Most disputes over a survey come back to what was agreed before it started. ITIC, the insurer behind many marine surveyors' professional indemnity cover, is blunt about it: as a professional you must have terms and conditions, and they should set out who is responsible for what.
Who the client is
ITIC's first golden rule is to identify who your client is on day one. It matters most when someone other than the buyer books the survey. The NAMS guidelines for writing reports warn about a broker or owner commissioning a survey that will be handed to a prospective buyer, and advise avoiding that conflict, or even its appearance.
Get the client's name, the purpose of the survey and who else will rely on the report in writing.
What will be inspected, and what won't
ITIC advises defining for the client, at the very outset, the precise extent of the work and specifically what is excluded. The IIMS Code of Conduct asks members to obtain clear terms of reference from the client and confine the report to them.
Name the exclusions that buyers most often assume are included: going aloft, opening up the engine, testing the gas system, removing fixed panels, destructive testing of the laminate. The NAMS guidelines recommend giving the client the scope and the expected limitations before the survey, so they know what the work can and can't tell them. See scope and limitations for how to write them in the report.
The fee and what it covers
The IIMS Small Craft Code of Practice asks surveyors to advise the client of their fee rates, detailing exactly what they include or exclude. It also says the surveyor is entitled to a reasonable charge if the client cancels, and shouldn't give up part of the agreed fee because some parts of the craft weren't accessible.
Put travel, the haul-out, any sea trial and any specialist, such as an engine surveyor or a rigger, on the same page.
Permission and interests
The IIMS Small Craft Code adds two conditions before you accept:
- Permission to board. Don't agree to survey a craft unless you can be reasonably satisfied that the owner, broker or agent has given permission.
- Interests declared. Disclose any financial or other interest in the craft before accepting the instruction, and accept no commission or hidden payment.
Who the report is for
ITIC advises stating that the survey isn't for circulation and is issued only for the intended recipient and use. NAMS recommends stating the client and intended use at the start of the report and again in the conclusion, so a third party can't lift the conclusion out of context.
Before, not after
Practical Sailor reported a case where the engagement was verbal and the buyer only received the report's liability limitation clause after the verbal report. The surveyor's defence, that the defect was excluded from the report, failed because no written agreement had been made, and the buyer was awarded $3,300 in arbitration.
ITIC also warns against reliance on oral comments made to the client that could later be denied. Everything you find belongs in the written report.
See professional indemnity insurance for the cover behind the terms, and codes of conduct for what IIMS and NAMS ask of members.