If a boat is written off by an insurer as not financially viable to repair, but is then bought and repaired by an individual (not paying labour costs could make it a viable option), will an insurance company look at the boat any differently when the new owner comes to insure it?

Any thoughts, or previous experiences?

It really does depend on each individual case.

For instance an old Mirror with a hole in one panel could easily be un-economic to repiar commercially and could be considered a write-off by the insurers.  A person with the time and expertise could get this boat back into reasonable condition and I am sure there would be no problem in providing insurance cover.

At the other end of the scale, there could be a boat damaged in such a way (such as a road accident) that the structural integrity of the boat was badly affected.  While the boat could be repaired cosmetically there would always be doubt as to whether the boat is seaworthy and insurers are unlikely to offer any cover in a situation such as this.  Noble Marine would usually ask for a boat to be destroyed and desposed of, if there was any chance that an unsafe boat might end up back on the water.

You should always inform your insurers of any circumstance such as this that may affect your policy.

Jon