Question
…The alternative was a policy only for boats with a value above $75K US. I have massively upgraded my 45 year old Morgan 382 for offshore voyaging (most recently a new Beta 35), as well as its cosmetics. But I know the market and no surveyor could honestly value it at $75K (my paint job was $55K). Any new suggestions out there?
Answer
One thought, don’t give up on getting a fair insurance valuation for your boat, taking into account the cost of upgrades. We just did exactly that after an extensive refit of our J/109, and even managed to talk the insurance company into an agreed value, (rather than actual cash value) that’s substantially higher than un-refitted sister ships of the same age sell for (25-35%).
We were also able to keep the insured value of the M&R 56 at an agreed value at least double what the typical >40-year-old aluminum boat would sell for by keeping the underwriter (and broker) informed annually of all maintenance and upgrades and providing a detailed report on both refits.
Point being that insurance company stated rules are not set in stone. They will bend them if the business case is compelling enough.
Refit Report
The secret to this is to provide the insurance company with a professional-looking report on the refit, as we did, including:
