Boat insurance NZ: compare cover from the main insurers

Boat insurance isn't compulsory in New Zealand, but most marinas require liability cover and a lender will want the boat insured. At least six insurers sell boat cover, direct or through brokers. Compare four things: agreed or market value, the liability limit, how far offshore you're covered, and what counts as theft security.

Trailer boats and launches berthed at the Outboard Boating Club marina, Auckland, from the air — Image: Bjankuloski06, Wikimedia Commons, cropped · CC BY 4.0

At least six insurers sell boat cover in New Zealand, direct or through a broker. They differ more than the premium suggests. One pays an agreed value and another pays market value. Liability limits run from $5 million to $10 million. One won’t pay a theft claim if the trailer was secured only with a padlock and chain, and others add an extra excess of $1,000 to $2,500.

This page compares the policies from their own wordings, as of 23 October 2026. We don’t rank insurers or tell you which to buy. The right policy depends on your boat, where you keep it and how you use it.

Who insures boats in NZ?

Who sells boat insurance in NZ, checked 23 October 2026
Insurer	How you buy	Value basis	Liability limit
AMI	By phone	Market value, or sum insured if less	$5 million property, $1 million injury
Mariner	Direct online, or through boat dealers	Agreed value	$10 million
MAS	Direct, for MAS members	Current value up to the sum insured	$10 million property, $1 million injury
Tower	Direct online or by phone	Market value or sum insured, whichever is less	$5 million
Trade Me Insurance	Direct online	Market value or sum insured, whichever is less	$5 million
Vero Marine	Through a broker or adviser	Agreed or market value, as the schedule shows	$10 million, including wreck removal

Full comparison: underwriter, area, boats, extras and theft rules

Insurer	Underwriter	Area	Boats	Notable extras	Theft security	Source
AMI	IAG New Zealand	200 nautical miles of mainland NZ	Launches, yachts, dinghies, jet skis	Rods, dive gear and other water sports gear $1,000 per event; personal effects no longer covered; new for old on a total loss within 24 months of buying new	Items stolen from an unattended boat are covered only if secured, taken with the boat or after forced entry	AMI boat insurance policy wording (AMI0067/8 12/25)
Mariner	Vero Insurance NZ (Mariner is an underwriting agency of Vero)	200 nautical miles of the North and South Islands	Trailer boats, launches, yachts, jet skis, kayaks and paddle craft, jet boats	Emergency towing after a breakdown $2,000 a year with no excess; personal effects $1,000 (trailer boats); racing extension for sails and rigging	Trailer boats and unattended jet skis need a locked recognised security device; a padlock and chain doesn't count	Mariner Trailered Craft and Moored/Berthed policy wordings (02-2023) and policy benefits summary
MAS	Medical Insurance Society (MAS)	Anywhere in NZ; optional extension to Australia and the South Pacific	Trailer boats, runabouts, dinghies, kayaks, moored yachts and launches, jet skis, jet boats	Personal effects $500 an item, $2,500 an event; towing after breakdown $500	Outboards must be locked to the boat or stored securely; boats stored unsecured carry an extra $1,750 theft excess	MAS Boat Insurance Policy (1 July 2026)
Tower	Tower	200 nautical miles of the North and South Islands	Runabouts, launches and cruisers, yachts, trailer sailers, jet skis, off-beach dinghies	Emergency rescue and repairs $25,000; new for old on a total loss within 3 years of buying new; optional trailer and fishing gear cover; 10% off for Coastguard members (from 13 April 2026)	Extra $1,000 excess if stolen from the trailer without a recognised anti-theft device; padlocks, chains and cables don't count	Tower Boat Comprehensive policy wording (BOAT-COMP-09-24)
Trade Me Insurance	Tower	200 nautical miles	Runabouts, launches, yachts, trailer sailers, small sailboats, jet skis	Same policy structure as Tower (TMI-BOAT-COMP-09-24)	As Tower	Trade Me Insurance Boat Comprehensive policy wording (TMI-BOAT-COMP-09-24)
Vero Marine	Vero Insurance NZ	200 nautical miles of the North and South Islands	Trailer boats, launches, sailboats, jet skis, dinghies, amphibious boats	Rescue and removal $25,000; towing afloat $2,000 with no excess; optional fishing and diving gear cover	Extra $2,500 excess if a trailer boat or trailer is stolen unattended and unsecured	Vero Pleasurecraft policy wording (October 2022)

State no longer sells boat insurance; existing policies continue. AMI is the IAG brand that sells boat cover direct. Source
Club Marine stopped writing new policies and renewals from 1 December 2020, after Allianz left New Zealand. Source
NZI (IAG) sells marine pleasurecraft cover through brokers only. Source
Brokers Gallagher and Baileys arrange boat cover with several insurers. Baileys' online quote doesn't cover boats 50 years or older. Source
Quashed has a boat insurance information page but doesn't compare boat quotes. Source

Two insurers people often look for are gone. State no longer sells boat insurance; AMI sells IAG’s boat cover direct. Club Marine, long the best-known name in NZ boat insurance, stopped writing and renewing policies in December 2020. Its pages still turn up in search results.

