An Introduction to Boat Insurance

Your boat needs insurance just like your car does. While your homeowner’s policy provides a little protection for your boat, it does not cover everything that could happen to it.

While you enjoy the waterways of California, Rock Hard Insurance Agency, serving Fontana, CA, wants you to understand how boat insurance protects your watercraft investment and why you need a policy.

Boat insurance provides property damage protection.

Your boat could sustain damage on or off the water, and boat insurance protects it in every situation – while on the water, in transit, in dry-dock, or the marina.

The same policy also provides liability coverage, which pays for the medical bills of any individuals who sustain an injury due to negligence or fault. It also pays for any court settlement arising out of an accident. It also pays for the medical bills of an individual who incurs injury while operating the boat.

Like an auto policy, a boat policy contains four main components – liability, collision, comprehensive, and property damage insurance. The collision policy provides coverage for accidents on the road or the water.

Most states do not require you to insure your boat with boat insurance. Home insurance policies provide a tiny amount of liability coverage. Typically, the liability coverage equals ten to twenty percent of the home value. If your home value is $150,000 and your home policy provides ten percent coverage, you have $15,000 of liability coverage. The average hospital stay costs $15,000. For added liability coverage alone, the boat policy is worth it.

The boat policy also provides significant property damage coverage. The average boat policy uses an agreed-upon value or a depreciated value. You need to discuss the two options with your insurance agent and determine which method works better for your financial situation.

Contact Rock Hard Insurance Agency, serving Fontana, CA, to learn more about how boat insurance protects you, your boat, and your other watercraft. Call us today to start protecting your finances.