Sabre 27 Insurance
Some Guidelines for Boat Owners

All boat owners need to have insurance if entering any harbours or marinas. While even a good Sabre 27 may be worth only a few thousand pounds, if it were to collide with an expensive yacht on a mooring, in a marina or queuing for fuel, the owner could be faced with an enormous bill. The SA27OA is not obliged to enforce any such guidelines, but strongly recommends that owners consider this important subject. While there are many others available, the Committee recommends two companies for Fully Comprehensive and 3rd Party cover.

Fully Comprehensive Cover with GJW DIRECT
www.gjwdirect.com – Telephone: 0151 473 8000

SA27OA has a long association with GJW who offer a good service for those seeking comprehensive cover.  Here is an overview of GJW’s requirements:

  • Effective 2020, GJW’s policy has been that any vessel over 30 years old must have a survey every 10 years as a prerequisite to their offer of Comprehensive cover.
  • In the 5 years since this policy was introduced, there may have been an apparent variance in the ’10 year requirement’ depending on ‘a range of underwriting factors’ including date of last survey, vessel’s condition, declared value and history of any claims.
  • While some SA27OA members may have had other interpretations as a result of their individual dealings with different staff at GJW, the summary above is the way they are implementing their policy from now on.
  • ‘Owners Questionnaires’ previously supplied by GJW for owners to assess their boat’s condition are No Longer in use.
  • GJW does NOT offer cover for 3rd party risks only.
    The annual cost of an annual comprehensive premium will depend on specific circumstances and may vary from year to year.
  • As a current rule of thumb, it should be in the order of approximately £200 – £240 depending on individual circumstances.

Claims Procedure. GJW’s claims procedure has been tried and tested by the SA27OA and involved a tender being stolen from a south coast sailing club dinghy park. It was straight forward process with no quibbles and lead to a quick and satisfactory resolution.

What are the benefits of a survey, what is involved and what are the likely costs?

Advantages

  1. Reassurance of someone else’s eyes examining your own boat maintenance.
  2. You should receive a realistic settlement if your boat was written off (regardless of blame) so consider how much it is worth to you.
  3. Were you to sell your boat, the resale value is likely to be enhanced if you have a current survey in place.


Disadvantages

  1. Short term costs for the survey.
  2. Costs of replacing any parts which are found wanting during the survey.
  3. Considerable preparation time.

In outline: In essence, you could compare a boat survey to your car’s MOT test. The difference is that the MOT costing £50 takes a 12 month view on a vehicle’s roadworthiness, whereas a boat survey costing nearer £500 takes a 10 year view with an emphasis on sea worthiness and safety.

Preparation. In preparing, try and make life as easy as possible for the surveyor. Make sure your boat is clean and tidy and that access to all areas is as straight forward as possible. The surveyor will need access to the engine bay, cockpit lockers, bilges, saloon and anchor lockers and all sea cocks (engine/heads/galley). Try and remove as much ‘junk’ as possible because the surveyor will not enjoy doing it for you and his time will cost you. Remove any of your treasured out of date items; if you wish you can always put them back afterwards!

Surveyor’s areas of interest. Our recent experience is that a qualified marine surveyor conducting a boatyard survey spends a good deal of time ‘under the boat’ taking readings for osmosis and checking the stern gland, rudder and bearings and condition of propeller. Up on deck the focus is on safety. Any broken wire strands on shrouds/stays could be a cause for concern with new standing rigging costing approximately £1,800- £2,000. The gas system must be sound (a current gas certificate is a definite advantage) with particular emphasis on drainage/ventilation in the gas locker. Armoured gas pipes and the regulator must be ‘in date’. So too must fire extinguishers and emergency flares. The condition of sails, halyards will be checked along with the anchor and chain and all deck and navigation lights. Most Sabre owners will treat all the above points as ‘routine maintenance’ but a good spring clean is essential in making the surveyor’s task as agreeable as possible.

Cost. The survey cost could be in the region of £500 but if other expensive, updates, repairs or maintenance need attending to, it could be beyond the reach of many members. While safety is key to all of us, costs may lead many owners to take the third party option where ‘running surveys’ or routine maintenance are an individual’s business.

Third Party Insurance – The Basic Boat Liability Company www.basic-boat.com – Telephone 03333 3219430

The main advantages of third party insurance are reduced costs and no need for a survey resulting in a much cheaper outlay. The financial risk which the owner must bear is losing the value of their vessel if, in a worst case scenario, their boat was written off. Insurance companies seem to have become more risk averse recently and less inclined to insure old boats, and this is where the Basic Boat Liability Company’s (BBLC) offer may be attractive. It covers the requirement to have third party cover and wreck removal. The Company is based in Kent and their office staff are particularly helpful in handling telephone enquiries. This company is recommended by one of our committee members, with the caveat that he has never had to test their claims procedure.  Nevertheless, it appears to be sound and there is nothing on the internet to suggest otherwise.

As at 1 September 2025, there are three distinct flat rates as follows:

From September 1st 2025
Flat Rates
Rate 1 - £81.50
Cover is for ‘inland’ waters ie not suitable for the sea but suitable for boats laid up ashore.?
Rate 2 - £92.00
Coastal sailing up to 12 miles off UK coastline.?
Rate 3 - £99.68
EU (and racing) cover. Area covered is north to the River Elbe and south to La Rochelle.?
RYA DiscountA 10% discount applies on all rates for anybody who is a member of the RYA and for anybody insuring a second boat!?

Notes:

  1. All rates are for 3rd Party insurance cover only.
  2. Wreckage removal up to £50,000 and indemnity of £5 million is included.
  3. No survey is necessary but an owner’s ‘declaration of sea worthiness’ is required.
  4. Tenders are covered so long as they are used as such.
  5. Additional features: customers applying for insurance on line can also request personal accident cover (additional charge of £21.22) and legal cover (£14.70).

Claims Procedure. To date we have no record of a claim being pursued by a Sabre owner. Should any SA27OA member have experience of a claim with BBLC, please feel free to notify any member of the committee.

Summary

The SA27OA strongly recommends that members take out the correct level of insurance for their needs. In this short piece we offer two options, 3rd Party only for those on a budget and Fully Comprehensive for those who wish to protect their investment. There are many other insurance companies on the market but we have focused on two with whom our committee members have direct and satisfactory experience. We would be delighted to hear from any members who wish to share their own insurance related experiences.

Rory Steevenson
‘SMUGGLER’
Commodore 
SA27OA
September 2025

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