The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
Warm weather is here, and the boats, jet skis, and paddleboards are coming out of storage. Whether you're taking the family out on the lake, towing the kids on a tube, or finally launching that jet ski you bought over the winter, summer on the water is one of the best parts of the year.
It pays to spend a few minutes making sure you're protected before you go, because the water is also where things go wrong. The most recent data from the U.S. Coast Guard counted 3,887 boating accidents in 2024 that led to 556 deaths, 2,170 injuries, and $88 million in property damage. The real number is probably higher, since smaller accidents often go unreported.
Your home insurance barely covers your boat. It might help with a small boat or a paddleboard while it's sitting in your garage, but only up to a small dollar amount. The moment you put it in the water, you're mostly on your own. If you own anything bigger than a kayak, and especially if you own a jet ski, you'll need a separate boat policy to be truly protected.
Insure.com explains how homeowners and boat insurance work together to protect boats, jet skis, and other gear on the water.
Homeowners insurance does cover boats and watercraft, but only small or nonmotorized ones, only while they're on your property, and only up to about $1,000 to $1,500. Once you get into bigger boats, faster boats, most jet skis, or anything that goes wrong out on the water, you're generally not covered.
“Homeowners covers watercraft to some extent for fire, theft and those types of things,” says Erica Ostrander, vice president of markets and franchise success at We Insure.
Liability is the bigger blind spot. Typically, you won't have liability coverage for your watercraft through your home insurance, or if you do, it will be limited and won't cover larger boats. So if someone gets hurt on your boat or you bang up another vessel, you could be stuck paying for it yourself — the kind of bill a real boat policy would have handled.
A homeowners policy typically covers smaller boats and nonmotorized watercraft as personal property, meaning they're protected the same way your furniture or bike would be. The usual qualifiers are:
Even when your watercraft makes the list, the protection is thin. Coverage is usually capped at an amount that may not come close to replacing a paddleboard or a small sailboat. And while you're protected against fire and theft, the on-water stuff that actually sinks boats — collision, capsizing, running aground — is excluded. Anything used for racing, rentals, or business is out too, and personal watercraft like jet skis need their own policy entirely.
Homeowners insurance won't cover larger or faster boats at all, and it excludes most personal watercraft because their motors almost always exceed the horsepower limits insurers set. Even for the small boats it does cover, the policy generally stops protecting you the moment you leave your property, which is exactly when most accidents happen.
That means you shouldn't count on your homeowners policy for any of the following:
“Flood (protection) is a big piece of this,” Ostrander says. Even if a homeowners policy will cover a boat, it won’t pay a claim if damage is related to flooding. Homeowners need a separate boat insurance policy for that.
Paddleboards and kayaks are covered by homeowners insurance as personal property, the same category as your electronics or furniture. Because of that, they're often protected even when they're away from home, so a kayak stolen from your car at the trailhead or damaged in a storm may still be covered. That off-premises protection is usually capped, though, commonly at around 10% of your total personal property limit, or a specific amount spelled out in your policy. Any claim is also subject to your deductible.
What the policy won't cover is damage that happens while you're actually out on the water, or the normal wear and tear from regular use. So a kayak stolen from your garage or your roof rack is likely covered, while one that cracks against a rock midstream is on you.
Even when a claim is technically covered, it's often not worth filing. Because paddleboards and kayaks tend to be low in value, the payout can be smaller than your deductible, or nonexistent. Say you have a $750 kayak and a $1,000 deductible.
Your insurer won't pay a cent, since the loss falls entirely under what you'd owe out of pocket. Worse, filing anyway can count as a claim on your record and raise your annual premium. For inexpensive gear like this, paying to replace it yourself is usually the smarter move.
If your boat is worth more than about $1,500, it's time to look into a dedicated policy. That's roughly the point where a homeowners policy stops being enough, and for most motorized boats and any jet ski, it's really the only coverage that will do the job.
"If the value of your boat is over $1,500, that's when you need to look into it," Ostrander says.
The upside is that a dedicated boat or personal watercraft policy actually covers the things that go wrong on the water, offering broad coverage for:
Just as important, a separate policy covers your boat wherever you take it, not just while it's parked at home. That's the gap a homeowners policy leaves wide open, since the water is exactly where you're most likely to need coverage.
