Coverage
Boat Insurance
A homeowners policy covers owned outboards up to 25 horsepower and sailboats under 26 feet, and North Carolina does not require boat insurance at all. We write bay boats, offshore rigs, trailers, and slips on a marine policy instead.
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What boat insurance covers
Hull and machinery
Physical damage to the hull, motor, and permanently attached equipment, from a collision, a grounding, a fire, or a storm. This is the coverage a lender or a marina will insist on before anything else.
Liability
Bodily injury and property damage you cause on the water. A homeowners policy covers owned outboards up to 25 total horsepower and sailboats under 26 feet. Owned inboards are excluded outright.
Uninsured boater
Protection when the other operator has too little insurance or none at all. North Carolina has no financial responsibility law for boats, so nothing requires the other operator to carry any.
Fuel spill and wreck removal
Federal law can hold an owner responsible for cleaning up a fuel spill and for removing a wreck that obstructs navigation. Either one can run well past the value of the boat.
On-water towing
Not the same thing as roadside assistance. Getting towed in from offshore is not a short trip, and the bill reflects that.
Personal effects and gear
Rods, reels, electronics, and safety gear. Hull coverage stops at permanently attached items, so the loose gear needs a limit of its own.
Hurricane haul-out
Reimburses the cost of hauling out or moving the boat when a named storm is forecast. Ask for it before June, because carriers stop adding coverage once a storm is named.
Agreed value
Settles a total loss at a figure agreed when the policy is written instead of at depreciated value. On an older boat that has been well kept, the gap between those two numbers is worth understanding before a loss.
Who it’s for
Who needs boat insurance
Center console and bay boat owners
Running the sounds, the inlets, and the Intracoastal, which is where the navigational limits on a policy get tested.
Offshore fishing boats
Navigational limits and towing distance both matter more the further out you run.
Cruisers and sailboats
Kept in a slip, often with liveaboard rules and marina requirements attached to the policy.
Owners with a dock or lift
The boat and the structure it sits on need pricing together, since they fall under two different policies.
Our process
How we quote a boat
Tell us about the boat
The make, the motor, the year, and where it is kept. Storage location matters as much as what it is, particularly during storm season.
We quote marine carriers
We quote marine carriers and set the navigational limits to match the water you run.
We explain the storm terms
We explain the lay-up period, the haul-out coverage, and the deductible structure before you buy, so storm season terms are not a surprise in August.
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Common questions
Boat insurance questions we hear
North Carolina does not require it, but a lender or a marina almost certainly will. A homeowners policy covers only small, low-horsepower boats, so anything bigger goes uninsured unless a marine policy is written for it.
Barely, and only for the smallest boats. Homeowners forms limit watercraft physical damage and liability by length and horsepower, and anything beyond a small outboard falls outside what the form was built to handle. The standard form also caps watercraft property damage at $1,500, including the trailer, furnishings, equipment, and outboard motors, and it excludes wind and hail damage unless the boat is inside a fully enclosed building.
Navigational limits are the geographic area your policy covers. Running further offshore or down the coast than they allow can leave you without coverage exactly where help costs the most, so we set them honestly.
Reimbursement for hauling out or relocating the boat when a named storm is coming. It is one of the few coastal endorsements that pays for a decision you make before the damage instead of after.
A reduced-rate period when the boat is out of the water and not in use. It lowers the premium, and it also means confirming the dates match how you store the boat over winter.
A marine policy typically covers the trailer under the same agreed value as the boat. A homeowners policy caps watercraft property damage, including the trailer, at $1,500. If you tow frequently or the trailer has significant value, confirm the limit is adequate when the policy is written.
Get started
Quote my boat
Tell us about the boat and where it is kept, and a licensed agent will follow up the same business day with marine quotes.