Why Do I Need Boat Insurance?

Picking out and maintaining a boat takes a lot of effort on your part. And if you’re like most boaters, you take pride in the investment you’ve made in your vessel. You’ve probably also invested in safety equipment to protect your boat from theft and various other losses. While these tools can help reduce the risk of a loss, they cannot completely prevent a loss. That’s why boat insurance is recommended.

Like any vehicle, you can insure your boat to help protect your finances in the event of an accident, theft, vandalism, weather damage and other losses. There’s a wide variety of coverage options that you can select according to your needs. Some of these include:

Property: Protects you boat and the contents you keep on-board from a variety of losses.

Liability: Helps financially uphold your responsibility to passengers, other boaters and the marina in the event that you cause a loss to a third party (whether directly or indirectly).

Specialty gear: High-end fishing equipment, GPS gear or other specialty items may need to be individually listed on your policy for full coverage.

Medical payments: Helps cover passengers’ medical bills if they become injured on your boat.

Oil spill: Helps cover the costs of cleanup after a fuel spill or another toxic incident.

Wreckage removal: Helps cover the expense of cleaning up after an accident.

Your agent can answer your questions and help you select the right boat insurance policy. While you may not need coverage by law, it’s always a good idea to consider how insurance can be beneficial.