If your boat insurance is just another of those bills that plays on your mind at the start of the season, perhaps you need to pay it a bit more attention. Colin Jones reports.

I am a bit lazy about money. I tend to let every direct debit settle itself and then file the certificate without much scrutiny. This is a compliment to my insurance company. I have been with them for 20 years and they have been excellent. When a charter boat managed to dent us to the tune of £8,000, the boat was laid up ashore for a couple of years - and they reduced the premium without me having to ask.

Good service merits loyalty, but it still pays to have a look around, not only at companies and rates, but also to learn what other people are doing. I spent a couple of hours on boating forums and it turned up hundreds of threads about insurance. They ranged from tales of gloom and malpractice, to others of satisfaction and some new ideas on how to get the best value for money. This article is an amalgam of my own experience, plus that of others, spiced up with dozens of telephone calls to marine insurance companies and some very telling conversations with their representatives.

To read the full report pick up the January 2011 issue of Sports Boat and RIB or subscribe here.