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Your homeowners insurance provides limited coverage for your boat and other watercraft through personal property coverage. Personal property coverage protects your personal effects from various perils, including fire, hail, wind, theft, vandalism and more. Typically, you can file a claim for up to $1,000 if a covered peril damages your waterborne vehicle.

In cases where a homeowners insurance policy doesn’t cover waterborne vehicles, you can usually purchase an add-on endorsement called “specialty vehicle coverage.”

Your homeowners insurance provides limited coverage — usually up to $1,000 — for your boat or other watercraft.

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When Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Boats & Watercraft?

Your homeowners insurance protects your boat and watercraft from different perils through personal property coverage. For example, you are covered:

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  • If your boat or watercraft is stolen.
  • If hail damages your boat or watercraft, provided the vessel was inside an enclosed building when it sustained damage.
  • If you lose any belongings in your boat.

While your homeowners insurance policy extends protections to boats and other waterborne vehicles, you can only get around $1,000 in coverage through most policies. Since you will have to pay a deductible, the amount you’ll receive may not be worth the trouble of filing a claim. As such, it’s a good idea to invest in add-on boat insurance to ensure your waterborne vessel is fully protected from various perils.

When Doesn’t Homeowners Insurance Cover Boats & Watercraft?

Your homeowners insurance won’t cover liability damages caused by your boat. For example, you’re not covered if you damage property or injure another person while driving your watercraft. In addition, your personal property coverage doesn’t extend to items exclusive to your vessel, such as stereo or fishing systems.

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How to Protect Your Boats & Watercraft

Your homeowners insurance may provide limited coverage to your boat or watercraft, but it’s still best to protect your vessel from damages.

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    Don’t leave valuables inside

    Don’t leave valuables, such as fishing gear, inside your boat. Consider investing in a lockbox if you want to leave items on your boat.

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    Buy boat insurance

    The best way to protect your vessel and yourself from financial hardship is by buying boat insurance. Unlike the $1,000 limit from homeowners insurance, you get coverage based on your watercraft’s value.

Where to Buy Homeowners Insurance

Major insurance companies like State Farm, Progressive and GEICO offer homeowners insurance. You can also purchase insurance from smaller insurance providers, such as Hippo and Lemonade.

If you’re looking for homeowners insurance, MoneyGeek suggests that you shop around and compare rates. The average cost of homeowners insurance is $175 per month, but that can change based on the value of your personal property. You can use MoneyGeek’s personal property calculator to determine how much coverage you will need.

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About Mark Fitzpatrick

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Mark Fitzpatrick is a senior content director at MoneyGeek with over five years of experience analyzing the insurance market, conducting original research and creating content that can be personalized for every buyer. He has been quoted on insurance topics in several publications, including CNBC, NBC News and Mashable.

Mark earned a master’s degree in Economics and International Relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College. He is passionate about using his economics and insurance knowledge to bring transparency around financial topics and help others feel confident in their money moves.