Sailing is a beloved pastime that allows enthusiasts to cruise the open water for pleasure or in friendly competition. Sailboats are also a huge investment and come with tremendous risks for their owners.
Before you head out on the water in your new sailboat, you'll need appropriate sailboat insurance to make sure you're protected if you get into an accident or your boat is damaged by an unforeseen event.
A local independent insurance agent can help you compare quotes and find the best sailboat insurance available.
Best Sailboat Insurance Companies
Many insurance companies offer sailboat insurance. Here are some of the top sailboat insurance companies that we recommend:
- Progressive: Progressive is based in Ohio, but offers boat insurance across all 50 states. Boat owners can look to Progressive for most of their personal insurance needs.
- Travelers: Travelers offers highly rated boat insurance. It can meet your additional personal insurance needs with a full line of products, including auto, identity theft, umbrella, and other coverages.
- Foremost Insurance Company: Foremost was founded in 1952 and offers a wide range of coverage, including boat insurance, in 50 states.
- Nationwide: Nationwide provides boat insurance and other popular types of personal insurance coverage. The company is headquartered in Columbus, OH, and is represented by independent insurance agents in 50 states.
- Liberty Mutual: Liberty Mutual is headquartered in Boston, MA, and offers a full line of personal and business insurance, including boat insurance.
A local independent insurance agent can help you find the best sailboat insurance company in your area.
Is Sailboat Insurance Required?
A few states require owners of certain types of boats — namely, powerboats with more than 50 horsepower or personal watercraft — to have liability insurance. You may also find insurance requirements for boats used in state parks or kept in state-run marinas. But in most states, sailboat insurance is not required by law.
If you dock your boat at a marina, the marina may require some form of coverage in order to protect its business. And if you financed your boat, your lender will likely require you to have boat insurance.
Absent these situations, sailboat insurance is still the best way to protect yourself financially if you cause an accident or injure someone while operating your boat, or if your boat is damaged by an event like a fire, a severe storm, or vandalism.
An independent insurance agent can help you meet any boat insurance requirements you have, and can help you get the coverage you need to minimize your risks.
What Does Sailboat Insurance Cover?
Sailboat insurance is designed to cover your boat, your personal possessions, your passengers, and yourself. The following types of coverage are typically available from most sailboat insurance companies:
- Bodily injury liability coverage: Helps pay for injuries to others from a covered accident when you're at fault.
- Property damage liability coverage: Helps pay for property damage to others from a covered accident when you're at fault.
- Medical payments coverage: Reimburses some medical expenses after an accident on your boat, regardless of who is at fault.
- Uninsured/underinsured boater coverage: Covers medical expenses, loss of income, damage to your boat, and other damages owed to you by a hit-and-run boater or an uninsured or underinsured boater.
- Collision coverage: Pays for damage to your watercraft if you hit another watercraft or object, another watercraft hits you, or your watercraft rolls over.
- Comprehensive coverage: Helps pay for damage to your watercraft from vandalism, theft, and weather events.
- Personal effects coverage: Provides coverage for loss of or damage to your personal property while on board your sailboat, or while being carried on or off.
- Fishing equipment coverage: Protects fishing gear and equipment on your sailboat.
- Roadside assistance coverage: Covers the cost of towing your boat to a repair shop if your sailboat becomes disabled.
You can also add optional coverage for things like your boat trailer or boat lift.
An independent insurance agent can help you select the coverage that best fits your needs.
What Does Sailboat Insurance Cost?
As with most types of insurance, the cost of sailboat insurance depends on several factors, such as:
- The value of the boat
- The age of the sailboat (some insurance companies will not insure older boats; others may charge higher premiums)
- The make and model of the sailboat
- The size of the sailboat
- The type and power of the engine(s), if applicable
- Your insurance claim history
- Your age
- Your location
- Your level of boating experience
- How you use your sailboat
- Where you store your sailboat
An independent insurance agent in your area can help you find sailboat insurance that fits your budget.
An Independent Insurance Agent Can Help You Get a Sailboat Insurance Quote
When you decide to buy sailboat insurance, get help from an independent insurance agent. These local agents will help you find the best policy for your needs at a rate you can afford. You will feel more confident about your insurance coverage because you have more choices and more help.
