Insurance for boats
Firstly, I am not recommending any particular insurer. It would be illegal for me to do so. Nor are any of the points I make below meant to be an encyclopaedic commentary on all aspects of boat insurance. There are a considerable number of insurers in the market for inland waterways craft. The list below is not, if you'll excuse the pun, fully comprehensive but it should help you to get comparative quotes. Who you choose is entirely your decision.
Insurance for boats on UK inland waterways became compulsory in 1996. You cannot get a licence for your boat without proof of a current policy. Most, if not all, marinas will require insurance cover if you rent one of their moorings. You can opt for third party only, which must cover a minimum liability of £1 million. Third Party is cheap, but of course should anything happen to your boat (and look at what happened in the floods of summer 2007 to some river moorers) you may live to regret not taking out fully comprehensive cover. Like many things in life, you have to assess the risk yourself and choose accordingly.
Fully comprehensive insurance is probably the choice of most boaters, and there are some keenly competitive premiums on offer these days. It pays to shop around. You may also want to look closely at the terms and conditions - particularly the contents insurance aspect. If you have home insurance, then you may find that much of what you have is already covered - bicycle, camera, jewellery etc. But if a boat is your home then contents insurance becomes an important factor and the extent of cover can vary considerably. Frequently the amount covered is limited to a percentage of the boat's insured value, and also contents such as cameras, bicycles etc are only covered whilst they are on the boat. Which means if your camera or bicycle gets pinched whilst you are out with it it won't be covered. Check the policy carefully.
