Marine Insurers Increasingly Require Digital Maintenance Records

A growing number of UK marine insurers are revising their club fleet policies to place greater weight on documented maintenance and inspection practices — and offering tangible premium benefits for clubs that can demonstrate structured record-keeping.

Insurers including Pantaenius and Craftinsure have updated policy terms to require evidence of regular documented vessel checks for club fleets of five or more motorboats. Policies that previously accepted a verbal assurance of "regular maintenance" now require at minimum a log of inspection dates, items checked, and any defects found and resolved.

What this means for clubs

Clubs with paper-based or informal maintenance records may find renewals more difficult or premiums rising. However, several insurers confirmed they would consider premium reductions of 8–15% for clubs that could provide a digital audit trail covering:

• Pre-use inspection records for each vessel
• A defect and resolution log (open and closed issues)
• Evidence of annual safety equipment servicing
• Incident and near-miss reports filed within 48 hours

Based on industry communications, April 2026. Clubs should verify requirements with their own insurer.