Louisville, KY Boat Insurance
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Ann Herro has been writing about insurance and employee benefits for over 15 years. She has covered topics as easy as insuring a car, and as difficult as transparency in healthcare costs.
Even those who live within the city like to get out and experience the outdoor activities the state of Kentucky has to offer. Many residents who live near the shores of Lake Cumberland enjoy boating at its finest. Boating is an extremely popular sport in Louisville, but it’s important to have the proper protection. The waters get congested around the holidays and summer months and the chance of an accident increases. Louisville, KY boat insurance will also protect your boat during the winter months.
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Boating Near Louisville
- Louisville Waterfront Park
- Falls of the Ohio State Park
- Lake Cumberland
- Barren River Lake
Who Needs Louisville Boat Insurance?
Whether you own a plain fishing boat or a decked out bass boat, you probably need boat insurance. Whether you have a small powerboat or a luxury sailboat, you need boat insurance. No matter what kind of boat you own, it’s possible that it may be involved in an accident or suffer another type of damage. You can also potentially be responsible for accidents and injuries to others. Boats can be stolen, vandalized and even suffer damage when in storage.
Some homeowner policies will provide protection for a boat and others will not. Even if your boat is covered under your homeowner policy, it’s likely subject to a limited coverage amount. Even if you only use your boat during the summer, that doesn’t mean you don’t need coverage. Accidents can happen at any time and when they do, your Louisville boat insurance policy will help pay for the damage and medical expenses.
The Right Amount of Boat Coverage
Not having insurance coverage could potentially be devastating. Determining how much coverage you actually need can be hard. Since insurance isn’t required, there aren’t any minimum amounts you must buy, so coverage is up to you. There are a few things to take into consideration when setting coverage limits:
- Boat value
- Boat make and model
- Boat size and age
- Driving history
- Purpose and use
Someone who owns a high-speed powerboat will need a very different policy and coverage amount than a wind-powered sailboat owner. Consider your personal assets. If you’re involved in an accident and are sued, your assets can be at risk. With the right amount of liability insurance, you can be protected financially.
What Does Boat Liability Insurance Cover?
Boat liability insurance ensures that you will not be held responsible for paying out of pocket for costs associated with an accident. Boat accidents can be extremely costly.
- Property damage liability: Covers harm done to another person’s boat, dock, water skis or other possessions
- Bodily injury liability: Covers the costs associated with one or more person(s) injuries, such as medical expenses, hospitalization, and rehabilitation
- Pollution liability: Covers you in the event of a fuel spill
- Wreckage removal: Covers your legal obligation to remove debris after an incident
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What Types of Boat Insurance Are There?
Since every type of boat is different, there are many different policies available.
- Uninsured boaters insurance: This insurance provides additional medical coverage in the event that you are injured in a collision with an uninsured boater.
- Fuel spill and wreckage clean-up insurance: Occasionally, boat collisions require costly clean-up. This is particularly true when fuel spills pollute the water. If you are deemed responsible for damages, you will be required to cover the clean-up costs. This added insurance will help cover this expense, as well as any debris.
- Premises liability coverage: This coverage is useful for commercial fishing establishments that perform fishing operations both on and off the boat. It includes personal injury and medical payments coverage as well as libel, slander, wrongful entry and invasion of privacy. This coverage is designed to help you if someone is injured or you're liable for damages on your boat.
- Storm haul-out insurance: In the event of an NOAA-named storm in your area, this coverage will assist with the costs of hauling or safely securing your boat.
- Gear and fishing tackle insurance: While your hull insurance will protect the components of your boat from loss and damage, in order to protect your expensive fishing equipment, you will need to add on the gear and fishing tackle insurance.
- Tournament insurance: Those who enjoy sports fishing often compete in fishing competitions. Tournament coverage will provide you with the necessary liability coverage needed to compete in these tournaments. It may also cover any tournament entry fees, for example, if the fees are paid but your boat is damaged and you are unable to participate.
- Charter boat coverage: If you are working as a fishing guide or are running a charter boat fishing operation, charter boat coverage is required by law and necessary to protect your business assets.
What about Towing Coverage?
Even if you are a safe boater, you can never predict road conditions or other drivers. Towing coverage can even cover you while you're enjoying your day out on the lake. There are two main types of towing coverage:
- On-road towing: This covers the costs of towing, up to your policy limit, if you have a problem while trailering your boat on the road and need it towed. On-road towing is sometimes covered in a standard auto insurance policy, but it is a good idea to check the fine print of your policy to make sure. If your auto insurance doesn’t cover boat towing and you’re involved in an accident while your boat is hitched up, you could face some major costs to have another company move your vessel.
- On-water towing: This will cover the costs of towing, up to your policy limit, if you have a problem on the water and need your boat towed in to shore. On-water towing will cover the hauling of your boat to a service area if it is stuck or stalled, runs out of gas or is in an accident. Because on-water towing professionals risk their boats and lives to bring you safely to shore, the price you'll pay is likely going to be high; an uninsured boat towing incident can cost $500 to $1,000 or more. If your boat is disabled due to an accident, the tow can be far pricier. By contrast, boat-towing insurance is typically very reasonable at about $100 to $150 per year, depending on the company you work with.
Comparing Louisville Boat Insurance Quote
The amount you pay for insurance will be based on the value of your boat and other factors, so the first step is to identify the right coverage amounts for your unique needs. When you work with an independent agent, you have access to guidance on the coverage you need. A member agent can also help you find discounts that may be available to you, and may also help you bundle multiple policies together for savings.
Contact an independent insurance agent for all your insurance needs today.