How much will my boat insurance cost

Boat insurance typically costs between £25 and £250 for one years cover inclusive of tax. The critical factors that determine the cost difference is your vessel type, whether you want third party or full comprehensive insurance, your combined boat and contents value, your cruising range and your mooring location.

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How is my boat insurance premium calculated?

Boat insurance costs are a calculation of the perceived risk of a claim x by the total potential value of a claim. Here is a simplified boat insurance premium calculation example. You own a speedboat worth £10000 and speedboats attract a basic 1% risk rating. You a have a larger than standard engine so the risk rating increases by 10% to 1.1%. So you’re premium is £10000 x 1.1%, plus 10% insurance premium tax (IPT), then that’s £121. A higher boat value multiplied by a higher risk equals a higher premium.

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How can I buy cheaper boat insurance?

The simplest ways to get cheaper boat insurance are as follows; select third party only cover, increase your excess, grow your no claims bonus, don’t over-estimate your boat value, limit your cruising (avoid channel/med. crossings), store the boat safely (moor in marinas/ use locked compounds), fit an auto-bilge. As a general rule; lower risk x lower boat value = cheaper boat insurance, it’s that simple.

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Is boat insurance a legal requirement in the UK?

No. Boat insurance is not a legal requirement in the UK, however you will need at least third-party cover to access inland rivers and most privately run canals, it may also be a requirement to be able to moor in private boatyards and marinas. If in doubt, always check locally in advance. Buying boat insurance online is usually straightforward though and a third party policy should cost less than £100 per year, if you are quoted otherwise shop around.

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Can I buy boat insurance online?

In the majority of cases your boat insurance can be purchased quickly online, particularly if the boat is fairly common and used for private or leisure use only. Whilst you nearly always will still raise and ultimately pay for your policy online, certain factors may prevent an immediate online quotation. Examples of these are as follows; exceptional mooring locations, exceptional cruising ranges, vessels over £500 000 in value, vessels that are used commercially, boats under-going major renovation/ reconstruction work, a recent claim history (details will be requested).

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What information will I need to buy boat insurance online?

When buying boat insurance online the questions will depend to some degree on your vessel type. The questions are used to identify your vessel and calculate the boat insurance premium. The usual information required is as follows; build year, vessel length, named legal owner(s), engine size, cruising range, vessel type/ model/ serial number, mooring type, mooring location, any recent claim details, years no claims, place of registration. After purchasing your policy evidence of any no claims bonus will be required and vessels above 20-25 years may be asked to supply evidence of a recent boat survey.

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What non-mandatory options are available when buying boat insurance?

When buying boat insurance there are usually additional non-mandatory options, offered dependent upon your vessel type. Examples are as follows; third party or fully comprehensive, protected no claims bonus, increased legal liability cover, contents cover, breakdown cover, racing cover, water-skiing/ toys, increased policy excess.

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Any more questions?

If you have any more questions please do just get in touch. Alternatively, if you are ready to buy boat insurance… let’s get started!