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Late payment of premium

Boat insurance term, area: Premium

Protection depends on the premium actually reaching the insurer on time. If the very first instalment is not settled, the start of the contract is pushed back to the moment payment is made. If a later instalment goes unpaid, the insurer sends a written reminder setting a deadline, and a loss that happens after that deadline is typically not paid at all, even though the contract still exists on paper. A boat can therefore lie at her berth, insured in the owner's mind and uninsured in fact, because a standing order failed over the winter.

What to check: How long is the deadline the insurer has to give you in a reminder before the protection falls away, and where does your contract say so? If you pay after a notice of termination, does the contract revive, and does that also close the gap for a loss that happened in the meantime?

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