Hull and superstructure · mooring · inspection
Houseboat insurance for private individuals through OOM Verzekeringen
A houseboat is your home, but in law it is not a house. That difference determines which insurance you need and which damage is never paid.
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Deze pagina in het Nederlands: Woonbootverzekering voor particulieren via OOM Verzekeringen.
The calculator and the quote form below are in Dutch. Prefer to do this in English? Email info@finassverzekert. nl or call 072 - 509 24 56 and we will take it from there.
Work out for yourself what it would cost.
Enter your details; you will receive a proposal within one working day.
- We compare the offerings of several insurers
- An adviser checks whether the cover suits your situation
- We arrange the switch, including cancellation
A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
OOM Verzekeringen is one of the parties Finass works with for unusual items. We act as an intermediary and compare several insurers objectively. The choice follows from the item and its use. This company's wider range is set out at the overview page. If you let the houseboat or use it commercially, the business version is the right route; general information can be found at insuring a houseboat.
A houseboat consists of two parts, each with its own risk: the floating body or hull of concrete or steel, and the structure in which you live. With a concrete hull, cracking, water absorption and settling are the points to watch. With a steel hull it is corrosion on the outside and at the through-hull fittings. Both forms of deterioration are gradual and are therefore excluded as such. What insurers do is prescribe a periodic inspection in which the houseboat is taken out of the water and the hull assessed. If that period expires without an inspection, a later leak may fall outside the cover.
The second point is the mooring. Your cover is bound up with the permit for that place, the condition of the jetty and the way the houseboat is moored or anchored. The connections to the shore also count: water, electricity, drainage and sometimes gas run over or under the water and are vulnerable to frost, drifting ice and damage from passing vessels. Have it recorded how far cover on those services runs, because the boundary between your property and the operator's is rarely obvious.
This page deals with one situation. The full overview is on Compare pleasure craft insurance.
What to look out for
Four points that are different on a houseboat from a house on land.
Liability as owner
If a jetty plank breaks or a loose part of the superstructure falls on a passer-by, you are liable. If the houseboat is permanently connected to the bank and can therefore be treated as immovable, Article 6:174 of the Dutch Civil Code on defective structures comes into play, with strict liability for the possessor. If the houseboat remains movable, it runs through Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code. Have it established which classification applies, because that also determines whether buildings insurance or vessel insurance is the right form.
Contents are not part of the houseboat
Furniture, equipment, clothing and electronics fall under separate contents cover, just as in a house on land. The claims picture does differ: rising damp, condensation against a cold steel wall and water damage from below occur more often here. Compare the conditions with ordinary home contents insurance and note the cover for damp and mould damage.
Damage that falls outside the policy
Outside the cover are corrosion, concrete rot, osmosis, wood rot and gradual water absorption of the hull, damage from a prescribed inspection or dry-docking not carried out, damage caused by flooding and breach of a dyke, and letting or commercial use of the houseboat as holiday accommodation without separate cover. In addition, moving or towing to another mooring is usually covered only after prior notification. Damage caused intentionally falls under the exclusion in Article 7:952 of the Dutch Civil Code.
Frost, drifting ice and the winter period
Ice scouring the hull, frozen pipes in the crawl space of the superstructure and a burst water supply from the shore are recurring winter claims. Some of it is covered as a sudden event, some is not where you took no precautions, such as keeping the heating on and lagging external pipes. Ask what measures the policy requires of you and record them.
What does your premium depend on?
- Material and age of the hull: concrete, steel or a combination, and the year of build
- Rebuild value of the superstructure: including kitchen, bathroom and fixed installations
- Condition according to the inspection report: and the date on which the next inspection falls due
- Mooring and permit: municipal or provincial mooring, and the surroundings
- Connections to the shore: water, electricity, drainage and the length of the run
- Use: permanent main residence, second home or temporarily empty
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is where your saving is.
What is covered
| Situation | Basic | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| Fire in the superstructure caused by a short circuit in the meter cupboard | Yes | Yes |
| The houseboat fills with water after a through-hull fitting cracks in the frost | No | Provided that |
| A passing cargo vessel strikes the houseboat and crushes the railing | No | Yes |
| Drifting ice scours the coating off the steel hull | No | No |
| The concrete hull has absorbed water over the years and the houseboat is listing | No | No |
| A burglary in the superstructure while you are away for a week | No | Provided that |
A sudden event is insured and a process taking years is not. On a houseboat that line runs below the waterline.
Frequently asked questions
This is what people ask us most.
Is a houseboat a dwelling or a vessel?
That depends on the construction and on how permanently the houseboat is connected to the bank. A houseboat connected to utilities and not intended to be navigated is more likely to be treated as immovable than a live-aboard vessel with an engine. The classification determines the registration, the basis of liability and whether cover is written in a buildings form or a vessel form.
Why does the insurer require a periodic inspection?
Because the hull is the only part you cannot see, while it is where the heaviest damage arises. During dry-docking the concrete thickness, cracking or the condition of the steel is assessed and recommendations follow. If you do not carry them out, the insurer can rely on deferred maintenance after a later leak. Keep the report and the invoices for any repairs with the policy.
Am I covered if the houseboat is towed to another mooring?
Only after prior notification. Towing is an operation with its own risk profile: the houseboat was not built to be navigated, the superstructure can distort and the connections have to be released. Many policies require a transit clause for that day, and the towing service also has its own liability. Arrange this before the lines are cast off, not after there is damage.
What do I have to declare when taking out the policy?
The construction and year of build of the hull, the date and outcome of the last inspection, the mooring and the permit situation, alterations to the superstructure and the actual use. Article 7:928 of the Dutch Civil Code sets out that duty of disclosure; if a circumstance is missing that would have led to different terms, the payout may be reduced under Article 7:930 DCC.
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