Boat and yacht insurance discount encourages powerboat owners to make boating safer

The Travelers Companies is offering a discount on boat and yacht insurance premiums for boaters that use the Autotether wireless emergency stop lanyard. Emergency stop lanyard are likely to reduce the chances of a runaway boat.

According to the US Coast Guard, falls overboard are cause of boating fatalities. Incidents, where the operator falls overboard and the boat is left without anyone to steer, can be avoided when the proper safety devices are used by the vessel’s operator.

Chantal Cyr, vice president of the Boat and Yacht division at Travelers, said: “Encouraging safe boating is a top priority at Travelers as falls overboard place everyone in the water at risk. We expect that offering a boat and yacht insurance premium discount will encourage powerboat owners to consider using a wireless emergency stop lanyard to make boating safer for everyone on the water.”

Anthony Viggiano, president of Autotether, said: “We’ve found that boaters do not want to be restricted to the helm and most emergency stop lanyards are inconvenient. The wireless device frees the boat operator while giving them and their crew the peace of mind in knowing the boat will stop if the operator goes overboard or an alarm will sound if a passenger accidentally slips out.”