Boat Insurance
By Capt. Dan Berg

Having adequate boat insurance is not only highly recommended it is in my opinion mandatory. Mother Nature, and the marine environment can play some very nasty tricks on mariners. Many years ago when my Dad and I shared a 21' Pro-Line we put our insurance to good use. The mariner that stored the boat over the winter re-launched the vessel for us as scheduled. As always they also transported the boat and left it in our slip. After work I rode my bike down to the boat yard and found the sunken boat. To say the least I was devastated. At that point even though I was a certified diver I had no experience with salvage. We arranged to have the boat raised but all of the electronics were ruined. Anyway to make a long story short the plug had been left out when the boat was put back in the water. Of course the local boat yard would not accept responsibility so we utilized our insurance policy. They did all the work and very quickly provided the funds that allowed us to enjoy the boating season.

Twenty years later on a larger inboard vessel we hit a submerged object which actually cracked through the hull. The leak was small but 40 miles offshore and having water stream into your boat is never a good thing. Again my marine insurance came to the rescue and paid for everything including hauling the boat and required fiberglass repairs.

Anyway, even if you never have to use it a good marine insurance policy is well worth the money. It will protect you prized investment and insure future enjoyment of our waterways.