How Liability Insurance Protects Your Boat
What happens if you have a boat accident and a passenger in the other boat is injured or one of your passengers is injured, but you don’t have boat insurance? Boat Liability insurance will help cover the medical expenses, legal fees, and repair bills.
Without liability insurance for your boat, you would have to pay for all the related expenses and boat repairs out of your own pocket. Is that a financial risk you can afford to take as a boater?
What is liability insurance for my boat?
Boating accidents generally involve another boat, another property, and/or another person who gets injured or worse, including any swimmers, water skiers, passengers, or boaters.
Boat liability insurance helps protect you in the event of lawsuits and claims resulting from an accident or incident involving your boat.
If your boat collides with another boat, your liability insurance also protects you because it will cover the damage to the other boat if you are at fault. It will also help cover medical expenses.
How much liability insurance do I need?
In Canada, the minimum amount of liability coverage usually recommended is at least $1 million, but it’s recommended to carry up to $3 million in liability insurance due to increasing legal costs and lawsuit settlements.
If you moor your boat at a marina, the marina may have a specific amount of boat liability insurance that is required.
If you have financed your boat, your lender may want you to have a specific amount of boat liability insurance.
Other factors that may affect the amount of liability insurance that you need:
- Where are you using your boat? How busy is the waterway?
- Are you travelling with your boat through locks?
- Are you travelling with your boat on a trailer?
What information do I need to provide when getting boat liability insurance?
- Length of your boat and its type
- The value of your boat and its condition
- Age of your boat
- Frequency and how it’s used
- How and where it’s stored
- Where you boat
- Claims history
- Your experience as a boater
Why you should get boat insurance
Boat insurance typically protects your boat and personal belongings against risks and it provides liability coverage protection for your passengers. Boat insurance will typically cover liability for water sports activities, too.
Here are some other coverages usually included in boat insurance:
- Coverage for risks as a result of weather, theft, fire, and vandalism
- Emergency towing and loss of use
- Damage or loss to navigation equipment, sports equipment, and personal belongings
- Pollution and wreck removal
- Damage to furniture, the hull, sails, motors, and trailers
How can I keep my boat insurance low?
- Ask Western Financial Group about discounts for your boat insurance
- Combine your boat insurance with car or home insurance to save money
- Stay claims free
- Take boating safety courses
- Maintain a clean driving record
What insurance covers me if my boat gets stolen?
Comprehensive boat insurance covers the theft of your boat.
Comprehensive boat insurance is similar to comprehensive car insurance because it offers protection in case of accidents, theft, or other unforeseen events.
It also helps protects your boat against intentional vandalism and for damage caused by extreme weather events
What is the difference between actual cash value vs. agreed value coverage for your boat?
Actual cash coverage covers you for the value of your boat at the time of loss, not when you bought it.
An agreed value policy honours the value of your boat at the time the policy was written.
What is a Pleasure Craft Operator Card? Do I need one?
Everyone who operates a power-driven boat needs proof of competency to show they understand how to safely operate a boat.
The most common proof of competency is the Pleasure Craft Operator Card. You can get the card by taking a boating safety course in-person, or online, and passing the test at the end of the course.
Did you know? Your homeowner’s insurance policy provides limited coverage for your boat or watercraft if it is damaged or vandalized outside the water. Boat insurance is a better option to protect your boat.
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