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What is the boat worth, and how do you prove it?
Short answer
Putting a figure on a proposal form takes a minute.
Backing it up later with invoices,
an inventory and a surveyor's valuation is what settles an argument,
so gather the papers long before you need them.
The starting point is what was actually paid, and the paper behind it is the bill of sale or the builder's invoice. Keep it somewhere you will still find it in ten years, because it is the first document anyone asks for when a value is questioned. On top of that come the improvements that stay with the boat: a new engine, fixed electronics, replacement standing rigging, a bow thruster, solar panels, a new suit of sails. Each one needs its invoice. An improvement without a receipt behind it is a story, not a figure, and after a loss nobody takes a story at face value.
Not everything goes in the same box. Whatever is bolted, bonded or wired in forms part of the boat. Whatever you can unclip and take home, a handheld GPS, a portable plotter, fishing or diving gear, water skis, is usually declared separately as equipment, and personal belongings on board are a third category again, often with a limit of their own. With us, the nautical equipment and inventory, handheld radios and binoculars included, belong to the insured boat. Personal effects are covered from Basis Plus at 3 per cent of the sum insured, at least 1,000 euros and at most 3,000 euros, or 6,000 euros in Premium. A photographed inventory, made one spring afternoon and kept off the boat, sorts all three in half an hour. It is worth far more than a list pieced together from memory the morning after a fire or a break in.
The market yardstick is replacement value: what would a comparable boat, with comparable equipment and in comparable condition, cost to buy today? A production boat from a long series with plenty on the brokerage market usually sits below its original price. An older boat with a well documented refit can sit above it. A valuation from a qualified marine surveyor, often done alongside a condition survey, turns that into a written figure that a buyer, a lender and an underwriter can all work with. Review it after a major refit, a new engine or rig and whenever prices for that model move clearly, and pass the new figure on instead of leaving the old one standing.
Worth remembering
The invoice
says what it cost and backs the figure
The surveyor
says what it is worth today, in writing
A figure with no paper behind it is an opinion, and opinions get argued over at the worst possible moment.
Questions
What owners ask us about this
What value should I put on the proposal form?
The one you can prove: the price paid according to the bill of sale or invoice, plus the improvements that are still on the boat and have a receipt. A round figure from memory is exactly the one that gets questioned when it matters.
Do the electronics count as part of the boat?
Anything fixed in place, yes. Portable units are often declared as separate equipment, though with us nautical equipment such as handheld radios belongs to the boat, and personal belongings are another category again. Keep three lists, each with photographs, and store them off the boat.
Do I need a surveyor to value the boat?
Not always, but a surveyor's valuation turns an opinion into a document. For older boats, boats after a big refit and anything whose value is not obvious from the brokerage market, it is the quickest way to avoid a long argument.
Can the sum insured be too high?
A figure clearly above the market costs premium you do not need. Report changes in value, so that the sum insured and what the boat is worth stay together.
Related
Not sure whether you qualify?
Whether it is “What is the boat worth, and how do you prove it?” 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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Boat sale contract and used boat checklist
A bilingual sale contract and a checklist for the viewing, free to print.