What to compare

The premium is the easiest thing to compare, and the least useful on its own. These are the differences that decide how a claim goes, roughly in order of how much they matter.

Agreed value or market value?

An agreed value policy pays the sum you and the insurer agreed at the start if the boat is written off, with no argument about depreciation. A market value policy pays what the boat was worth just before the loss. That’s usually less than you paid, and it may be less than the sum insured on your certificate.

Mariner pays agreed value. Tower, Trade Me Insurance and AMI pay market value or the sum insured, whichever is less, and MAS pays current value. Vero Marine policies can be either, as the schedule shows. With agreed value, the total-loss payout is set when the policy starts. With market value, it depends on a valuation after the loss, which can be harder to settle for an older boat.

Liability limit

Liability cover pays if your boat damages someone else’s boat, property or person, or if you’re legally required to remove a wreck. The direct insurers cover $5 million (Tower, Trade Me Insurance, AMI) or $10 million (Mariner, MAS, Vero). Check this against your marina’s rules: Westhaven now requires $10 million on new berth agreements.

How far offshore you’re covered

Most policies cover you within 200 nautical miles of the North and South Islands. MAS covers anywhere in New Zealand and offers an extension for trips to Australia and the South Pacific. Heading to the Kermadecs, or further, needs a conversation with the insurer before you leave.

Theft security

Mariner and Tower say a padlock and chain isn’t a recognised security device. Tower adds an extra $1,000 excess if a boat is stolen from its trailer without one, MAS adds $1,750 for boats stored unsecured, and Vero adds $2,500. Most insurers want a coupling lock or wheel clamp. Outboards usually need to be locked to the boat.

Fishing gear, electronics and personal effects

Rods, reels, dive gear and electronics add up quickly, and cover for them is often small or optional. AMI covers water sports gear up to $1,000 per event and no longer covers personal effects. Tower and Vero sell fishing gear cover as an option. If your gear is worth more than a few hundred dollars, check the limit, and whether you can add cover.

The rest

Trailer: some policies include the trailer, others make it an option.
Excess: set in your schedule, not the published wording, so compare it on the quote. Watch for extra excesses: Tower has them for jet ski water damage and drivers under 25.
Racing: social yacht racing is usually included; serious racing is an extension with its own excess.
Towing and rescue: Mariner and Vero pay up to $2,000 for towing after a breakdown with no excess. Tower pays up to $25,000 for emergency rescue and repairs.
Breakdown: a mechanical or electrical breakdown on its own isn’t covered. Tower excludes it unless it follows a loss it has accepted. Vero excludes breakdown within a system but covers the damage it causes to the rest of the boat, such as a wiring fault that starts a fire.
New for old: Tower and AMI replace a new boat with a new one if it’s written off within 3 years (Tower) or 24 months (AMI) of buying it new.

How much does boat insurance cost?

Insurers don’t publish prices, because they price each boat. Mariner has published its own rough figures (September 2026):

Boat	Mariner’s indication
$50,000 trailer boat	$500 to $600 a year
$100,000 boat	$800 to $900 a year
$500,000 launch	$2,800 to $3,000 a year

These are one insurer’s indications, not quotes. Your premium depends on:

the boat’s value, type and age
where it’s kept: on a trailer at home, on a swing mooring or in a marina berth
how far and how fast you go (jet skis and fast boats cost more)
your experience, boating courses and claims history
the excess you choose: a higher excess means a lower premium

Ways to bring it down. Fit a recognised trailer lock and keep the boat out of sight. Tower takes 10% off for current Coastguard members, which it started on 13 April 2026. Mariner says it “may recognise” boating courses such as Coastguard Boating Education’s Day Skipper. Choosing a higher excess also lowers the premium, as long as you could pay it.

Jet ski and PWC insurance

Mariner, Tower, Trade Me Insurance, AMI, MAS and Vero all cover jet skis. Read the theft and water damage terms closely. Mariner won’t cover theft of an unattended jet ski without a locked security device. Tower charges a $5,000 excess for water getting into the engine, and AMI excludes water ingestion damage. In Auckland, Northland, Bay of Plenty and Waikato the jet ski also has to be registered, separately from any insurance.

Do you need boat insurance in NZ?

Not by law. Maritime NZ’s insurance rules (Marine Protection Rules Part 102) cover only tankers and ships of 400 gross tonnes or more. But you’ll often need it anyway:

Marinas require liability cover. Westhaven, Auckland: $10 million liability per event (new berth agreements from 30 September 2026); Gulf Harbour: at least $5 million third-party liability ($10 million recommended); Nelson Marina: at least $5 million third-party cover, with proof before or on arrival.
Lenders normally require a boat they’ve financed to be insured. See our boat loan calculator.
Wreck removal can cost you anyway. Under the Maritime Transport Act, a regional council can make you remove a sunken boat that’s a hazard to navigation, or remove it and recover the cost from you as a debt. Liability cover usually includes wreck removal.

