Boat survey vs insurance

[bubles]

Hi,
I am about to buy a sailboat and am currently looking for surveyors. I realised that some surveyors differentiate between 'pre-purchase' and 'insurance'. What does this mean? If I pay for a pre-purchase insurance am I going to have to have a second ('insurance') survey in order to get an insurance?
Do all insurers request such a survey?
Thanks

 

[pvb]

Insurers might or might not want a survey. If you're getting a survey anyway, just ask your surveyor if he'll also provide a report for your insurers if needed, based on his inspection of the boat.

 

[Tranona]

Your chosen surveyor will tell you the difference between the two. an insurer is only interested in three things. Does the boat exist, is it basically seaworthy and is the value you are placing on it reasonable.

If you are buying a boat your surveyor is looking at whether the boat is as described and there are no hidden faults. this requires a much more thorough inspection and therefore a higher price. However the incremental cost is relatively small so it makes sense to have this as it will also serve your insurers needs as well.

 

[jwilson]

A pre-purchase survey is designed to tell you (in theory) absolutely everything that is wrong with the boat. Insurers are normally happy to accept this but will put a rider on the policy such as "... warranted that all survey recomendations are carried out ...."

Now what that means is that your policy could be invalid if you don't follow every one of the surveyors recommendations. I was reading a pre-purchase survey report yesterday, and the "recommendations" included fitting a charcoal filter to the galley water tap supply, buying a liferaft, and various other points that although very good suggestions had no possible relevance to the boat as an insurable risk. If a surveyor recommended painting a dull GRP hull finish, as well he might, that would need to be done, though it would have no possible insurability relevance.

An insurance survey is generally less detailed than a pre-purchase survey, and will usually be careful to only "recommend" genuinely safety-of-the-boat items of work. It will also normally give a valuation, which may or may not form part of a pre-purchase survey.

 

[johnlilley]

Cannot speak for other surveyors, but the main difference between insurance & pre-purchase is mainly to do with the fine detail. Both reports will (or should) highlight the same structural & safety aspects with identical wording. When it comes to cosmetics or non essential items that are not quite up to the mark that are not seriously affecting the structure or value to any degree, then, as an owner, you probably already know of every scratch and mark on the boat and do not really need to be reminded of what you already know, (unless an owner states they need everything pointed out) but as a buyer, then you might want to know as much as possible including every scratch and mark so far as is practical along with an idea of the condition of ancillary systems beyond the scope of the safety systems.
John Lilley .