Happy New Year to you all. We hope your excitement levels are bubbling away whilst you think of fulfilling your plans for this boating season. Whether that’s an oceanic cruise, enjoying life in local waters or simply kicking back and enjoying peace and tranquility with the odd tipple whilst on board for the odd day trip, we hope you have something you’re looking forward to.
So what are the topics that are dominating the boat insurance landscape into 2024 and likely to make an impact.
Inflation
The good news (although we’re saying it quietly) is that inflation appears to be on a downward trajectory globally. The last two years have seen big double digit rises which have fed through to the costs of parts and labour. Some marine repairers were putting time limits on their estimates simply because they couldn’t guarantee the costs of parts would remain constant. We expect this to continue to ease in 2024. Why is this important for sailors and their boat insurance? Quite simply, all marine insurers adjust their premiums to account for inflationary pressures within their loss models. When inflation is low, it means there is a greater stability in pricing.
Lithium Batteries
There’s been hundreds if not thousands of articles on how lithium batteries are affecting the modelling used by Insurers in all classes to predict future loss levels. Trends within the boat insurance world are emerging to show that toys such as scooters, bikes, marine toys alongside charging issues are the main cause of catastrophic fires on boats. Boat fires on larger yachts always tend to make the news but even at the smaller end of the market there has been a notable increase in the number of total losses. Remember, boat fires tend to be horrific and a significant danger to life. There’s been good guidance published by British Marine and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency if you are looking for some detailed advice on best practices.
And the Upside
It’s not all doom and gloom. There are some interesting developments going on in the world of risk management for boats. Technology is allowing almost all systems to be monitored and if this can lead to even modest reduction in claims made or claims severity there will be a positive impact for all. We’re looking forward to how the Internet of Things (IoT) and Boat Insurers combine to ultimately lead to safer boating for all of us.
The boating world also has a fantastic number of initiatives aimed at better materials, fuels and generally reducing our impact on the environment. We’ll be taking a closer look at these in 2024.
Whether you’re ticking off your winter jobs to get your vessel ready for the upcoming season, heading to a new destination that you’ve had on your bucket list, or simply looking to enjoy a few days on the water we hope all your boating dreams come true in 2024 and wish you all safe passage. If you would like to discuss your boat insurance with our team, please get in touch.
