Anything in your life that is of any value to you, or that cost you a fortune, and often both (!) should definitely be covered by a good insurance policy. You wouldn't think twice about insuring your home, your car, your holiday and even your life, and this should stretch all the way if you are a boat owner. As with anything that could possibly cause damage, be stolen or succumb to a mechanical failure, you should always insure your boat, regardless of the size, where you are going in it and what it is. Things do vary though depending on just what type of boat insurance you are after and what type of boat you own.
It stands to reason that a turbocharged speedboat will cost a lot more than a meandering canal boat, and this is the first consideration to make. Risk, and the balancing of risk, are essential to insurance and will directly affect what your premium is. Most standard boat insurance quotes are the same, and will ask about how the boat is powered, its dimensions, what is onboard and so on and so forth. One tip here is that if you have a motor boat, be sure to have the latest fire extinguishers and fire fighting equipment on board, as this tends to bring your premium down. Another tip is that if you plan to go more than 124 miles (200km) off the coast, your premium can jump up a gobsmacking 20%, so consider that if you want to get cheap boat insurance.
Another thing to consider when you are weighing up a marine insurance policy is what you intend to do with your vessel. For instance, if you are entering a race you will have to furnish the insurer with the details and the same goes for long cruising, for which you might be asked to submit a rough itinerary. Also, you must mind the contents of your boat and whether they to will be insured. Most boat insurance policies will only cover what is considered essential to the operation of the boat, such as rafts, radios, radars, radio direction finders, autopilots, depth sounders, compasses, and even the dinghy, the propeller, and auxiliaries if your boat has them; personal effects such as binoculars and fishing gear will often need an extra contents policy to cover them.
As with any sort of insurance buying these days, you should surf the net before sailing the seas. What I mean by this is that you should definitely use online price comparison sites to research and buy your policy, as it is the easiest and most hassle-free method of doing so, putting all the possibilities in front of you for you to choose from.
In all then, buying boat insurance, whilst it might be a little more complicated then your basic car insurance purchase, can still be rendered relatively stress-free by making use of one of the many insurance comparison sites out there. So, be sure you that have suitable cover at the price you can afford, before setting sail on sea, river, lake or canal in the UK.
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