Wood Boat Insurance

Having grown up on and sailed wood boats for much of my life, I understand the affection many of our yacht insurance clients have toward their classic wood boat. Fortunately for those of us that live and breathe all things boating, there are still die hard boaters among us that are willing to take on the expense of keeping these beautiful “oldies” nice and shiny as well as functional. Because of the unique characteristics and increased expense of maintaining older vessels, this class of yacht is increasingly difficult to insure.

What do insurance company underwriters typically look for when insuring a wood boat? The main two concerns are the condition of the boat and the prior wood boat ownership experience of the boat owner. To satisfy the first concern, it is necessary to hire a qualified marine surveyor with extensive prior wood boat surveying experience and who is a current member of one of the surveyor associations such as SAMS, NAMS, USSA. When the boat is hauled out for survey, the underwriter typically wants the surveyor to have 5-10 random bottom fastenings removed, inspected, note their condition, and include photographs of the fasteners in the survey. If there is significant fastener wastage due to galvanic corrosion or electrolysis, it will be very difficult to insure the boat unless hauled out ashore pending a complete refastening of the bottom, review of shipwright invoices, and an updated post refastening survey is provided prior to vessel launch. Any receipts available for prior refit work or large maintenance items by the current or prior vessel owners should be included or referenced in the survey. This will create a record showing the yacht has been well maintained and upgraded over the years. Another concern for insurers is they do not want to insure carvel planked boats that have been fiberglassed over. The immediate assumption is the bottom of the yacht needed refastening and possibly frames and floor and planking replacement. Rather than spending many thousands of dollars to replace fastenings, sister or replace frames and floor timbers, and planking, a couple of quick layers of fiberglass on the outside of the hull will extend the life of the boat. The underlying problems still exist, like bad fasteners, and can no longer be removed and checked.

The second important underwriting consideration is the prior boat ownership experience of the insured. Of particular importance, is prior wood boat ownership. It is an expensive and time consuming proposition and truly a labor of love to keep a classic wood yacht looking her best and systems updated and functioning. A “Bristol” yacht can turn into a derelict within a very short period of time if time and money are not showered on the boat regularly. Understandably, some new boat owners are drawn to the beauty and romance of these classics without fully recognizing the expense required to keep the boat in top shape. A new buyer providing a basic maintenance pro forma is helpful to show to underwriters the boat owner is aware of the financial commitment required. Sourcing capable shipwrights and boatyards is also a challenge as there are very few carvel planked new boats being built with few capable craftsman to maintain them.

In summary, assuming the boat surveys well and we are working with an experienced wood boat owner, Novamar does have insurance markets available to insure these beautiful yachts. Providing your insurance agent/broker with complete information up front to submit as a package to underwriters is critical. In this tight yacht insurance market with few yacht insurance specialty companies remaining, underwriters are flooded with new risks. The easier your insurance agent/broker makes it for an underwriter to return a quote instead of returning a quick declination, the better. It is difficult to get an underwriter to reverse a decision once a risk has been declined. Working closely with an experienced marine insurance agency like Novamar is critical to obtain the best possible insurance terms for your classic yacht possible. We hope this is helpful information for the wood boat enthusiast to navigate these choppy insurance waters. Us boaters appreciate the time, money, and love that it takes to improve our view as you sail or motor by us in your shiny classic yacht!