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Season only cover: what it leaves out
Short answer
A season policy is cheaper because it covers fewer months. The months it leaves out are the ones the boat spends ashore, and plenty can happen then.
The logic looks sound. If the boat only swims from spring to autumn, why pay for a whole year. In many places the season matches real use well, and the saving is easy to see on the quote. What deserves a careful look before signing is the exact period and what happens outside it, because in most season policies outside the period there is no cover at all, not even with the boat sitting quietly on a cradle in a locked yard.
That is where the logic runs into the claims record. The months ashore are not the quiet months. Wind lifts covers and takes frames with it, cradles go over, sheds burn, lifts go wrong at haul out and launch, water freezes in systems nobody drained and compounds full of unattended boats attract thieves. Plenty of hull claims begin with the boat out of the water, which is precisely when a season policy has stopped and you have stopped looking at the boat every week.
Before you decide, do three checks. Compare the saving against the cost of one winter claim including the water damage that follows a torn cover. Ask whether an extension for the laid up period is available and what it includes. And read the exact dates, because an early launch in March or a late haul out in November can fall outside the period, and a single day of mismatch is enough to start the conversation with a surveyor in the wrong place. With our own season policy there is no cover from 1 November to 31 March, in winter storage included.
Worth remembering
The season
is when the boat sails and you watch it
The winter
is when it sits still and claims happen
The lower premium is paid for in exactly the months nobody is looking at the boat.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
What is covered outside the season?
As a rule nothing, even with the boat ashore. With our season policy that means 1 November to 31 March. Read the exact dates when you sign, not in November.
Can I extend it over the winter?
Many insurers offer some form of laid up extension. Ask exactly what it includes and with what limits before you rely on it.
What if I launch early?
A launch outside the contracted period is not covered that day. Tell your insurer and adjust the dates rather than hoping nothing happens.
Is the saving worth it?
It depends where and how the boat winters. Put the saving next to the cost of one claim involving water ingress and decide with those two numbers in front of you.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Season only cover: what it leaves out” or another question: send us your residence and the flag your boat flies. You will get a straight answer in one email; including a no, if that is the answer.
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