Are Personal Possessions on a Boat Covered by Boat Insurance?

You’re heading out for a long day of fishing, relaxing in the water and having some fun with friends. You have planned well and done this plenty of times. Then, something goes wrong. Your boat is in a collision and is a total loss. While your boat insurance is there to cover your boat’s value, you may be wondering about everything else on the boat. Will your insurance provide you with enough coverage to protect your possessions? It is always a good idea to learn what your boat insurance covers long before you actually may need to use it.

Coverage for Personal Possessions

Every boat insurance policy is different. Each one offers various types and degrees of policy coverage, which makes it important to plan ahead. Many times, basic contents on the boat are covered. However, every policy has in place a specific limit to how much coverage is provided.

For example, you may have lost expensive fishing gear on your boat. If that fishing gear is under the contents limit, the insurance company is likely to cover it. However, many of today’s boaters are carrying more and more expensive equipment and technology with them. Much of this can be valued at much higher than what the basic contents coverage can provide.

What’s the Solution?

If you will be taking any type of high end or very valuable items on your boat trips with you, it’s always recommended that you purchase and put in place a secondary policy that offers a higher level of content coverage. These riders can help to protect your valuables, especially when you list the specific equipment or the value of the items on your plan. Comprehensive coverage can provide basic levels of protection, but boaters may wish to add more to it to safeguard those extra valuables.

If you are facing a loss while out on a boat, do not be afraid to contact your insurer. While boat insurance companies prefer if you provide details about your valuables before you need to turn to the policy for claims, most can provide coverage up to the limits of your policy for most types of losses. If your policy does not, it may be time to make a change.