5 Questions to Ask Before Buying a Boat Policy

Boating around Palm Beach County? Ask these 5 questions before you buy boat insurance so you're not surprised after a claim. Local, plain-English advice.

TL;DR:** Not all boat policies are built the same, and the cheapest quote often skips the coverage you'll actually need after a storm, a breakdown offshore, or a dock mishap. Before you buy, ask about agreed value versus actual cash value, hurricane haul-out rules, towing, liability limits, and who's allowed to drive. Get the answers in writing, not just a verbal promise from whoever sold you the policy. Hey neighbor, Coastal Kayla here. I love a good sunset cruise out past the Lantana bridge as much as anyone, but I've also seen what happens when someone buys a boat policy the way they'd buy a beach umbrella. Quick decision, lowest price, done. Then a named storm shows up, or the outdrive throws a rod twenty miles offshore, and suddenly that policy doesn't do what they assumed it would. Your homeowners policy is not going to bail you out here either. I know it feels like it should cover "everything you own," but boats are almost always excluded or barely covered under a standard homeowners insurance policy, especially once you're talking about anything with real horsepower. Boats get their own policy for a reason. So before you buy one, here are five questions worth asking, whether you're insuring a center console out of the Boynton Inlet or a pontoon on the Intracoastal. 1. Is this Agreed Value or Actual Cash Value? This is the single biggest fork in the road on any boat policy, and it's the one most people never ask about. Agreed Value means you and the insurer agree on the boat's value up front, and that's what you get paid on a total loss, no depreciation deducted. Actual Cash Value (ACV) means the payout gets reduced for depreciation, sometimes significantly, especially on engines and electronics that lose value fast. Here's why this matters in South Florida…