It is a common misconception that your boat or personal watercraft is covered under your home insurance policy. A separate policy is needed to ensure your boat is receiving the appropriate coverage. Before hitting the waters, watercraft insurance is a necessary investment.
Boat insurance is a necessity if you want to protect yourself and your passengers. The right boat coverage can keep you from paying for damages out of pocket in the event of an accident.
What Watercraft Insurance Covers
Typically, boat coverage is not required by law, but your lien holder may require you to provide this type of insurance. Here is the coverage available:
- Medical payments coverage: Pays for the medical costs incurred if you or anyone on your boat is injured in the event of an accident.
- Liability coverage: Covers the medical and other expenses of whoever was injured as well as repair and replacement costs for another person's boat or property.
- Property coverage: Covers the damage to your boat if you're involved in an accident with another boat or something else, like a pier, buoy, dock or debris. It also typically pays for damage caused by something other than a collision, such as theft, fire or vandalism.
- Repair cost: Covers the repair work done on your boat, motor, equipment or trailer with no deduction for depreciation*.
- Emergency services: If your boat breaks down, this covers the cost of towing and labor and the cost of delivering fuel, oil or a battery.
- Uninsured watercraft coverage: If you're in an accident with an uninsured boater, this helps pay for injuries that you, your family or anyone else on your boat sustains.
- Agreed value option: When you're reimbursed for your boat's value, you'll be reimbursed for what it was worth at the start of the policy regardless of the current market value.
- Personal effect coverage: Covers your fishing equipment and other personal belongings if they're damaged, lost or stolen.
- Additional boat equipment: Covers boat accessories, like anchors, life jackets and navigation gear, up to the policy limits.
- Boat trailer coverage: Covers damages to your trailer resulting from an accident or other unforeseen incident.