You will absolutely want to insure your houseboat.  Afterall you will have invested a significant amount of time and money in your boat and you will also want to protect your family, guests, and other boaters as well.  Try to find a policy that will cover your personal belongings on the boat as well.

There are two basic types of insurance for houseboats: Actual Cash Value and Agreed Amount Value.

Actual Cash Value insurance will pay you the actual cash value of your houseboat less any depreciation.  The depreciation amount could be significant and could greatly affect the amount you are paid for your loss.

With agreed amount value insurance you pre-determine the value of your houseboat before any loss and pay the stipulated premium for that amount.

You’ll want to make sure to know the answers to certain questions regarding insuring your boat house:

• Are there navigation limits in your policy?  Where can you take your houseboat without violating the policy?
• Will you need a marine survey (most likely)?  At what time intervals will you have to do them?
• What liability types are you covered for and for what amounts?
• What dates are used for the Lay-Up Period?
• What is your deductible?  It’s usually 1 to 2 percent of the insured value.
• Are you going to live aboard your houseboat?  Do you need liveaboard coverage?
• Will you need coverage for a dinghy or personal watercraft?

Once you have the answers to these questions it will be easier for you to determine what type of policy you should pursue and what your insured value and premium should be.

There are quite a few companies that issue house boat insurance.  Some of the more well known one’s are:

• United Marine
• National Marine
• State Farm
• Aetna
• Farmers
• Allstate
• BoatUS Insurance