Boating can be an exciting, enjoyable and luxurious hobby. However, owning and operating watercraft also comes with significant risks and exposures. Your boat represents a substantial financial investment and may be subject to various perils and hazards. Furthermore, while operating your boat, you may find yourself at fault for others’ losses. Given these stakes, the importance of adequate boat insurance cannot be underestimated.  

What Is Boat Insurance? 
As its name suggests, boat insurance casts an essential safety net across many risks and perils that you and your vessel may need to account for. In many ways, these policies function similarly to standard auto insurance you might purchase for your car and may be able to provide critical financial assistance in the wake of accidents and other boat-related losses. 

How Does Boat Insurance Work? 
Boat insurance can typically be customized to suit your unique circumstances, including your needs, preferences and budget. By purchasing a policy and maintaining coverage through regular premiums, your insurer agrees to help pay for losses arising from covered incidents. 

Although the details of your boat insurance policy may vary, including the following coverages in your policy may be advisable: 

• Bodily injury liability—If you are at fault for another party’s injuries, this coverage may help pay for their financial losses, such as medical expenses.
• Property damage liability—Following an incident for which you were responsible, this coverage may compensate third parties for damaged property.
• Collision—This coverage may help pay for damage sustained by your vessel after striking another watercraft or a stationary object, such as a building or pier.
• Comprehensive—By including this coverage in your policy, you may have access to financial assistance following non-collision incidents that damage your boat, such as fires, severe weather and crime.
• Medical payments—If you or your passengers are injured in a boating accident, this coverage may help pay for your health care expenses, regardless of who was at fault.
• Uninsured/underinsured boater—If another party is at fault for an accident but lacks sufficient coverage for your losses, these parts of your policy may make up for their deficiency.
• Contents—This coverage may provide financial protection for belongings being stored or transported on your vessel.