Watercraft Insurance

May 06, 2019

BOAT & WATERCRAFT INSURANCE

Most home insurance policies have limited coverage on boats. If you own a boat, purchasing watercraft insurance will ensure you have adequate coverage for theft, damage, and injuries or accidents while you are on the water, as well as some of your expensive watersports gear.

Do you know what to look for in a watercraft insurance policy?

Here are some items you’ll need to consider when shopping for boat insurance.

Navigational Area:
Know where you are covered in the water. Some companies offer protection that covers you up to 75 miles from the U.S. coastline; into Canadian coastal or inland waters; and into the Pacific coastal waters of Mexico. In California, Florida and Oregon, additional coverage area can be purchased.
Agreed Value Coverage:
Watercrafts depreciate just like automobiles. Actual cash value policies can make it difficult to replace a boat that’s been stolen or destroyed. This means that if your boat is a total loss you will get the value you insured it for, minus any deductible.
Liability
Like car insurance, personal liability coverage provides coverage to other boaters and boat owners in the event you are at-fault for an accident on the water. This coverage will pay to repair or replace the property of someone else as well as for their medical care, lost wages and other costs incurred as a result of a boating accident for which you are at-fault.
Medical Payments
Medical payments coverage will pay for the cost of needed care that is the result of a boating accident. This coverage is available from $500 to $10,000 and covers you, your passengers, and even your water skiers/tubers, regardless of who is at-fault.
Physical Damage Coverage
Physical damage coverage pays for the cost to repair or replace your watercraft, its motor, any permanently attached equipment, and your trailer, if it is stolen or damaged.
Uninsured/Underinsured Watercraft Bodily
boat coverage is not always mandatory, many boaters choose not to get insurance. If you are hit by an uninsured or underinsured boater, and you are injured, this type of coverage pays for medical treatment, lost wages, and other costs associated with the accident.
Fuel Spill Liability and Wreckage Removal
Should your boat sink or be seriously damaged, there is a chance that it could leak oil or fuel into the water. As the boat’s owner you are required by law to have this cleaned up, which can be time consuming and expensive.
Personal Effects
Your policy can provide coverage for many personal effects, including clothing, jewelry, cell phones, scuba/snorkeling and other sporting equipment, and fishing equipment. Limits vary by state. Personal effects coverage does not include jewelry, watches or furs.
Unattached Equipment
pays to repair or replace equipment that isn’t permanently attached to your boat or personal watercraft, but is designed for use primarily on a boat. This includes items like lifesaving equipment, water skis, anchors, oars, fire extinguishers, tarps etc.
Emergency Assistance
The Emergency Assistance Package provides coverage for towing, labor and delivery of gas, oil or loaned battery if the watercraft is disabled while on the water.