By law, you do not have to carry insurance to operate your PWC. However, most marinas will require you to carry $1,000,000 or $2,000,000 in liability insurance if you are going to moor or store your PWC on their property. If you are financing the purchase of your PWC, the bank or financing company will require you to carry fire & theft insurance.

Most home insurance policies will not allow you to insure your PWC on the policy. You may have no choice but to insure your PWC under a stand-alone boat insurance policy. Contact your broker to find out if coverage is available.

Home insurance policies are not intended to cover marine risks and have limited coverage for PWCs where as a stand-alone PWC insurance policy will offer all-risk coverage. The basis of loss settlement on a stand-alone PWC insurance policy is Agreed Value which is the amount shown on the policy declaration page. On a home insurance policy, the basis of loss settlement is Actual Cash Value which is replacement cost less depreciation. You may save some money by adding your PWC to your home insurance policy but it could cost you thousands of dollars when a loss occurs, assuming you have coverage in the first place.

Lastly, if you insure your PWC under your home insurance policy, a claim on your PWC counts as a claim against your home insurance policy. Once you have a couple of claims, your insurance company may cancel your home insurance policy. If that happens, you will have to purchase a high risk policy at triple the premium you were paying before.

The difference between Agreed Value and Actual Cash Value is in how an insurance company calculates the amount they will pay out under a total loss. An Agreed Value policy will pay the amount (limit) that is shown on policy declaration. An Actual Cash Value policy will pay the replacement cost of the boat less depreciation. The insurance company will take into account the market value of similar boats as well as the condition of the boat prior to the loss. The payout under an Actual Cash Value policy can be significantly less than under an Agreed Value policy.

The physical damage to your PWC and trailer is covered under your PWC insurance policy. The liability coverage is covered under your auto insurance policy. For example, if someone rear-ended you and damaged the PWC and/or trailer, this would be covered under your PWC insurance policy. If the trailer disconnected from your vehicle and damaged a third party vehicle, your auto insurance policy would respond.

This insurance applies only when the Insured personal watercraft is located within the following navigation areas and land within these limits:

East Coast of Canada and U.S.A (east of 120 degrees of longitude west): Inland and coastal waters of Canada and United-States between 40th and 52nd latitude North but no farther than 10 nautical miles offshore. Navigation south of Tappan Zee Bridge on the Hudson River in New York Harbor is excluded

West Coast of Canada and U.S.A (West of 120 degrees of longitude west): All Canadian Inland waters except the Fraser River above the junction of the Sumas River no further than 10 nautical miles offshore Costal waters within the area bounded by lines drawn between Cape Flattery (U.S.A.) and Owen Point (Canada) to the Southwest of Vancouver Island, Cape Sutil and Mexicana Point and Cape James and Allison Harbor to the Northwest of Vancouver Island no further than 10 nautical miles offshore.

If you plan to travel outside of the Navigational Limits, additional coverage may be available. Contact your broker with details of your trip.

Yes, we can insure your boat. We have a stand-alone boat insurance program at insurancebroker.ca.