Houseboat Insurance

Houseboat Insurance – Compare Cheap Quotes

If you own a houseboat that you use to navigate the UK’s inland waterways then houseboat insurance is usually mandatory. In most cases you won’t be issued with your waterways licence until you can provide proof that you have houseboat insurance.

However, just because this type of insurance is required doesn’t mean you should pay an arm and a leg for it. By using our boat insurance comparison system to compare houseboat insurance quotes you stand a better chance of finding the right policy at the right price.

Does my houseboat have to pass some sort of MOT before I can take out houseboat insurance?

That will usually depend on the age of your houseboat.

If your houseboat is more than 20 years old then most boat insurance specialists will require you to get a Boat Safety Scheme (BSS) examination certificate before they will insure your houseboat.

Newer houseboats that were built less than 20 years ago can sometimes be insured without a BSS examination certificate, although some houseboat owners still have their boat examined and certified anyway in order to make sure the vessel doesn’t have any structural issues.

How much does it cost to insure a houseboat?

It’s difficult to predict how much you’re likely to have to pay to insure your houseboat, because boat insurance providers take a wide range of risk factors into consideration when they are calculating the premium. For instance, the type of houseboat you own, its estimated market value, its make and model, the year it was built, the type of engine it has, where you store or moor it and where you normally sail it can all affect the cost of insuring a houseboat.

The best plan is to use our price comparison service to compare boat insurance quotes from a range of different insurance companies, and then go with the one that offers the best coverage at the best price.

What type of insurance do I need for my houseboat?

Third party boat insurance is usually the minimum requirement if you plan to take your houseboat out on the UK’s inland waterways, and in most places your third party boat insurance policy will need to provide at least £1 million of coverage.

I live on my houseboat – can I insure its contents?

Yes, you can, although boat contents insurance sometimes isn’t included as standard when you take out houseboat insurance so it’s important to double check this before you sign on that dotted line.

It’s usually possible to add this type of contents cover to a more basic boat insurance policy for a small fee, though, and if you live on your houseboat there’s a good chance your vessel will contain a lot of valuable appliances, gadgets, equipment and homeware, so it would be a sensible idea to consider adding it to your policy.