Yacht Crew Insurance, Disability, Retirement and more

From my first looks at yacht professions, I've had the concern as to what those in the profession had in the way of protection, starting with medical insurance and including disability and then retirement. I see independent captains who appear very exposed in that regard. I see those who have worked out of the country and have years without even social security salary accruing to their benefit. This came to mind as a captain in another thread mentioned breaking a foot and having to turn down a lucrative trip.

We saw all this as we hired crew but we've provided our crew with a broad range of benefits. However, I'm interested in what others of you have or don't have, including especially those of you who are independent. I worry about injuries or about you no longer being able to perform your job, either short term or long term. We had a member here before who was in a motorcycle accident. I know of others who have had major illnesses.

So, what do you have, not have? What worries you? How at risk are you?

I'm aware of such management companies as we've dealt with one on charters and on some other things. I'm not sure what percentage of owners in the US or even the Caribbean use such or what benefits they provide through them. I'm sure it varies by location, but in your experience, have those served by such a company had disability coverage and a retirement plan?

One thing I see is that many owners and crews are avoiding as many taxes as legally they can. However, in most countries, retirement programs are only set up to benefit tax paying citizens. As to disability, it's a more complex issue. Also, I'm not sure which have benefits that cover accidents when not working. A lot of crew works on contracts for a season at a time or go from one boat to another. If doing so, and there's a gap between contracts, how are they protected during that time?

A lot of members here are self employed Captains and typically little protection.

Total BS. We own a small business and provide all those and we're profitable. I'm not getting into a political discussion, just talking about the yachting industry.

I asked a simple yacht related question and getting virtually no answers but a lot of political rants. Could we just answer the question asked and leave out politics to other places.

Well, your statements as to why our health insurance is so high were either political or misinformed. I don't fault you for that as the amount of misinformation heard daily on health care is staggering with it coming from politicians, doctors, insurers, employers, and others who all have an axe to grind or a reason to have skewed opinions overriding facts. Those who have done comparisons of health care costs in the US vs. elsewhere have figured out the following. Basically, our hospital costs and our drug costs are by far the most expensive for the same services and same medications when compared to other countries. We absorb a disproportionate percentage of the costs of the development of drugs. We do not regulate those costs. An additional reason is that most medical care in other countries is provided through a single payer system, much like Medicare or Tricare in the US without the cost of the administration and profits of insurers. Hospitals are also operated for profit by private companies and in many countries the major hospitals are government owned and not for profit. We have some very basic issues with our health care system not attributable to the factors you describe.

There are two other places in health care that the US differs from other countries. We typically do more tests and more procedures for the same conditions than others. That is a bit of a positive and a bit of a negative. Then also, we aren't as healthy. We have more conditions that appear to be a result of our stressful lives resulting in more of certain conditions and, earlier onset of problems.

You attack our system as socialist when in fact most of the countries with less expensive medical care operate socialist based health care systems, far more so than ours.

You mention lawyers and malpractice insurance costs are a factor in the cost of medical care, although not major like the items mentioned above and more in certain fields than others. For instance, obstetrics and delivery of babies is a field of outrageous malpractice costs due to basic human nature and juries. Baby dies, jury is going to be extremely generous with parents. Limitations on malpractice claim limits have long been talked about.

Then as to employer provided benefits. Well, again, in most countries, all workers are provided benefits, through employer taxation. Employers provide benefits in most countries in that way. As to the US, in most professions employer provided benefits are traditional and standard. That's the way to get people covered. You use the word, entitlement. Well, I do feel every working person should be entitled to have certain basic benefits and there are two ways to insure that, government or employer. I would note also that as an employer, I can provide benefits cheaper than you, as an individual, can buy them. Now, the government can provide them cheaper than I can.

But back to the topic at hand. It is people in the yachting industry not having adequate health insurance, disability protection, sick benefits, dental coverage and retirement programs. Those who are independent businessmen lack it for the same reason as most small business owners. Those who work for yachts may or may not have it. However, much of flagging of vessels is aimed toward reducing crew pay and benefits. If you're on a US flagged vessel, you're covered through social security toward at least some retirement. If you're on a foreign flagged vessel, it's a different story.

Now, this wasn't presented as a topic to go into all the problems with health care in the US and worldwide (don't for one moment think other countries don't have issues too). It was to address what kind of protections yacht crew has and doesn't have and the exposure of those in the industry.

It was a topic just created out of concern of how many of you are out there without or with very expensive, high deductible health insurance, how many have no income at all if they get injured either while working or not, and how many have serious worries about retirement. I see the situations many are in and it worries me. This is worry for others, not myself. I have similar worries for those in other industries, but since this is a yacht forum, I was discussing here those in the yachting industry.

I don't know the specifics of what happened on Pascal's insurance. I do know many reasons for individual insurance rising. I also know some still getting individual policies for less than he's paying. The market is geared toward group coverage. We have companies every year refusing to offer individual. Then others just quote it outrageously high. Group plans right now are available with $2000 deductible and the cost for individual coverage is $300-350 and family is around $1000 or so. Still outrageous, but insurers are assuming spouses could have their own insurance and if they don't then they must be poor risks.

There have been a lot of industry moves blamed on one law or another for decades. The reality is that health insurer earnings have continued to rise. Only 60-80% of the revenues go to patient care. A lot of profiteering taking place. I won't argue that there haven't been changes that have impacted rates, but that's been true other times too. There is a lot of profit in the supply side of medical care. If you broke it down to the actual costs of the care it would probably be half what it's costing now. There are scary aspects and no one should pay $700 for an individual policy with a $7000 deductible.

Every state is different but in FL one of the courses to reduce premium costs is to incorporate and then go after group plans, either on your own or in association with others. There has at different times been talk of a formal organization of yacht professionals which would then have a group plan. Accountants do it, lawyers do it, why not captains.

There are many factors at play in rising insurance prices for individuals. One of them is "because we can."

Not hard to find the insurance. Just a lot of people in the industry without it.