[Capt. Debbie]

First off get a REAL marine insurer. Home owner policies are cheap and convenient but don't cover real marine events and boat eventualities. Your boat sinks they write a check to face value for loss and walk away. But who pays for the salvage and the disposal? YOU DO.

Real Marine insurers covers salvage, recovery, oil fuel spills/leaks & Fines if it sinks, and obviously the same liability for personal injury and vessel loss coverage. A friend of mine lost a $15000 boat and was socked with $9000 in recovery costs.... the home owner insurance check was $15000. Disposal costs were another $3000.

But even real Marine insurers do not cover everything and every kind of run of the mill disaster. In my own policy on a real marine insurer in "fine print":

1- Nov 1 thru May 1 there is NO in water coverage it remains suspended unless I get a special "in water" off season rider.
2- My insurance coverage is totally suspended if I enter Florida waters.

Little things, but catastrophically bad if you don't know and do it assuming all is the same.