Things You Should Know When Buying Insurance for Your Boat

If you are lucky enough to find the cash to purchase your very own boat, you want to make certain that you protect your investment with adequate property insurance. Many people don’t even think about insuring their boat, and many others don’t even know that boat insurance even exists, but it really is a good idea to cover your assets with insurance coverage.

If you own or are thinking of buying your own boat, you should consider boat insurance a necessity. Before you run out and purchase your boat insurance policy, there are a few things that you really should know.

Depending on what state you live in, you may be legally required to carry insurance coverage on your boat, whether you want to or not. Boat insurance covers you financially, just in case you have an accident with your boat that injures someone or causes damage to their property, and also covers you in the event your boat gets stolen, vandalized, breaks down in the middle of the ocean, catches on fire, or gets damaged in any other way. Even if you don’t want to carry insurance on your boat, to keep from getting in trouble with the law, you should definitely contact your insurance broker to find out what the law requires in your state.

There are many types of optional insurance coverage available to boat owners as well. One optional insurance that you should definitely consider is wreckage removal. If your boat wrecks or sinks in open water, by law you are required to have it removed, and if you don’t have this insurance coverage, you will have to pay for this expense completely out of pocket, which is definitely no fun.

There is also optional insurance coverage for boat owners that covers towing and repairs as well, which could save you a lot of money if your boat were to break down on you in the middle of nowhere.

Like with your vehicle, you need to make certain who is allowed to operate the boat, and who will be covered by the policy. Depending on your coverage, if an accident happens when someone else is driving the boat, you may not be covered. Make certain that you find out the policy specifics, before you purchase the policy.

If you can get your boat insured with your current insurance carrier, you may be able to get a better discount, which can save you some money. In many instances, when you purchase all of your automobile, homeowners, and other insurance from the same dealer, you get much lower rates, so think about this as well.