If you own a small boat, it may be covered under the personal property section of your homeowner’s insurance. Here’s what you need to know. The coverage, although present in most homeowners’ policies, is typically capped at $1500. And this $1500 generally includes the watercraft, the trailer, it’s furnishing, equipment and motor. Therefore, if you have a $10,000 boat and you experience a covered claim, your home insurance will typically cap the settlement at $1500. So we’re talking about really small boats such as jon boats, kayaks, canoes, small sailing vessels etc.
What about liability coverage?
The next thing you need to know is that the insurance will generally extend liability coverage to a boat you own but there are size requirements. For clarity, liability is bodily injury or property damage to others. For liability coverage to be considered by the insurance company, the boat, if it’s a sailing vessel, needs to be less than 26 feet. If it’s a motorized boat with an inboard motor, it’ll generally need to be less than 50 horsepower. And if it’s a motorized boat with an outboard motor it will generally need to be less than 25 horsepower.
What should I do next?
Now, if your boat exceeds the $1500 cap or exceeds the size requirements for liability, you need to purchase the boat its own policy. However, if it falls within these parameters, you need to doublecheck you homeowner’s insurance to ensure it has a watercraft provision in the personal property and/or liability section of the policy.
Lastly, it’s important that you know what events are covered. On a home insurance, personal property is typically covered against losses such as fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, vandalism or theft. But then there is also coverage for things like volcanic eruption for all you folks here in Florida concerned about the next volcano. For a complete list of covered events, you’ll need to check your policy. And keep in mind that a deductible will apply and there are exclusions within the policy for things like boat racing for example.
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