Boat insurance for older boats

No single company takes every older boat, so it pays to compare a few before you settle on one.

Here is how three of them handle it:

• Progressive: it will not insure boats 0 to 10 years old valued above $500,000, boats 11 to 20 years old valued above $350,000, or any boat past 20 years valued above $75,000.
• GEICO: will not cover steel or wooden hulls, or any boat previously ruled a constructive total loss. In other words, a boat an insurer once decided cost too much to fix.
• Markel: its replacement cost coverage, the kind that buys you a new boat if yours is totaled, applies only to boats no more than three years old.

Before you request quotes, check how old your boat is, what it is worth, and what the hull is made of against these limits.

A survey means a marine professional inspects your boat's condition. Not every insurer asks for one.

• Progressive says its policy is available without a survey, even on used boats.
• Markel does not ask for a survey for its yacht liability coverage, even on older boats.

Some insurers do ask for one. Progressive notes that insurers may want a survey when a boat is used, older, larger, or worth more. SkiSafe asks for a recent survey before it will quote boats over 36 feet or older boats.

When a survey is needed, most surveyors base the fee on the boat's size rather than billing by the hour or one set price.

Before covering an older boat, insurers commonly want inspections, maintenance records, or evidence of recent upgrades. Gathering these before you ask for quotes means you have them ready when an insurer asks.

Age can work for you too. Chubb says older boats can come with a lower premium on standard policies, since the insurer reduces the boat's value as the years pass.

Check whether a quote uses actual cash value or agreed value, since they set the boat's value differently.

• Actual cash value: pays the boat's current market value, which takes depreciation into account. Depreciation simply means the worth a boat sheds over the years.
• Agreed value: pays the sum you and the insurer agreed on at the start of the policy.

• Lay-up coverage: GEICO says this can cut the price in the off-season, when the boat remains out of the water.
• Liability Only: BoatUS/GEICO lists this as its lowest-cost choice. You can get it on any boat you fully own, with no lienholder, meaning no lender with a claim on it.