the seemingly perpetual rise in insurance premiums for race boats.
Simon Tonks of Soak: “The yacht insurance market has faced challenges over the last couple of years with significant premium increases as insurers look to recoup some of their losses. Race boats as a segment are perceived to be the greatest risk when it comes to claims. The knock-on effect is increased premiums and restriction in cover. We are approaching the point where some owners are struggling to get insurance… one of the main causes is rig failure. Sailors at all levels of the sport push their boats hard. What we were seeing (and what is driving premium increases) is an increase in rig failures due to a lack of understanding of rig loads.”
