Whether you call it a boat house or a house boat, the idea is the same. It’s a boat, and you live in it. (As distinguished from a boathouse, which is a house your boat lives in.) Either way, you need to make sure that it’s properly insured. If you want to have a bad day, a really bad day, let the boat insurance on your house boat lapse and then have a catastrophic accident. I promise you’ll regret it at that point.

Wrapping your brain around house boat insurance

You need to understand, first off, that there are a couple of different types of boat insurance that will apply to house boats. One type pays you the Actual Cash Value of your boat (known in the industry as the ACV) minus any depreciation the insurance company sees fit to assess. This is the less expensive of the two types of insurance policy.

An Agreed Amount Value policy is a bit different. This type of policy sets the value of the boat from the outset. It includes the value of the hull, as well as anything attached to it. The key with this kind of coverage is to be able to identify all of the equipment on the boat and document it so that you can have a reliable value when you start the policy.

What you need to know

When you’re shopping for a policy, there are some specific questions you need to ask and some information you need to gather. They have to do with several categories:

• The Marine Survey. In most cases, your boat insurance company will need a marine survey of your vessel. They may want to do one yearly, depending on the type of your boat, or there may be several years in between surveys.
• Navigation limits. If you go outside of certain geographical areas, you won’t be covered. This is to protect the insurance company in case you travel to waters that are too dangerous for your type of craft. (Bermuda Triangle, anyone?)
• Lay-ups. If you only live on your houseboat part of the year, do you get a discount for winter storage? In warmer climates, you may not have this kind of option, but in colder locales you can usually get a discount.
• Deductible. Like most other types of insurance, your house boat insurance policy is going to have a deductible. The lower the deductible, the higher the premium. The typical deductible is around one or two percent.
• Live-aboard coverage. This is where a houseboat insurance policy differs from a regular boat insurance policy. You need specific coverage to handle your stuff and the extra liability that comes with living on the boat.

Photo via finchlake2000