In article ,
Gould 0738 wrote:


Hi, I'm planning on buying a very inexpensive ~26 foot sail boat. I know
most marinas require some sort of insurance, right? How about transient
anchorages, moorings, etc run by the county/state? The boat is so
inexpensive that I wouldn't really care if it were a complete loss, so the
only insurance I'd get would be that which is required. Is that liability
insurance? Is there some sort of standard liability insurance or something
else super cheap? Thanks!


If the boat is "super cheap" for certain reasons, you may not be able to get
hull insurance on it in any event.

It is certainly responsible, even where not legally required, to carry
liability coverage.
It might be tricky to find an underwriter who will issue a liability policy on
a boat that might be otherwise uninsurable.

One good option is to see about "umbrella" coverage through your regular
general insurance carrier. You can buy a few million dollars worth of umbrella
coverage for relatively little, (probably more than enough to cover your butt
if you were moored next to a megayacht and a galley fire broke out and spread).
The umbrella coverage also provides liability for most of the other activities
you pursue, or if somebody slips on a wet sidewalk in front of your doorstep,
etc.

If you go the umbrella policy route, do make sure your agent knows that you
have a sailboat and make sure that boating isn't a risk that's excluded
somewhere in the fine print

Nearly all umbrella policies require anywhere from $300-500k of underlying
liability insurance on any of a set of "specific" risks - and watercraft are
almost always one of those specific risks.

An umbrella is an excellent investment as they are quite cheap. However,
the underlying insurance requirement is an issue you pretty much can't get
around.

Umbrellas are meant as "excess liability" insurance, not replacements.


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