United States. Vessels and marine risks
Marine insurance: what drives the cost and what it covers
Marine cover is priced on four things and won or lost on two clauses. The pricing is the vessel, the waters you use, the survey and your experience. The clauses are how a total loss is valued and how far your navigation limits reach, and both are settled at inception and unarguable afterwards. This page sets out what underwriters ask and the terms worth reading before you accept a quote.
Agreed value
or actual cash value; the difference only appears at a total loss, when it is too late
Navigation limits
sail outside them and cover may not respond at all
Survey age
insurers set a maximum, and an out of date survey can suspend cover
Three steps
- Tell us the vessel, where you use it and where it is kept. Two minutes, no account.
- We pass your details to brokers who place marine risks, and to no one else.
- They quote you directly. We place no insurance and give no advice on which cover to take.
Marine Insurance Cost is an independent introducer site operated by Ellul Solutions Ltd. We are not an insurer or a broker and we do not advise, arrange or recommend any policy, cover or firm: we introduce you to insurance brokers by passing your details to them, and they deal with you directly. We may be paid a commission for that introduction by the firm we introduce you to, and it never changes the premium you are quoted. Nothing here is insurance, legal or survey advice. No premium is published on this site because marine risks are rated individually on the vessel, its value, navigation area, use, berthing and the owner's record. Policy terms including valuation basis, navigation limits, survey conditions and deductibles are terms of whichever policy you buy; read the wording rather than relying on any summary, including this one.
What underwriters price a marine risk on, and the terms that decide claims, 2026
Last updated
Marine quotes vary on a small number of inputs and claims turn on a smaller number of clauses. This table separates what moves the premium from what decides whether you are paid.
This table describes how marine cover is rated and structured. It quotes NO premium or rate, because marine risks are priced individually on the vessel, its value, navigation area, use, berthing and the owner's experience and claims record, and no public source sets a market rate. Survey requirements are described as insurer conditions, which vary by insurer and by vessel age, so the table directs you to ask rather than asserting a maximum age. Association references point at marine surveyors' bodies as starting points for finding a qualified surveyor rather than as endorsements. Nothing here is insurance advice.
| Factor or clause | Prices the risk or decides the claim | Why | What to ask, in writing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vessel type, age and value | Prices | Replacement cost and repair complexity | Is the insured value agreed, or actual cash value at loss? |
| Navigation limits | Decides | Cover may not respond outside the stated area | What exactly are my navigation limits, and how are they defined? |
| Lay-up and season | Prices | Reduced exposure out of season | Is a lay-up period assumed, and what am I permitted to do during it? |
| Survey age and findings | Both | An out of date survey can suspend cover | How recent must the survey be, and must recommendations be completed? |
| Owner experience | Prices | Handling a vessel is a learned skill | Do you require any qualification or logged experience? |
| Use, private or charter | Both | Chartering is a materially different risk | Am I permitted to charter, and does that need endorsing? |
| Named windstorm | Decides | Often a separate, larger deductible | What is the windstorm deductible and how is it triggered? |
| Salvage and wreck removal | Decides | Can exceed the hull value on its own | Is wreck removal covered, and at what limit? |
- Agreed value and actual cash value produce different settlements at a total loss, and which applies is fixed at inception.
- Navigation limits define where cover responds, and a passage outside them can leave a vessel effectively uninsured.
- Insurers set a maximum age for a survey, and an out of date survey or uncompleted recommendations can suspend cover.
- Named windstorm deductibles are frequently separate from and larger than the standard deductible.
- Wreck removal and salvage costs can exceed the hull value, so the limit for them matters independently of the vessel's insured value.
Cite this page
“What underwriters price a marine risk on, and the terms that decide claims, 2026”, Marine Insurance Cost, https://marineinsurancecost.com/ (updated 2026-08-15). This table describes how marine cover is rated and structured. It quotes NO premium or rate, because marine risks are priced individually on the vessel, its value, navigation area, use, berthing and the owner's experience and claims record, and no public source sets a market rate. Survey requirements are described as insurer conditions, which vary by insurer and by vessel age, so the table directs you to ask rather than asserting a maximum age. Association references point at marine surveyors' bodies as starting points for finding a qualified surveyor rather than as endorsements. Nothing here is insurance advice.
Guides
The longer answers, with sources.
The questions we get
What drives the cost of marine insurance?
The vessel's type, age and value; where you navigate and where it is kept; how it is used, private or chartered; your experience and claims record; and the survey. We publish no premium, because marine risks are priced individually against those factors and no public source sets a market rate. What is worth more than shopping the premium is checking two clauses: how a total loss is valued, and what your navigation limits are.
What is the difference between agreed value and actual cash value?
An agreed value policy pays the figure stated in the policy at a total loss. An actual cash value policy pays what the vessel was worth at the moment of loss, depreciated and argued, by two parties with opposite incentives valuing a boat neither can now inspect. The premium difference is usually modest and the settlement difference on an older vessel can be very large. Two quotes on different bases are not comparable.
What are navigation limits?
The area within which your cover responds, usually defined by named waters, distance from a coastline or latitude, sometimes varying by season. Sail outside them and cover may not respond at all. Ask for the exact wording rather than a summary, because distance from shore and distance from a safe harbour are different tests, and get an extension before a passage outside the limits rather than hoping afterwards.
Does my insurer need a recent survey?
Usually, and it is often a condition of cover rather than only a pricing input. Insurers commonly require a survey within a set number of years, varying with the vessel's age, and may require that findings marked for rectification are completed by a deadline. Let the survey lapse or leave recommendations outstanding and cover can be suspended or restricted. Keep evidence of completion and send it in.
Is wreck removal covered?
Ask, and ask about the limit separately from the hull value. Salvage and wreck removal costs can exceed what the vessel itself was worth, particularly where a wreck obstructs navigation or sits somewhere difficult, and the obligation to remove it does not disappear because the boat is a total loss. It is a distinct limit and it is worth understanding before you need it.
Does chartering my boat change the cover?
Materially, and it usually needs endorsing. Private pleasure use and chartering are different risks with different exposures and different people at the helm. Using a privately insured vessel for charter without telling the insurer is a straightforward way to have a claim declined. Ask whether charter is permitted and what endorsement is required before you take a booking.
What is a named windstorm deductible?
A separate, and usually larger, deductible applying to losses from named storms, frequently expressed as a percentage of the insured value rather than as a flat sum. It can be a substantial figure on a valuable vessel. Ask what the windstorm deductible is, how it is triggered and whether any lay-up or haul-out conditions reduce it, because those conditions are common in exposed areas.