FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BOAT INSURANCE IN FLORIDA

If you are getting ready to purchase a vessel or already own a vessel that needs insurance, here are five things you should know about boat insurance in Florida.

• You need boat insurance to cover for damage to your vessel and for accidents.

There are two primary reasons to have boating insurance on your vessel. A. To cover for injury of someone on, or because of, your vessel. B. To cover any damage to your vessel. Not a secret. Right now, the cost of even a modest power boat can easily run well past $50,000 just to start. Many recreational boating policies also cover a pollution hazard situation. This is good coverage to have because the US Cost Guard can impose very costly penalties on you for pollution.

• Accidents can happen inside the vessel and outside of the vessel.

The thought may be that you need boat insurance in case your boat is involved in a collision with another vessel. But many injuries we see here at the 25-year maritime law firm of www.888BoatLaw.com occur inside the vessel. This includes falldowns, wake cases, accidents caused by equipment or fishing tackle, etc. If you do not have liability coverage insurance specific to your vessel, your homeowner’s insurance is not likely to cover the situation. Contact us to discuss what your policy covers and what it does not cover.

• Boat insurance can also cover medical payments in certain cases.

On some policies there a section of the insurance to cover basic medical bills. Such policies for this section of insurance routinely go from $1000 to perhaps $5000 on a higher priced boat insurance policy. There can be exclusions for this “Med-Pay” coverage, and one of those is it does not apply in some insurance policies to vessel owners or their family. So, in those instances it covers guests who have medical bills arising from injury on the vessel.

• The details are in the boat policy language.

When you purchase boat insurance you are entering a contract with that insurance company. Note: the written language of that insurance policy dictates the rights and responsibilities of you and the insurer. It is important that you understand what the policy does not cover, as well as what it does cover. Whatever was said or promised by the agent or insurer before the insurance was sold to you is subsumed into the written insurance policy. Meaning: the writing in the policy governs, regardless of what you were promised otherwise. Boating insurance policies also typically have many exclusions which keep you from recovering if you have a loss which you may believe should be covered. If you have a loss relative to your vessel, it is best to get with a maritime attorney and discuss what is covered under the insurance policy and what is not covered. How you present your claim to the insurer can have a large impact on whether your claim is covered or not. It is also important to understand what is covered in the policy and what is not covered. Some marine insurers sell uninsured boating insurance. (“UBI”). In a vehicle uninsured motorists coverage provides you coverage when an at-fault driver with no insurance strikes your vehicle. Under Florida law, uninsured motorists coverage for cars is well more beneficial than for boats. You have to check your insurance policy to know when UBI applies and when it does not.

• The application you complete for insurance coverage can be examined for accuracy after you make a claim.

Maritime law has an expression, “Uberrimae Fidei”, which means “utmost good faith” and boating insurers use this concept in dealing with boating insurance claims. What this means is if the insurer goes back and examines your insurance application and finds an inaccuracy, then they will deny the claim because the application for boat insurance was not accurate. This includes not only historical data in your boat insurance application, but also your promise to keep the vessel in good shape—including all equipment on board the vessel. For instance, failing to properly maintain, inspect, and tag your vessel’s fire extinguishers can completely void your marine insurance policy from its beginning. This is regardless whether fire had anything to do with the claim. The insurer can inspect the vessel after the incident and deny the claim based on the fire extinguisher being out of compliance.

Boat insurance, compared with automobile insurance in the state of Florida is not that expensive. But there are limitations to what boating coverage will cover. Also, if you own a vessel and a house, your homeowners insurance is not likely to cover your vessel or you if someone makes a claim against you arising from use of your vessel. You need separate boating insurance to be covered in most instances.

At www.888BoatLaw.com we recommend that vessel owners have insurance on their vessels because in Florida boating accidents are prevalent and there are over 1million recreational vessels registered in Florida. According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association (“NMMA”) Florida had 1.2 million registered vessels. Boat Registrations Report Details Shifts Across Fleet and Regions in 2024. It is important to have the insurance coverage to protect you and your family if you have a vessel.

One other important aspect to keep in mind is that if a vessel operator was born before January 1, 1988, then he/she has no requirements placed on him/her to be able to immediately operate a power vessel in Florida. No eye test, no written test, no demonstrated ability to handle a boat, no training, nothing is required by law. However, if a person is of such age to skip any and all training, it of course does not mean the person is qualified to operate a vessel amongst all the other vessels which are on the water. This is another reason you should keep insurance on your vessel.

At www.888BoatLaw.com we have been successfully representing injured boating accident and JetSki injury victims for more than 25 years. We are not a law firm that handles every type of injury claim. We are specialists in maritime law. This is not a sideline but is our primary focus. We represent clients throughout all of Florida in this specialized field.

Don’t trust your recreational boat injury incident, or JetSki case, to just anyone. Contact the law firm that specializes in this law and is handling these types of cases right now throughout all of Florida. (Check what our clients say about us when you Google 888boatlaw.com reviews.)

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