One of the two major reasons why I belong to the boating forum websites is to have the ability to educate the boating communites and hopefully provide knowledge that helps you out in the future. So, I am going to start posting Insurance Educational "moments" in the forum. I hope you find these beneficial. Obviously the other reason I am on the forums is to earn your business. I am a firm believer that business doesn't just come to you, as a business owner you need to earn it.

I have had a lot of people that are unsure what certain coverages allow for or cover on their policies. Though I can not speak to your policy in particular. I can give you a general understanding of what each coverage means.

Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability (BI/PD) covers your legal liability for an accident that involves injury to another person or damage to someone's property, up to the limit of liability you select.

Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage pays the cost of necessary medical care you receive as a result of a boating accident and can be used regardless of who is at fault. Covered people include the named policyholder and anyone in the boat at the time of the accident. MedPay also will pay for injuries caused while water skiing or tubing. Example:
You sustain $1,000 in injuries from a fall off your boat when you turned too quickly. You do not have any health insurance, which means you can use your MedPay coverage, up to the $1,000 limit you selected, for your injuries.

Fuel Spill Liability coverage is included with Bodily Injury/Property Damage Liability (BI/PD) coverage. Fuel Spill Liability covers unintentional oil or fuel spills resulting in bodily injury or property damage for which you are legally responsible because of an accident arising out of the ownership, maintenance or use of your insured boat.

You determine the amount of coverage when you select your BI/PD limits. Some policies will provide a separate limit. For example, American Reliable provides up to $800,000 per their policy terms.





Example:
You are at fault for an accident that injured another boater and damaged another boat. The other boater's total medical bills were $5,000 and the damage to the other boat was $8,000. Your BI/PD limits are 15/30/10, so all injuries and damages would be covered because they fall within the BI/PD limits you selected. Injuries to the other person were less than $15,000, and the amount for all injuries was less than $30,000. The other boat's damage also was below the $10,000 Property Damage Liability limit. It is recommended to carry NO LESS than $300,000 Combined Single Limit on your boat policy.


Uninsured Boater Bodily Injury coverage pays for medical treatment, wage loss and other damages you would have received from the other person's insurance company, had they been insured. Damages are covered up to the limit of coverage you select.
Example:
A boater who has no insurance bumps your boat when he is preparing to dock, which causes you to fall out of your boat and break your ankle on the planks. Your medical bills total $5,000 because of the injury. Your Uninsured Boater limits are $20,000/$40,000, which means your injuries fall within your Uninsured Boater limits and will be covered.

So those are the general definitions of the major types of coverages on your boat policy.

If you have any questions about this topic, please post and I will be happy to answer.

will follow these tips....

Thank you.

You should wander out into the other forums and see what's going on. The big talk these days is on towing and salvage and the differences between the two. Alot of the conversation revolved around the impact on the boater's pockebook, the coverages they need and how claims like that affect premiums.

I would like to add

If you have a total loss claim, you will be paid out at the Value your insirance company deems your boat is worth, based on "values"??

Or have it insured for an "AGREED REPLACEMENT VALUE" yes this may cost a little more, but unless your boat is the stripped down ragged piece of chit you will loose out.

I would like to add, the Agreed replacement value, their is no arguing back and forth,

WILL

Let me do some research on this topic and I will put it in the list of things I would like to educate on. Thanks for the suggestion!

Good point! I am a huge advocate of the AGREED VALUE policy. I do not recommend any policy that is ACV (Actual Cash Value). I will add more information on this and examples of this in the next education thread along with salvage and towing.

For it to be contextually effective, I'd suggest you search "SeaTow" and look at some of the recent threads- especially the ST hijack of the cat at the SIB race in June.

I have been following that thread... I will do the research and post when I can get everything put together. Thanks for the direction.

Sea Rape Tow