Florida Boat Insurance

Boat Insurance: Standard Coverages

There are standard marine insurance coverages you can expect to need for your watercraft. These include:

• Marine Hull Insurance Coverage

  Option One: Agreed Value — In the event of a total loss, this coverage pays the agreed value shown on the declarations page of your policy, regardless of the craft’s actual cash value at the time of loss (less any applicable deductible).

  Option Two: Actual Cash Value — In the event of a total loss, this coverage pays the lesser of the actual cash value at the time of loss less the policy deductible or the market value you provided for the watercraft. Actual cash value is determined by the market value, age, and condition of the watercraft at the time of loss.

  A few insurance companies offer Total Loss Replacement on smaller boats; inquire for additional information.

• Boat Liability Insurance

  This policy covers bodily injury, lost wages, sickness, or death that result from an accident. Liability insurance also covers legal fees and pain and suffering that may result from an accident if you are found legally liable. If you are liable for property damage, the coverage pays for damages to other watercraft, property, and structures.

• Pollution Liability Insurance

  Generally, this is included in the liability section of the policy coverage. It pays the expenses necessary to contain and clean pollution. It is important to note that fines and penalties incurred from said pollution are excluded.

• Uninsured Boater Coverage

  What if the owner or operator of a watercraft does not have insurance to cover bodily injury damages? Uninsured boater coverage protects you, your relatives, and other occupants of an insured watercraft if any sustain bodily injury caused by an uninsured boater.

• Medical Payments Coverage

  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.

• On-water Towing

  If the insured boat runs out of fuel or has a dead battery, this coverage provides reimbursement up to the policy limit. Pay particular notice to navigation limits as defined by your policy. Traveling outside these limits will void policy coverage. Always refer to your policy contract for specific definitions, terms, policy conditions and exclusions. For more information, contact the marine insurance advisors at W3 Marine.

When you buy boat insurance, the amount of coverage for your boat, motor(s) and equipment is usually determined by your bill of sale. Most insurance companies use your purchase price as the maximum limit of coverage for sudden and accidental physical damage to your boat. It’s important to review the policy exclusions as they will vary from one insurance company to another.

Additionally, you’ll need to determine the liability limit needed to protect you and your assets should you become legally liable for bodily injury or property damage to others. We don’t suggest limits lower than $300,000, and many boat owners will desire higher limits of protection. It is relatively inexpensive to purchase limits of $500,000 or greater. It’s important to understand that your personal assets may be at risk should your policy limit be exhausted.

If you were in an accident with another boat that caused serious damage, one of the following outcomes would likely occur, depending on the insurance coverage you and the other boat owner have and the laws in your state.

The following scenario assumes both boat owners have physical damage coverage and liability coverage:

• If you were at fault and found legally liable, your boat liability insurance would cover the damage to the other boat and 3rd party bodily injury claims up to the limits of the policy.
  – Damage to your own boat would fall under your hull/physical damage limit subject to your deductible.
• If the other boat was at fault and found legally liable, his coverage would pay for your hull/physical damage and bodily injury claims up to the limits of his policy.
  – Keep in mind that boat insurance is not mandatory in Florida.
• If the other boat was at fault but did not have boat insurance (or not enough to cover your expenses), your uninsured/underinsured boaters coverage may cover bodily injury claims (if you have that coverage in place).
  – Damage to your own boat would fall under your hull/physical damage limit subject to deductible.

Give ample consideration to your boat insurance purchasing decisions — and keep in mind that there are many uninsured boaters in our waterways.