For yachts more than 20 years old you likely will need a survey. BOAT US upped my rate last year and again this year on the renewal.
Not by as much as yours, however. Now that it is run as part of GEICO, it’s not the same company we once had. So I looked around, got a few quotes but all pending a survey, an out-of-water survey except for one. I was also looking to move the boat to a different marina last year and encountered survey requirements for that as well. So, I had the survey done for the marina move, which was in-water so not as much $$, and punted on the insurance change. The change in premium at BOAT US was less than the cost of the full-on survey. Also, I was not finding so much improvement in premiums to justify it. In fact, none. But, I’m not happy with the insurance situation at the moment. In my case the ”Agreed Value” of the policy is a bit less than the (estimated) “Actual Cash Value” of the yacht. So it’s a bit underinsured. My part of the “shared risk of loss”, I suppose. Just trying to keep costs down as much as I can.
Regarding surveys, I’ve yet to have one done that reported anything to me about my boat that I didn’t already know. I’ve done three altogether in 30 yr of boat ownership. I’m not enthusiastic about having them done. With the aging out of the folks who really knew what they were doing, I see them as
not a good value. I’ve not seen evidence that a young person in his 30’s, even 40’s, never a boat owner, can produce a survey worth its price. Just checking boxes off a list. Most of what went into the report of the last one was information I supplied, or that was gotten from spec sheets. It’s really a report designed for a third party, not an owner, IMO.
