Do You Need Personal Watercraft Insurance?

Do You Need Personal Watercraft Insurance?

Generally, personal watercraft (PWC) insurance, unlike auto insurance, will not be required by your state. State requirements should not determine whether you need this valuable protection. Before you make a decision, consider the following three important points about PWC insurance.

1. PWC insurance protects your investment.

It’s not cheap to purchase personal watercraft for your family and keep it properly maintained and stored. While you might be investing your time and money in the PWC for fun rather than value appreciation, you are investing assets that could be spent elsewhere. Without PWC insurance to reimburse you for physical damage or theft, you could be forced to spend your savings to replace your craft or to go without; this means you would be losing out on all the time and money spent on it in the first place. Since PWC insurance also provides valuable towing and environmental cleanup benefits, it can save you money in even more ways.

2. PWC insurance provides medical payments coverage.

If you or one of your passengers is injured while operating a personal watercraft your PWC policy (if it has medical payments coverage) will pay the medical expenses for treatment within deductibles and limits. This includes those injured while on water skis or wake boarders, unless operated after dark or, when one is required, without a license.

3. PWC protects against liabilities.

You and your family aren’t the only individuals who can be injured when you operate a personal watercraft. You could hurt someone else or damage their property in an accident. If you do, without insurance you must cover the entire cost of the liability. But with insurance, you have coverage for incidents that exceed your PWC deductibles and fall below your limits. This includes damage to a dock or another watercraft. 

Exclusions in PWC Insurance

Watercraft that has been modified in order to increase speed capabilities may be excluded from coverage on your policy. In addition, if you operate your watercraft without a driver’s license (when one is required) or at dark, your incident may be excluded.

Kick off your summer fun with the right Texas boat insurance policies at your side. Give us a call at 512-518-6292 to find out how we can help protect your family and your assets this summer, and all year round.