Where’s your purchase receipt?
What’s your hull identification number?
Do you have photos of your boat or even your gear?
For many New Zealand watercraft owners, the answer is no. And that lack of documentation can turn insurance claims, theft recovery, and resale into costly disputes. New Zealanders collectively store tens of thousands of dollars in boats and marine gear with little to no organised documentation. Receipts are lost, serial numbers forgotten, and condition photos never taken. When proof is required, many owners simply can’t provide it.
Insurance dispute bodies consistently report that insufficient proof of ownership or loss is a common reason for delaying or declining claims. The Insurance & Financial Services Ombudsman is clear about where responsibility sits: keep receipts, take photos, record identifiers, and document damage. A significant proportion of general insurance complaints stems from people being unable to adequately prove what they owned or lost.
Research into marine insurance applications shows it can take over 60 minutes per policy to gather basic vessel information that should already exist in an organised form. With around 44,000 new boats sold annually and an estimated 1.6 million recreational vessels in New Zealand, this documentation gap creates unnecessary financial risk for owners and inefficiency for insurers.
The need for organised records hits watercraft owners at three critical moments.
When getting insurance, underwriters commonly ask for hull identification numbers, equipment serial numbers, gear values, and condition photos. Many owners spend the phone call rummaging through old emails, bank statements, and junk drawers.
When making a claim, insurers require proof of what you owned and its condition before the incident. Without dated photos, serial numbers, or receipts, even straightforward claims can become disputes. While insurers may accept alternatives like bank statements, evidence is still required. Without it, claims can stall or fail.
When theft occurs, police need identifying details to list vessels on stolen property databases. NZ Police warn second-hand buyers that if a stolen boat is recovered, it will be confiscated and charges may follow. Police data shows over a thousand boats have been reported stolen in recent years, with recovery rates remaining low. Even when vessels are found, linking them back to owners is difficult if identifying information doesn’t exist.
Launched in 2024, NZ Boat Register provides free digital registration for all recreational watercraft and marine gear, from kayaks and paddleboards to jet skis, yachts, and motorboats. Owners can store photos, serial numbers, service records, and equipment inventories in one secure location. The platform creates structured documentation that aligns with insurer expectations, while giving owners full control over what information they share. “We built this platform to help watercraft owners feel prepared, not panicked,” says Sam Allen, Co-Founder and CEO of NZ Boat Register. “Whether you paddle a kayak or run a motorboat, having your records organised means you can focus on recovery and getting back on the water, instead of scrambling for paperwork when it matters most.”
Registration takes less than 10 minutes and remains free. The profit-for-good platform generates revenue through optional identification products such as AquaTAG NFC tags and AquaGPS location tracking. Good documentation starts simple: take photos of your craft from multiple angles, photograph serial numbers or hull identification numbers, note when you bought it, and keep service records in one place.
The NZ Boat Register platform provides structured fields to make this easy to maintain over time. Records are accessible from any device and can be shared selectively when getting insurance quotes or processing claims. “When documentation is organised and accessible, insurance interactions become smoother across the board,” Allen says. “It’s about being prepared before you need it.”
NZ Police advise second-hand buyers to trace ownership back to the original dealer to confirm vessels haven’t been stolen. Without organised records, that’s often impossible. Watercraft owners can create secure digital records at nzboatregister.co.nz.
About NZ Boat Register
NZ Boat Register is New Zealand’s first nationwide platform for recreational watercraft identification and registration. Operating as a profit-for-good venture, it provides free digital registration and develops identification and tracking products to support boat owners and the wider marine industry. A portion of all revenue is reinvested into New Zealand’s boating communities. NZ Boat Register is an independent platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or partnered with NZ Police, Maritime NZ, Coastguard NZ, or any government agency. It does not act on behalf of insurers.
