Tips on Choosing Boat Insurance!
 

You can purchase boat insurance for a variety of needs. Whether you're protecting your personal pleasure craft or you’re the captain of a fishing vessel there are many carriers at your service.

There's coverage for fuel spills, uninsured boater protection for hit and run boaters, salvage and towing you name it and there is probably an insurance carrier willing to cover it.

In most cases, your automobile and homeowner policies do not offer the best coverage for boat owners.

One thing many boaters overlook is towing coverage. Towing costs can be quite expensive so make sure that you get towing coverage.

There are basically two types of boat insurance coverage. Actual cash value and agreed upon value. Actual cash value is usually determined by used boat pricing guides. Whereas the agreed upon value is decided at the time of your coverage. Although most companies will have actual cash values on certain parts of your vessel like the outboard motor, battery etc. even if you choose the agreed upon cash value policy.

Make sure you do your homework search the net, look at some of the different types of coverage available for your type of vessel and needs. But probably the best advice for anyone considering boat insurance is to make sure to find a good boat insurance agent.

A good boat insurance agent can do away with a lot of the confusion that boaters seeking boat insurance may have. Find an agent that is willing to explain the fine print in the policy. You should tell your agent exactly what type of craft you need coverage on, how you intend to use it, when you intend to use it, where you will normally use your boat and where you intend to store it. This will help your agent to get a full understanding of your coverage needs.

When searching for a good insurance broker look in boating forums. Ask around and seek knowledge from those forum contributors that contribute daily and are well respected.

There’s some liability issues involving boat ownership and this is another area that can be covered in your protection. A good idea is to probably sit down and think about what you may need coverage for and then bring that list to your boat insurance agent. A good agent will be able to cover all of your needs and possibly select a few more you may have missed.

Here’s something interesting in the area of liability: Did you know that if you are boating in Mexico you are required by Mexican Law to have liability coverage? That's right and not just any type of coverage. Mexico requires 3 types of coverage.

A) Hull coverage

B) Liability coverage issued by a local Insurance provider (Mexican)

C) You also need auto liability coverage  and this too must be issued by a Mexican insurance provider if you plan to trailer your boat on land.

This is pretty serious stuff if you are planning to do any boating in Mexico. Apparently without proof of boat insurance from a local Mexican provider Mexican authorities will impound your boat and vehicle ouch!

Good luck in finding the right boat insurance coverage. Be safe and have fun!