What is Boat Insurance?
Boat insurance covers you in the event of a loss or damage to your boat. It covers most watercraft with motors, including fishing boat and pontoon boats. Boat insurance does not usually cover canoes, kayaks.
For small watercrafts, you may find some limited coverage under your homeowner’s policy. You may also be able to add a special endorsement or buy separate coverage.
What Does Boat Insurance Cover?
Boat insurance policies may include the following:
- Collision damage: Includes repair or replacement of your boat.
- Property damage liability: Covers damage you might cause to someone else’s boat, dock, or other property or structures.
- Bodily injury liability: Covers injury you might cause someone while using your boat; includes medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and legal expenses.
- Comprehensive: Provides compensation if your boat is vandalized, stolen, or damaged in an incident other than a collision.
- Additional coverage options: Coverage for medical payments, fishing equipment, oil spills, personal property and roadside assistance, as well as damages and injuries from accidents caused by boaters who are uninsured or underinsured.
Compensation you receive depends on a few things, including your deductibles, limits and whether you have actual cash value, replacement cost or agreed upon value.
How Does Boat Insurance Work?
When you purchase boat insurance, you must decide on the amount of coverage you need for your boat, the deductible and the types of coverage you need.
In the event that you have an accident, experience a theft, or have another loss that is covered under your policy, you can file a claim and receive a payment covering the loss.
As an example, if you were in an accident with another boat that caused serious damage to your vessel, one of the following things would most likely occur, depending upon the insurance coverage you and the other boater own and the laws in your state:
- If you were at fault, your boat liability insurance would cover the damage up to the limits of the policy.
- If the other boater was at fault, his coverage would pay for your damages, up to the limits of his policy.
- If the other boater was at fault, but did not have boat insurance, or did not have enough to cover your expenses, uninsured/underinsured boaters’ coverage could cover the damages if you purchased that coverage.
Is Boat Insurance Required?
Some states require that you have liability coverage.
Marinas may require you to have boat insurance in order to dock your boat there.
If you take out a loan to buy a boat, the lender will most likely require that you purchase boaters’ insurance.
Does Boat Insurance Cover Theft?
Comprehensive boat insurance covers the theft of the boat itself. Personal possessions carried on the boat may or may not be covered, depending on the policy.
If you plan to carry expensive fishing equipment or other items of value, you can purchase additional coverge, to cover those items.
Does Boat Insurance Cover Engine Damage?
Boat insurance sometimes covers engine damage. This varies from company to company as well as by policy. Some insurance companies have “machinery damage exclusions” while others do not; it often depends on the age of the motor. Reimbursement may include replacement cost or be subject to depreciation.
Does Boat Insurance Cover Me if I Hit a Rock?
If you have comprehensive insurance or property damage coverage built into your policy, your boat insurance will cover collision with rocks, logs, and other marine obstacles.
Contact Us
If you have questions or would like to get a quote on boat insurance call Hennessey, Thames and Leavitt in Vicksburg, MS. We can be reached by phone at 601-636-5560, email: info-hennessey@leavitt.com. Check us out on Facebook or our website leavitt.com/vicksburg.
