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Switching insurer without leaving a gap
Short answer
Moving a boat policy is mostly a question of two dates. Contracts that overlap cost money twice, and contracts that miss each other by a day leave the boat bare on exactly the day nobody is watching it. The renewal notice is where the work starts.
Most boat policies run for twelve months and renew on a fixed date, and the renewal invitation is the document that decides how easy the move will be. It states the day the current contract ends and the premium being asked for the coming year, and on consumer business in the United Kingdom it also shows what was paid the year before. Read it the week it arrives rather than the week it expires, because a change arranged in the last few days tends to be arranged badly. Note the end date, then work backwards from it: quotations, any survey that will be asked for on an older hull, and the paperwork itself all need room in front of that date.
Two dates matter and they are not the same date. One is the day the old contract ends, the other is the day the new one begins, and they belong on the same morning. A fortnight of overlap is money paid twice for a boat that can only be insured once, and in a claim two contracts running side by side make for a slower settlement rather than a more generous one. A gap is worse, and it costs nothing at all until it costs everything: a boat on a swinging mooring through an unwatched week is exposed in precisely the way these contracts exist for. If a mid season change cannot be avoided, agree the changeover date in writing with both sides before cancelling anything at all.
A new insurer will ask for much the same things every time: the current schedule, the claims record for the last few years, a recent survey on an older hull, the berth and the winter storage arrangement, and the cruising area actually used rather than the one hoped for. Answer the claims question in full, including incidents that were settled without a payment, because an omission discovered later is a far more expensive conversation than the incident itself ever was. Cancelling in the middle of a year is usually possible but rarely refunded in full, so the cheapest moment to leave is the renewal date. Consumer contracts in the United Kingdom also carry a short cancellation period after a new policy is taken out, which is a safety net for a mistake and not a way of running two contracts alongside each other.
Worth remembering
One day
is all the gap between two contracts needs to be
Twelve months
is how long the wrong renewal date follows you
The move is simple at renewal and awkward at any other moment, so the work belongs in the week the invitation lands.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
When is the best time to switch?
At the renewal date. Cancelling in the middle of a year is usually possible, but the refund is rarely the full unused share, so the saving shrinks before the new contract has even started.
What happens if the two dates do not meet?
An overlap means paying twice for a boat that can only be insured once. A gap means an uninsured day, and the uninsured day is the one on which nobody is watching the boat.
What will the new insurer ask for?
The current schedule, a claims record covering the last few years, a recent survey on an older hull, the berth and winter storage arrangement, and the area the boat is really used in.
Is a no claims record lost by moving?
Not usually, provided it can be evidenced. Ask the outgoing insurer for a written statement of the claim free years before the contract ends, because it is harder to obtain once the file is closed.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “Switching insurer without leaving a gap” 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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