An insurance survey report is typically a ‘rubber stamp’ for persons renewing their boat insurance. Its purpose is to evaluate the insurability of a vessel. It is, therefore, not as thorough as a proper survey. As for the question of how long does a boat survey last for insurance in Washington D.C., the best answer is between 3 and 5 years. What this means is that you don’t have to get a fresh survey done provided it is less than 5 years old. However, this is not always the case.
When insuring a boat, many insurance companies will require that you provide them with a recent insurance survey report. The purpose of a boat survey report is to help the insurer understand the exact condition of the boat at the time of insuring it as well as its fair market value. While it is easy to assume that a survey report will be valid for five years, there are numerous factors that can change that. It is for this reason that makes an insurer the best person to answer the question of how long does a boat survey last for insurance.
In many cases, you will need to update the survey report if you have made major changes/upgrades to your vessel. This is because an insurance survey should contain details on the exact condition of a boat. If you changed up the layout, upgraded the systems, and made other changes to the vessel, you will be forced to provide a fresh survey report even if the old report is only a couple of months old.
The type of boat you own will also influence how often you have to update the survey report. For example, if you own a wooden vessel, you will be forced to update the survey report more often. In many cases, owners of wooden vessels need to get a new insurance survey done once every 2 to 3 years. This is a common requirement for wooden vessels.
How the vessel is used will also influence how often you need to update the survey report. For example, commercial vessels need to be inspected more often. The same goes for vessels that frequently sail rough waters or haul heavy cargo.
As you can see, the answer to the question of how long an insurance survey report is valid depends on a number of things. To be on the safe side, it is always good to reach out to your insurer and ask how often you will need to update your insurance survey report.
How Long Does a Boat Survey Last for Insurance