The premium went up: can I leave?

Short answer

A premium rise that brings no more cover usually opens a special right to cancel; the deadline is stated in the letter announcing it and it is short.

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The ordinary route is notice before the renewal date, as a rule three months ahead of it. Miss that date and the contract runs another year unless something special applies. Special rights to cancel exist, among other cases, when the boat is sold, when the premium is increased and after a claim.

The premium adjustment clause lets an insurer move the premium in line with the claims experience of the portfolio. It opens a special right to cancel where the premium rises without the cover changing with it. That distinction is the whole point: if the premium went up because you declared a stronger engine or extended the cruising range, the cover changed too and this is not an increase in that sense.

The deadline is short and runs from the day the notice reaches you. It is stated in the letter announcing the increase, together with the date the cancellation takes effect. Do not put that letter aside: once the period has run, the new premium counts as accepted.

What belongs in the letter: the policy number, your name and address, the boat name or registration, one sentence saying that you are cancelling because of the premium increase and with effect from the date it applies, the date and your signature. Send it so that it can be evidenced and ask for written confirmation. Without the confirmation nothing has been settled.

We handle the switch at no charge. We need the previous insurer, the policy number and your signature on the broker’s authority; we give notice for you and make sure that neither a double insurance nor a gap in cover arises, and you pay only once the old contract has run out. If you have been given notice yourself or an application has been declined, call us: we underwrite as agent in the insurer’s name and decide such cases in our own house rather than passing them on.

Worth remembering

The shorter deadline is the valuable one. It is in the letter most people file unread.

Can I cancel straight away after a premium increase?

Usually yes, where the premium rises without the cover changing. The period runs from the day the notice reaches you and is stated in the letter.

What does not count as an increase?

A higher premium that follows a change you asked for, such as a stronger engine or a wider cruising range. There the cover moved with the price.

What has to be in the cancellation letter?

Policy number, name and address, boat name or registration, the reason, the date and your signature. Send it so it can be evidenced and ask for written confirmation.

Will you give notice for me?

Yes, at no charge. We make sure there is neither a double insurance nor a gap, and you pay only when the old contract has run out.

My insurer cancelled my policy. Will anyone still write it?

Call us. We underwrite as agent in the insurer’s name and decide cases like that in our own house instead of forwarding them.

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