Wednesday, 15 February 2012

Insurance for Your Water Craft

A day on the lake with a couple of fishing poles is a great way to relax.  Taking the motorboat out into the bay just to breathe in the salty spray can make you feel completely unrestrained.  Owning a boat is a luxury many seek, especially when retirement comes around.  Having marine insurance or boat insurance for your craft is necessary to protect yourself from the cost of damages and loss on the water.

Boats come in many shapes and sizes.  To protect them, marine insurance has to be a highly adaptable insurance policy.  Marine insurance can cover any type of water craft, from a lowly jet ski to even large cargo ships.  Boat insurance is not required like it is for other forms of transportation, however to purchase your water craft on a loan, the lender might require you to have boat insurance so that in the event the boat is destroyed, it will still be paid off.  Even after the boat is paid off, liability marine insurance is still highly recommended to cover the costs associated with damage caused by your boat.  However, liability marine insurance will not cover the cost of repairs to your boat in such an instance.

Marine insurance that includes hull coverage is still a valuable protection to have for your boat.  Marine insurance is very adaptable for many different water crafts and many different situations.  A small motor boat that is hauled on a trailer will most likely not need some riders, such as marina liability insurance or contents insurance, since the boat will likely not be docked in many marinas and the contents on the boat will not be very high in value.  However, large yachts need some of these riders in boat insurancepolicies taken out on them.  Luxury craft, such as yachts rarely leave the water and are docked in marinas or other mooring locations, and many have appliances and other contents that are not considered part of the boat, requiring additional insurance to cover them attached to the marine insurance policy.  The differences in the cost of marine insurance are mostly derived from the repair cost and replacement value of the boat.  Similar to cars, the value of the boat drops as soon as the ink dries on the purchase agreement, and marine insurance does take this into account for its coverage and associated premiums.


 The call of the open water can be strong, especially as more Americans retire and look for outlets to pour their savings into.  Boats of all shapes and sizes are an excellent solution, providing hours of fun in a relaxing atmosphere.  However, they do still require protection, and one of the easiest ways is through marine insurance.  To find the best marine insurance, potential boat owners can spend a lot of time and energy shopping around for the best policy.  Independent insurance agencies can help with all the work, getting quotes from member insurance providers to give new boat owners the most competitive marine insurance available.

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