What Does Boat Insurance Cover?

Learn how you can protect your investment from stern to bow

Finding the right coverage can be a bit overwhelming, but landing on the right Florida boat insurance plan can truly give you peace of mind when you’re on the water.
Instead of viewing boat insurance as an all-encompassing protection, it’s often best to imagine it more as an à la carte offering. Basically, you’ll pick from a ‘menu’ of coverages and arrive at an insurance combination that meets all your needs as a boat owner.
Read below as we examine what Florida boat insurance covers, what it doesn’t, and when opting for additional coverages is a good idea.

Do you need boat insurance in Florida?

The long-short: you don’t, but you should always insure your investment. While Florida doesn’t legally require boat owners to opt for insurance, uninsured boaters are a liability, especially in case that an accident arises.

Just think: if something happens to your vessel, you lose property, or harm is done to yourself/others, would you be able to afford the out-of-pocket costs?

For most people, that answer is likely no, but boating repair costs are not cheap.
Because life on the water comes with embracing that sense of unknown, it’s best to have a contingency plan because, ultimately, we can’t control much, especially when it comes to nature and unexpected accidents.

Florida boat insurance covers almost all motorized watercraft

Typically, the following recreational marine exposures are covered:

• Luxury Yachts with Captain Charter
• Private Pleasure Yachts
• Recreational Boats
• Fishing Tournament Boats
• Six Pack Charter Vessels
• Sailboats
• Pontoons
• PWC/Jet Boats

Sorry to all you canoe, rowboat and kayak enthusiasts, but you’re likely up a creek without a paddle on this one.
Typically, damage caused by risks like a fire, storm damage, grounding, collision and theft are all included in boat insurance coverage. The actual property that is often covered will include the hull, motors, batteries and safety elements (fire extinguishers, etc).

Hoping to have that boat trailer protected as well? That will usually take a separate coverage, limit and deductible.

What coverages are typically included in a boating policy?

A myriad of unexpected events can arise when you’re both on and off the water.

• Boat Liability Insurance
  This coverage is for bodily injury or property damage liability to a third party that results from a boating accident in which the insured vessel is involved. Liability coverage helps protect your financial responsibility in the event you are found legally liable for the accident..
• Pollution Liability Insurance
  This coverage pays the expenses necessary to contain and clean pollution, specifically excluding fines and penalties incurred from said pollution.
• Uninsured Boater Coverage
  This coverage protects you, your relatives, and other occupants of an insured watercraft, in the case that any of you sustain bodily injury caused by an uninsured boater.
• Medical Payments
  This covers certain medical and funeral expenses resulting from a watercraft accident and protects anyone occupying (or water-skiing off of) your watercraft. These benefits are payable without regard to fault.

Will I receive full recompense if my boat or elements on it are damaged?

The straight-up answer is that, in all honesty, it really depends. When choosing a coverage plan, boat owners must decide whether to insure for agreed value or actual cash value.

Policies that are actual cash value-based will take depreciation into account, and an owner, therefore, won’t receive as much if there is a loss. Electing for agreed value policy is preferred because it means if there is a total loss there is no doubt how much your claim payment will be.

Just how important is selecting liability coverage?

Let’s say that you’re involved in an accident and are sued. This coverage then kicks in to help pay the bills. The same holds true if you damage a dock or another structure. Such damage isn’t always due to boat owner negligence, either: a large wake can result in the vessel damaging property, for example.

It’s not enough to declare that you’re a great captain. The boat itself can do damage with no ‘help’ at all from you. If you weren’t negligent, in all likelihood the boat liability coverage will kick in to defend you.

Do Florida Boat Insurance policies apply to extended navigation?

Planning a voyage – you’re going to need to update your insurance policy before you set sail – and that means your Florida boat insurance advisor will need to know your itinerary.

An extended navigation endorsement will likely be necessary. A good example of this is if you desire to sail to the Caribbean or even the Bahamas. A foray into international waters may render your usual coverage null and void without proper navigational limits declared in your insurance policy.

The right boat insurance policy will cover everything you hold dear. All it takes is a thorough assessment of the vessel and a discussion with an experienced marine insurance advisor who can navigate the coverage process for you.

To avoid being over or under-insured, partner with an advisor who has experience insuring vessels like yours and who knows how to access the markets necessary to obtain any specialized coverage.

Trust W3’s boat insurance specialists

Sure, plenty of companies offer comprehensive boat insurance plans. But if you own a boat, yacht, or 6 passenger charter vessel, you should seek out a yacht insurance or commercial boat insurance specialist.

Wading the waters of policy package research can be cumbersome, but luckily, our insurance specialists at W3 are here to help you find the right policy package––and determine if you need more than one coverage plan.

For more information about purchasing Florida boat insurance for the first time, check out our First Time Owner’s Guide. To speak with a W3 marine insurance advisor, call 727-522-7777 or request a quote here.