Your auto liability coverage will cover you when you're towing — but just for liability, not damage to the boat.
Not all boat policies pay out the same way, and the difference can run into the thousands. When you buy a policy, check whether it covers your boat at its agreed value or its actual cash value, because that single line determines how big your check is if the boat is ever destroyed.
Agreed value costs more month to month but protects you when it counts. If you're insuring a newer or higher-value boat, it's usually worth the difference.
Most boaters worry about damage to their own boat, but the bigger financial risk is often what you might owe someone else. A cracked hull costs a few thousand dollars to repair. Seriously injuring a passenger or swimmer can cost hundreds of thousands, and that's the kind of bill liability coverage exists to handle.
There's no shortage of ways to end up on the hook out on the water:
If you're sued over any of these, solid liability coverage is what stands between you and your savings. And if you have real assets to protect, it's worth looking at an umbrella policy, which extends your liability limits well beyond what your boat or homeowners policy alone provides, usually for a modest annual cost.
Most boat insurance costs a few hundred dollars a year, usually less than people expect. At Progressive, one of the country's largest boat insurers, the average annual policy from 2023 to 2024 ran from $267 in Minnesota to $839 in Florida. Jet skis and other personal watercraft tend to sit at the lower end, since they're worth less than most boats.
A few things drive your rate.
Where you live makes a real difference. Northern and landlocked states like Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin are usually the cheapest, while coastal states with longer seasons and hurricane risk, like Florida, Texas, and Louisiana, tend to be more expensive.
There are also a few easy ways to pay less.
Renting instead of owning? Don't assume you're covered just because the rental company handed you the keys. Ask what their policy actually covers before you sign, because rental coverage often protects the company's boat, not you, and may not cover injuries to your passengers or damage you cause to another boat.
Ask the rental company three quick questions before you head out.
For a one-day rental, that damage waiver is often the simplest way to protect yourself.
Your own coverage might help, but usually only partway. Some boat policies extend to a rented boat of a similar size, so it's worth a quick call to your insurer before your trip if you already own one. Your homeowners policy won't help once you're on the water, and your auto policy only covers liability when you are towing and provides no coverage for damage to the boat. For a weeklong charter or a pricier boat, a short-term rental policy is usually the smarter buy.
To get the right coverage before summer, read your homeowners declarations page for watercraft caps and exclusions, get quotes for a standalone boat or personal watercraft policy, and confirm your boat is registered in your state. If your boat is worth more than about $1,500 or has a real motor, a dedicated policy is almost always the answer, and you can usually have one in place within a day.
Here's how to actually get covered:
Sort your coverage out a week or two before your first trip, not five minutes before you back down the ramp. That gives you time to actually read a policy instead of grabbing whatever's fastest.
And watch the one gap people miss most — the trailer. Your boat policy usually covers the boat, and your auto policy covers the truck, but the trailer hauling everything in between often falls through the cracks unless you specifically add it. Ask about it before you're broken down on the shoulder of the highway.
Insurance documents are dense, and the watercraft details are often buried in fine print. Rather than guessing, call your agent and get clear answers to these questions:
A little planning goes a long way here. Homeowners insurance is great for a kayak or paddleboard sitting in the garage. But for anything with a motor, you'll want a dedicated boat or personal watercraft policy. That's what gives you real liability protection, coverage that follows you onto the water, and a payout that actually reflects what your boat is worth.
Take ten minutes before your first trip out. Get three to five quotes for a standalone boat policy if you own anything motorized, and make sure your boat and trailer are both registered and documented with photos and serial numbers.
Run through the same quick check once a year, since your boat and how you use it will change over time, and you'll spend the season focused on the water ahead of you instead of the coverage behind you.
Does homeowners insurance cover a jet ski?
No, not typically. Most jet skis exceed the horsepower limits in homeowners policies, and a separate policy must be purchased for them.
What size boat does homeowners insurance cover?
Boats up to 25 feet in length are typically covered. Boats also must generally have engines that are no larger than 25 horsepower for outboard motors or 50 horsepower for inboard motors.
Are paddleboards covered under homeowners insurance?
Yes, paddleboards are covered as personal property. That means they will be covered if stolen or damaged on your property. However, you may not have protection when using your paddleboard on the water.
This story was produced by Insure.com and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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