<Scott wrote in part: The countries of Columbia (except offshore islands), Nicaragua and Cuba are restricted from coverage.> The insurance companies are in general using outdated info to cover their exposure, IMHO. Columbia for at least the past year hasn't had any instance of armed aggression against yachts or the "pirating" of them. Wish we could say that of the rest of the Caribbean. Passing thru territorial waters may or may not be considered OK by a particular country. It is up to them to define what they consider "innocent passage". Those run by more authoritarian types can be a problem. Quite often a new election, a new Port Commandant(Captain in some areas) or muscle flexing can lead to easier or tighter restrictions. As John said earlier the SSB cruising nets, the SCCA books and in some cases the VHF nets can offer the most up to date information re a specific place or action. OTOH, often this information needs to be carefully filtered by the listener. I would ask Al to specifically define what your insurance says/means for any passage that you feel might have a grey area re your coverage. This is but one more of the reasons we choose self insurance. Our destinations are not limited by some underwriter sitting at a map of the world wondering where he can reduce or eliminate coverage without cutting into the revenue stream of writing policies. We have been to both Cuba and Columbia and will be back cruising in Columbia next fall/winter if all goes well. Perhaps Cuba too after Jan 09 depending on the US election results. We do have liability insurance and thru Al. As always YMMV...... Dave & Nancy Swan Song Roughwater 58