The Internet makes it easy for you to figure out how much boat insurance will cost you, because you can get an online boat insurance quote at many websites that sell boat insurance. Every state has different requirements on who needs to have boat insurance and how much, so check to make sure you have qualified insurance for your state. Some marinas also require everyone who docks there to have boat insurance. If you bought your boat with a loan, then in most cases your lender will require you to have boat insurance. Regardless of whether or not you’re legally required to have boat insurance, you will save a lot of money in the case of an accident if you have the insurance. To ensure your safety while on the water, however, you have to know exactly what your boat insurance covers.
Most boat insurance policies consist of two main parts: liability coverage and damage coverage. Liability insurance – just as with your car insurance policy – covers the expenses of injuries, deaths and property damages of other people when your boat has caused the accident.
Damage insurance covers physical damage to your boat, and comes in many varieties. Even though you can find cheap damage coverage, make sure you know everything that cheap policies won’t cover. Most people would agree that it’s worth it to pay a higher monthly premium than to risk getting in an accident that doesn’t qualify for insurance coverage. The two basic types of damage coverage insurance include policies that cover everything except things named specifically in the document, and policies that only cover what the document specifically names. The first type will cover many more instances – even those that you can’t imagine – and most boat insurance agents recommend this type, even though it costs a little more.
In addition to boat insurance that covers liability and physical damage, you can also get several other types of coverage. When deciding whether or not to get these types of coverage, you should consider your boat’s individual characteristics, as well as how and where you use the boat. You have the option for emergency assistance, which provides towing, emergency repairs and fuel delivery while at sea. Although you don’t expect to need these services, you will definitely appreciate them in times of emergency. You can also get insurance on your personal property, which covers belongings on ship such as clothing and fishing supplies.
You also have the option for medical coverage while on the boat, which includes first aid, ambulance costs and hospital costs, which you may need if your general insurance plan doesn’t extend to your boat. You also have to decide if you want uninsured boater coverage, which pays for your passengers’ injuries when caused by another boat without boat insurance. Although these extra types of coverage will raise your online boat insurance quote, you should consider their usefulness in addition to considering their price.
Although boat insurance can sound expensive at first, you can find several ways to lower your monthly premiums. Some factors that determine your online boat insurance quote lie beyond your control. These factors include your boat’s value, length, age, and type. There are, however, factors you can alter lower your online boat insurance quote. You may want to install safety devices on your boat, take a boating education course, or raise your deductible. You should also talk to agents who specialize in marine insurance because they can tell you about many specific parts of boat insurance that general insurance agents don’t know about.
By Lisa Zyga