Without cover, you carry all of that yourself, plus the cost of the boat.

How to make a claim

Most boat claims aren’t sinkings. Tower’s figures show what actually goes wrong:

Tower claims to December 2022, reported by Boating NZ (June 2023)
Cause	Share of claims
Underwater impact	44.6%
Out of the water or on the trailer	23.6%
Storm	7%
Mechanical	5.4%
Theft	5%

When something happens:

Make it safe and stop further damage. Policies cover reasonable costs of preventing more loss (Mariner and AMI up to 25% of the sum insured).
Photograph everything before it’s moved or repaired: the damage, the scene, any other boat involved.
Report theft to Police and get a file number.
Tell your insurer quickly, and don’t authorise repairs or admit liability first.
Keep receipts for towing, storage and anything you pay for.

Under the Insurance Council’s Fair Insurance Code, members should acknowledge a claim within 5 business days and decide within 10 business days of having the information they need. If you can’t settle a dispute with the insurer, use its complaints process. If the dispute isn’t resolved within 2 months, take it to the free Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman or Financial Services Complaints Ltd, whichever scheme your insurer belongs to.

From the boat ramp

We gathered tips and advice from real Kiwi boaties on choosing boat insurance, and what happened when they claimed.

Ask who underwrites it. “Who do you insure with?” is the question boaties ask each other most, and there’s no clear favourite: the same insurer gets praise and complaints. Several brokers’ policies sit with the same insurer, so check who actually carries the risk before you switch.
Most claims go smoothly. Boaties describe stolen boats paid out without fuss and a stolen outboard replaced with a new one inside three weeks. When a claim goes badly, it’s usually an argument about the boat’s value, not a refusal.
Know whether you’re on market value. The biggest regret is a total loss that paid only what the boat was worth, not the figure on the policy. One renewal quietly moved motors over five years old to market value. A big refit on an older launch may barely shift its insured value, so get an independent valuation or survey afterwards.
Expect a survey on an older hull. Boats around 20 years or older are often asked for a seaworthiness survey before cover, though not by every insurer. Boaties mention survey quotes from about $500 to $2,500 or more.
Tell the insurer where the boat lives. One boatie’s excess jumped from $500 to $5,000 for a boat kept at a part-time holiday home. Swing moorings are harder to insure online; a broker says they can usually be covered by referral, though some spots are declined.
Check the offshore limit on your schedule. One boatie found their trailer boat cover stopped 50 km out and changed insurer. The current wordings we read all go to 200 nautical miles, but confirm yours.
What boaties say they pay: about 0.6% to 1.3% of the sum insured for trailer boats worth $30,000 to $140,000, with excesses of $250 to $1,000. Jet skis cost noticeably more for their value. Most of those figures are a few years old, so expect to pay more now.

The premium is the easy bit to compare. The fine print is what matters when something goes wrong: whether you need a clamp on your trailer, whether your rods are covered, and how far offshore you’re allowed to go. Read your policy carefully, or get advice from an insurance broker with marine experience.

Sean Lewis, fishspecies.nz

How we compared

We read each insurer’s current policy wording and website on 23 October 2026, and list the version of each wording in the sources below. The insurers are in alphabetical order. We don’t take payment from any of them, and none of the links on this page earns us money (how fishspecies.nz is funded). Insurers change their wordings, so check the current policy before you buy. We review this page every quarter.

Questions

Is boat insurance compulsory in NZ?

No law requires a recreational boat to be insured. Marinas usually do: Westhaven requires $10 million liability cover on new berth agreements, and Gulf Harbour and Nelson Marina require at least $5 million. A lender will normally want a boat it has financed insured too.

What is the cheapest boat insurance in NZ?

There's no single cheapest insurer. The price depends on the boat's value, type and age, where it's kept, your experience and claims history. Get quotes from at least two or three insurers for the same cover, and compare the excess, theft conditions and liability limit as well as the premium.

Which is the best boat insurance in NZ?

That depends on your boat and how you use it, so we don't rank insurers. Compare whether the policy pays an agreed or market value, the liability limit ($5 million or $10 million), how far offshore you can go, and what the policy says about theft security, fishing gear and trailers.

What's the difference between agreed value and market value?

Agreed value pays the sum you and the insurer agreed when the policy started if the boat is written off. Market value pays what the boat was worth just before the loss, which can be less than you expected for an older boat. Some policies let you choose.

Does boat insurance cover my fishing gear?

Often only up to a small limit, or only if you add it. AMI covers rods and dive gear up to $1,000 per event. Tower and Vero offer fishing gear cover as an option. Check the limit against what your rods, reels and electronics are worth.

Can I insure an older boat?

Yes. None of the policy wordings we read sets a maximum boat age, though a market value policy will pay less as the boat ages. Baileys' online quote doesn't cover boats 50 years or older, so a very old boat may need a broker.

Sources (15)