Owning a boat or ship opens you up to a lot of potential hazards while on the water. Whether your water craft is for personal pleasure or commercial business, marine insurance or boat insurance can protect you while on the water.
Marine insurance can cover a wide range of aspects concerning marine operations and boat ownership. The simplest marine insurance policies cover against damage or the loss of the boat or ship; however more comprehensive marine insurance policies can cover damage and liability to third parties and their property. Marine insurance is also typically required on the boat or ship when taking out a loan to purchase the boat. Boat insurance can cover a wide variety of crafts, from jet skis to luxury yachts to commercial vessels.
For personal craft, once a boat is paid for and marine insurance is no longer required, liability coverage is still recommended. Liability coverage on boat insurance protects you if a third party is injured or their property is damaged, and it still covers damage to your boat or ship. Personal marine insurance can be customized to cover salvage operations, including fire, sinking, fuel spills, and running aground. Dock liability coverage can also be added to a marine insurance policy, protecting yourself from damage done to a marina or dock where your boat is docked.
Commercial marine insurance also has provisions to protect cargo in addition to many of the same protections in personal boat insurance. Water transportation has some of the most unpredictable hazards, and even those that can be predicted are hard to avoid. Pitching and rolling of ships can damage cargo as it rolls around inside the hold of the ship itself, despite the best packing by the company that packed the contents. Commercial marine insurance protects the owner of the ship from having to cover the cost of the damages. In addition, commercial marine insurance needs more provisions for employees, as well as third parties, since contractors are used on some larger vessels to have a full crew. Also, since commercial vessels are generally larger that personal vessels, commercial marine insurance can cover larger ships than personal boat insurance.
Marine insurance can be very strict, with policies spelling out every minute detail and can be void if the details of the insurance policy are not regarded. Finding the best personal boat insurance quotes or getting business insurance quotes for a commercial marine insurance policy can therefore be very time consuming and if the details are not checked and double checked, a missed item could be potentially disastrous. An independent insurance agency can help out, since most have the ability to write policies for many different insurance providers. With a simple collection of information, independent insurance agents can seek out the best marine insurance policy to create a tailored final product.
About Boardwalk Insurance: Boardwalk Insurance Group is licensed to write marine insurance and boat insurance policies in over half the United States and has many other insurance solutions available through its affiliated insurance providers. You can contact a Boardwalk Insurance representative by visiting this website: http://www.boardwalkinsurance.com/products-and-services/insurance-offered/marine-insurance.aspx