Marina's and Insurance

pumpkinpie · #1 (**permalink**) 05-30-2006

Hi all,

I'm starting to look for "Live Aboard allowed" marinas and am seeing that some require insurance. Or it may be that some tell you they require insurance? I'm really new to boats in general, so marina particulars are a dense fog to me. Do all marinas require that your boat be insured? How much does boat insurance usually run? Is there a non-comprehensive insurance that just covers me running into other people like with autos? My wife and I would like to avoid having to insure the boat. Is this a bad idea?

Sorry for the flurry of questions. I'm really thankfull for all of the knowledge I've gleaned from this forum already.

Thanks,
Pumpkin

pumpkinpie · #2 (**permalink**) 05-30-2006

Oh, I forgot. I've heard bits and pieces about surveys. Do you need them to be insured? How expensive? I've heard some people have paid more for a survey than the boat was worth. Our boat was less than $5000, so I'm hoping that we're not in the same "boat".

Nathan West · #3 (**permalink**) 05-30-2006

Most, if not all, marinas require at least liability insurance-if a boat catches on fire and spreads to the dock and surrounding boats someone needs to pay, especialy if you are one of the surrounding boats. Simple liability insurance is not too expense, couple hundred a year and usauly dose not require a survey or at worst an in water survey. Check with Boat US or West Marine

LaLeLu · #4 (**permalink**) 05-30-2006

I think that all marinas here in Florida require that you have liability insurance - and require that you name the marina as a loss payee. The amount of liability insurance they require depends on the marina. We have a policy on our 40' boat through Zurich with $350k liability and $150k hull/replacement value. We pay $3k year. Boat US is really high right now in Florida.

BTW, if you don't plan to get insurance, I hope that you don't ever dock or anchor near my boat. I have seen many hurricane boats here that caused damage to other boats, or just sank and were abandoned. No insurance, so the owners just take off and leave everyone else to take care of their problem.

TrueBlue · #5 (**permalink**) 05-30-2006

I agree with what Nathan and LaLeLu said. The issue with mandatory insurance has nothing to do with what your boat is worth. It's all about being liable for potential damages caused by you, or your vessel.

Having insurance is only one of many expenses affecting the costs of living onboard in a marina. If you can't afford that nominal expense, I believe you will be in for quite a shock by the total cost of living.

PBzeer · #6 (**permalink**) 05-30-2006

You probably will be unable to sign a lease, without proof of insurance. 300K seems to be the minimun coverage. You should be able to get coverage from a "regular" insurance broker for just libility, at less than $100 a year.

jared · #7 (**permalink**) 05-30-2006

Liability insurance may also be available as part of your auto insurance policy (the boat may be considered just another motor vehicle) or an umbrella liability policy ($1M policy often $300/yr) on another policy of yours.

But check carefully, to make sure that IF the marina requires it, your policy covers for salvage and environmental mitigation costs. That's right, if you sink, you can expect a bill for the oil cleanup efforts and removal of the wreck, and it won't be cheap for either one. Not a bad idea to have this in any case, but a cheapo policy may try to overlook it.

pumpkinpie · #8 (**permalink**) 05-31-2006

Wow, thanks for the great replies. We were planning on getting liability if it was an option, due to our lack of experience and bad luck in general. We just couldn't see spending what the boat cost us each year in insurance. If she sinks, we'd just buy another one for what we would have burned in insurance. Unless we have a disaster every year, we'd keep from wasting alot of cash.

Our cars are on a Progressive policy and I saw they have a boat option. Does anyone have experience with this company for boats? Would I be better off with a boat only insurance company or doesn't it matter?

Thanks again,
Pumpkin

sailingdog · #9 (**permalink**) 05-31-2006

I've heard a few bad things about Progressive's marine insurance policies, as they don't have salvage coverage of any sort IIRC. I would go with someone who is business is more marine type coverage, like BoatUS or Zurich, rather than Progressive, which really doesn't know or understand the marine insurance industry.

capttb · #10 (**permalink**) 05-31-2006

"If she sinks" you are really gonna need lots of insurance, especially if in a harbor or "sensitive" habitat.