OK, 2009 is history. It's time to look at what changes you made to your vessel recently.
Was there a vessel or engine upgrade? How about ballast changes or additional or rearranged cargo space? Any new onboard gear such as a crane or winch? Did you swap out any electronics? Did you add AIS?
These may seem routine to you, but not to your insurance representative. These are changes which affect the value, handling, and possibly even the manning of a vessel. In the event of an insurance claim you may be on the losing end and may not get fully reimbursed for a loss because your insurance company wasn't aware of any changes. Even worse, something like a new crane could be viewed as making the vessel unstable, resulting in a denial based on an "unseaworthy" condition.
Many vessel owners decide that they want to slightly change the usage of their vessel or vessels. That's fine. However, to avoid denials down the road, you must inform your insurance agent. Mission changes could void the part of the insurance policy known as the trading warranty. If the vessel usage is different than what is shown on the insurance policy, any claim that results from any cause while conducting that unreported "trade" may void the policy.
This applies not only to seagoing vessels.
Recently, a client experienced a total fire loss at his boatyard. The year before the fire the client told me there was approximately $11,000 of contents in the building. Following the blaze, they tallied up the building's contents and reported several hundred thousand dollars of contents destroyed. Oops! Fortunately, when we put the policies together, we made sure to have a blanket property limit. This included all of the buildings plus all contents at their yard in one lump sum (the blanket), so the majority of the claim was paid. It was a close call, and you can bet we are now working with realistic numbers and the client reports changes regularly.
For boatyards that store and service vessels, the yard should know the total value of all vessels in its care, custody and control. An insurance policy called "Ship Repairers Legal Liability" is designed to protect the repairer in case a vessel in its care is somehow damaged. This coverage requires the ship repairer to carry a policy limit of the value of all vessels in its care.