Want To Purchase A Boat This Spring? 3 Things You Need To Know About Protecting Your Boat

Even a small boat can be a major investment. If you recently invested in a boat, one of the best ways to take care of that investment is by purchasing an insurance policy for your boat.

#1 Where You Store & Use Your Boat

When you purchase boat insurance, the insurance company is going to want to know where you store your boat. Are you storing your boat in the same state that you live in? Are you storing it on a dock or in boat storage or in your driveway? Where your boat is stored can impact your premium.

Where you use your boat, which is referred to as the navigation territory, matters as well. Certain bodies of water carry different levels of risk, which can impact your insurance premium. In general, rates are higher for boats used on the ocean and lower for boats used on rivers and lakes.

#2 When You Need Boat Insurance

Some people wrongly assume they only need boat insurance when they are actively taking their boat out on the water. They assume they can just easily cancel their boat insurance during the off-season.

However, this is not true.  You should carry insurance on your boat year-round. Your boat is at risk of being damaged by natural disasters, fire, and theft when it is sitting just like when it is out in the water. If you really want to protect the investment you made, you'll carry insurance throughout the year.

#3 Add Umbrella Insurance to Your Boat Insurance

When you purchase boat insurance, it is a good idea to add umbrella insurance to your boat insurance. Umbrella insurance provides you with personal injury protection for your boat. If you take anyone else out on your boat, it is good to have personal injury or personal liability policy. Even if you don't take anyone out with you on your boat there is still a possibility you could get into an accident with another vessel and be deemed responsible for the accident. This will protect your personal assets.

#4 Shop Around for Coverage

Your potential premium may vary significantly from one insurance company to the next, so shopping around will allow you to secure the lowest premium and to also to find the insurance that offers you the best level of protection for your boat.

After you purchase your new boat, call around and get quotes for boat insurance coverage so you can protect your new investment year-round.