Selling a Boat: Insurance and Cancellation

Ownership

Cancelling insurance when selling a boat

Keep cover in force from the day you list the boat through to the day risk passes.
Tell your insurer if the boat will be hauled for survey or taken out for a sea trial.
Establish from the contract exactly when risk passes to the buyer.
Cancel in writing, effective that date — not the date the deal was agreed.
Provide the sale evidence and ask for the pro-rata refund to be confirmed.
Release any financier's interest noted on the policy as part of the same process.

Why the buyer needs a separate policy

Marine policies are written on the owner as well as the vessel, so a sale ends your policy and the buyer arranges their own. Any suggestion that cover simply carries over should be treated with suspicion. This is different from noting an additional interest or adding a joint owner, both of which are amendments to an existing policy rather than transfers of it.

Boat records to transfer or retain

Item	Hand over	Keep a copy
Survey reports	Yes — it supports the sale	Yes
Maintenance and service records	Yes	Yes
Rigging replacement invoices	Yes	Yes
Registration and transfer papers	Yes	Yes
Your policy documents and claims history	No	Yes
Equipment inventory and serial numbers	Yes, for what is included	Yes

Keep your own claims history: your next insurer will ask about it, and a documented claim-free record is worth having in a form you can produce.

Selling a boat with an open claim

Tell the buyer and tell your insurer. An open claim on a vessel changing hands needs resolving explicitly — who is entitled to the settlement, whether repairs are completed before handover, and how the sale price accounts for it. Leaving it implicit is how sale disputes start.

Condition is what decides marine claims

Almost every declined marine claim is an argument that a failure was gradual rather than sudden. The records you keep are what answers it.

How to make a claim

General information onlyThe information on sailboatinsurance.com.au is general educational information only. It may be wrong, incomplete or out of date, and you should not rely on it as a substitute for the current policy documents or professional advice. It does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and is not personal financial product advice. Insurance cover depends on the actual policy wording, Product Disclosure Statement, certificate of insurance, endorsements, exclusions, limits, sub-limits and underwriting decisions that apply to your vessel. Always read the current policy documents before buying, renewing or changing cover. For legal, financial or insurance advice about your own circumstances, consider speaking with an appropriately licensed professional.