Let’s face it: owning a boat can be really fun, but it’s also pretty expensive. So it’s natural that you might be looking into ways you can save money. One of the expenses of owning a boat is the insurance. You know you’ll need insurance while you’re out on the water – but what about when your boat is in storage? Is that an area where you can save some money?
Here’s what you need to know about insurance on your boat, depending on where you store it.
Storing your boat at your house
It’s most common to store your boat at your own house, or on your own property, as long as you have the space to accommodate it. You may be thinking that if it’s on your own property you don’t need boat insurance because you have home insurance – but that is not the case.
While you technically do not need to have boat insurance if it’s stored on your own property, your homeowner’s insurance will not cover a boat should there be a fire, theft or other damage done to the boat. With this in mind, you may want to consider keeping the boat insurance going while it’s being stored because homeowner’s policies do not cover boats.
Storing your boat at a non-commercial facility
Say you want to store your boat at a friend or family member’s house. You also do not legally need boat insurance for doing this, but you may want to consider having at least liability insurance on the boat. This is in the event that someone is hurt while on your boat (even if it’s their property) or there is damage done to their property because of your boat. The insurance will cover this damage or injury so you are not personally responsible. Ideally though, you would want to keep full coverage insurance on your boat when storing it at another person’s house.
Storing your boat at a designated storage facility
It’s not that you legally need to have insurance when using a storage facility, but rather that most storage facilities will require you to have current insurance on your boat while it is stored at their facility – at least liability coverage.
It is important to note, though, that having only liability insurance on your boat would likely not cover the replacement costs of your boat if there was fire or theft at the facility. Even if the facility is deemed responsible, you may still want to have your own insurance so that you know you are covered.
In summary
So, do you really need to have insurance on your boat all the time?
The short answer is no – but you’re risking a lot by not keeping it insured. You also may not be able to use a storage facility if you don’t have current insurance on the boat. Insurance protects you financially should there be theft, fire or other damage done to your boat while stored but it also protects you if someone else should be injured while on your boat. It’s really best practice to keep your boat insured year-round.
Contact ICD Insurance today
Are you looking for insurance for your boat or do you want to compare rates to see if you can get a better deal on your boat insurance. If so, contact us today to speak to a broker.