Insurance, moorage and living aboard

Paperwork & ownership · Power & sail

Insurance may not be legally required, but lenders and most marinas require it, and older boats can be harder to insure. Line up insurance and a slip before you close. If you plan to live aboard, check the marina's rules and any state limits first.

Insurance basics

• Lenders require hull coverage, and most marinas want proof of liability insurance; some want to be named on the policy. A homeowner's policy usually isn't enough for a cruising-size boat.
• Agreed-value policies pay a set sum for a total loss; actual-cash-value policies subtract depreciation. Read how the policy treats wear and tear, damage that follows a failed part, salvage, wreck removal and fuel spills.
• Policies may limit where and when you cruise; the Loop association notes many require boats to be out of hurricane areas in hurricane season.

Insuring an older boat

• Insurers treat age differently. One insurer's 2026 guide calls boats over 20 older, 25 to 40 classic and over 40 antique. An agency's January 2026 guide says surveys are typically needed from about 15 to 20 years and some insurers stop at 30 or 40.
• Expect the insurer to want a recent survey and to make coverage conditional on fixing urgent items by a deadline. Miss it and coverage can lapse.
• Check depreciation on partial losses. In 2020 one major insurer began depreciating sails, canvas and similar items from year six, and machinery from year eleven.
• Washington requires proof of marine insurance when a boat over 35 feet and over 40 years old is transferred or first registered: at least $300,000 of coverage for 12 months, including removal if it sinks or pollutes.

Moorage

• Find a slip before you buy. Popular public marinas can have long waits; the Port of Anacortes, Washington, estimated 2 to 3 years for a 40-foot slip as of August 2026.
• Marinas usually ask for proof of insurance and registration. In Washington, a boat moored more than 30 days must give the marina proof of registration or an exemption form.

Living aboard

• Many marinas ban or limit liveaboards. Clearwater, Florida's city marinas are not liveaboard facilities, though tenants may stay aboard up to eight nights a month.
• Washington limits liveaboard slips on state-owned aquatic lands to 10% of a marina's slips unless a local shoreline plan sets another figure, and marinas may allow fewer. Sewage must be disposed of ashore.
• Where it's allowed, expect conditions. Anacortes requires a boat of 32 feet or more, counts anyone aboard more than 15 days in 30 as a liveaboard, caps the program at 100 boats and runs background checks.
• Tell your insurer if you'll live aboard; an agency guide says specialized liveaboard policies and prior experience are often required.

Sources disagree on Boat age at which insurers treat a boat as older or require a survey — left out rather than guessed. Check your local authority.

General guidance for recreational boaters, researched from the sources listed and written in our own words. Your equipment manuals, local knowledge, the Navigation Rules and a qualified instructor come first.