Why Yacht Insurance Feels Harder Now (and What Buyers Can Do About It)
- Captn Tommy
- Jan 3
- 4 min read
A quiet shift has happened in yacht insurance. Many buyers have not noticed it until they try to insure a boat and suddenly hear: more questions, more exclusions, higher deductibles, or a flat decline.
This can feel personal. Most of the time it is not. It is a process change inside the insurance chain.
The part of the insurance company you never meet
When you shop for insurance, you usually talk to a broker or an agent. That person is your contact, and they may be excellent.
But the “yes or no” decision is typically made by someone else: the underwriter.
A simple way to think about it:
An insurance broker or agent: collects information, submits your request, explains terms
Underwriter: decides whether to insure the boat, and on what terms
Reinsurer (behind the scenes): often sets limits on what the insurer is allowed to accept
So even if your broker is motivated, they cannot force an approval.
Who is the underwriter?
Yacht underwriters are marine insurance risk analysist specialists. Their job is to decide whether a boat is an acceptable risk for the insurer.
What they do not do:
They do not inspect your boat in person
They do not test systems
They do not troubleshoot like a mechanic
They do not know your boat the way an owner or surveyor does
What they do rely on:
Survey reports
Photos and videos
Maintenance and upgrade records
Claims history (if any)
Your plans (where you will cruise, when, and how)
They are turning your boat into a risk file. If the file is clear, it is easier to say yes. If the file is messy or vague, caution wins.
The one question that explains everything
A buyer asks: “Is this the right boat for me?”A surveyor asks: “Is this boat sound?”An underwriter asks: “If there is a serious claim later, can I justify why we insured this boat?”
That last question drives the whole system.
What underwriters look at (in plain language)
1) The boat itself
Age, construction, and type (production vs custom, mono vs cat)
Known problem areas for that model or era
Original systems versus refits (and whether refits are documented)
Survey findings and recommendations
This is where documentation matters most. A great refit with no proof can look like a risky refit. A simple boat with strong proof can look like a safe bet.
2) Where and how it will be used
Cruising area (easy region vs storm-prone region)
Seasonality (hurricane season plans matter)
Storage and haul-out plans
Even a good boat can get tougher terms if the plan includes higher-risk areas and seasons.
3) Ownership and maintenance habits (they infer this)
Underwriters cannot watch how you maintain a boat. So, they judge by signals:
Do you respond clearly?
Is the information complete?
Is it dated and organized?
Do you fix survey items, and document the fixes?
It is not about sounding confident. It is about showing proof.
4) The insurer’s own limits
Sometimes the decision has little to do with your boat.
An insurer may say no because:
They already have too many similar risks in one region
They have had recent losses in that category
Their reinsurance rules tightened
From the outside it can feel arbitrary. Inside, it is risk balancing.
Why “trust me” no longer works
Insurance is paperwork-driven by design. Underwriters need a defensible trail.
Clear documentation gives them:
Independent support (survey, invoices, dated photos)
A clean decision record
Confidence that known issues were handled properly
Weak documentation puts them in a corner. If something goes wrong later, the first question becomes: “Why did you accept this risk?” The easiest way to avoid that question is caution, exclusions, or decline.
The practical takeaway for buyers
If you want better insurance outcomes, act like you are building a case file for a cautious stranger.
Help them say yes by giving:
A recent survey, plus proof that key recommendations were addressed
Dated photos and short videos of the right areas (not random dumps)
A simple maintenance timeline (even basic is better than none)
Receipts and invoices for major work
A clear cruising plan (and a hurricane plan if relevant)
What tends to backfire:
Long explanations instead of proof
Unlabeled photo piles
Missing dates
“We think it was replaced” with no invoice
Gaps with no note explaining what happened
You do not need perfection. You need clarity.
A simple path that matches today’s reality
If you want to keep this process simple, use this order:
1) Insurance Pack (USD 9) A short explainer and checklist that shows what insurers now expect, and how to avoid the common documentation mistakes that trigger delays, exclusions, or declines.
2) Insurance-Ready Boat File (USD 29) (Coming soon)A survey-grade documentation system designed to help yacht owners organize dated, verifiable evidence of condition, maintenance, and upgrades in a format insurers and surveyors can actually use. Zero decoration, built to be practical.
3) Model-Specific Survey-Prep Guide (USD 29) A model-specific evidence list. It helps you collect the right proof for your exact yacht (based on common weak points and what surveys and insurers tend to focus on).
4) Remote Buyer Support (USD 149) Hands-on help to identify gaps, prioritize what matters, and present your boat cleanly for a real underwriting decision.
If you want the fastest win, start by creating a clean, dated evidence file. It does not just help with insurance, it also reduces survey friction, speeds up sales, and makes expensive conversations calmer.
