The Problem: Insurance Is No Longer Automatic

Until recently, boat insurance was largely procedural. If a yacht surveyed reasonably well and the buyer had experience, coverage usually followed.

That has changed.

In the 2025–2026 market, insurers and underwriters are operating under tighter risk controls. Coverage decisions now depend far more heavily on survey language, documentation, and verifiable maintenance history than on general impressions of condition.

 

While buyers still deal with an insurance company, the actual decision is made by the underwriter — the person or team assessing the risk behind the scenes.

 

Underwriters do not assess a boat the way an owner or buyer does. They assess risk exposure. That means:

• Surveys are read closely, often line by line

• Vague terms like “fair,” “serviceable,” or “appears adequate” are increasingly treated as uncertainty

• Missing documentation is interpreted as elevated risk, even if the boat is otherwise sound

 

As a result, boats that would have been insured without issue just a few years ago are now facing exclusions, heavy conditions, or outright declines.

 

This shift affects everyone involved in a transaction:

• Buyers, who risk spending time and money on boats that cannot be insured

• Sellers, whose yachts may lose value due to missing proof rather than actual condition

• Brokers and surveyors, who are navigating stricter underwriting expectations and less tolerance for ambiguity

 

For a deeper analysis of how survey language and underwriting criteria now shape the used boat market, you can read the full article here: