How much does boat insurance cost?

How much you’ll pay to insure your boat depends on a few important factors. The most significant ones are:

• What type of boat it is: for example, trailer boat, racing yacht, luxury launch, jetski.
• How much you paid for the boat, as that will give us an idea of its current value.
• How big it is. As a general rule, the bigger the boat, the more it will cost to insure.
• The vessel’s age and construction type, as this may affect the cost and difficulty of repairing it.
• Where it is stored —at home on a trailer, at a hardstand, in a marina or on a swing mooring.
• The skipper’s boating experience and claims history. If you’ve been good on the water, we’ll be good to you!

The good news is, boat insurance in New Zealand is a lot cheaper than insuring a car. As a guide, a trailer boat worth $50,000 costs around $520 per year to insure, compared to a $50,000 car which might cost around $1380. 

Likewise, a $100,000 trailer boat might cost around $850 to insure each year, compared to almost twice that for a car of the same value. 

And a $500,000 launch costs around $2900 per year to insure, compared to around $4600 for a similarly priced car. Yet another reason to go boating!

Looking for the right cover on the water in New Zealand in 2021?

No matter what your plans are on the water in 2022, Mariner Insurance is here to support you. We have been offering Kiwis specialist marine insurance in New Zealand for over a decade with cover for all types of boats and watercraft. Just talk to us about what you’re doing on the water, and we can tailor one of our insurance policies to fit.