Boat Insurance Requirements by State
Three states require boat insurance: Arkansas, Utah and Hawaii. The other 47 do not. In practice your lender, your marina and, in those three states, your registration renewal are what actually require it. Select your state below for the statute, the figures and the date we last checked them.
Every figure on this page carries the statute it comes from and the date we last read it. Where a state's code sets no number, we say so instead of estimating one.
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States that require a private owner to insure
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Every state, each with a source and a date
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Does your state require boat insurance?
Pick your state and the checker returns what actually applies to it. Most searches on this question get a yes or a no. That is the wrong shape of answer, because a boat insurance rule can turn on the length of your boat, the power of its engine, whether it is a personal watercraft, or whether you are renting it out. So the card names the mechanism first, then answers four separate questions.
Three of the four answers are law and one is contract, and the card labels which is which. The two legal answers carry a statute citation and the date we last verified it. The lender and the marina answers are terms in an agreement you signed, which is why they bind you in states whose law asks for nothing at all.
Where we have not read a state's boating code end to end, the card says so and shows no statute number. Where a statute exists but sets no figure, the card prints “not verifiable” rather than a plausible guess. We would rather publish a gap than a number we cannot stand behind.
State requirement checker
50 states, each with a source and a date
You will see the answer here
Choose a state above. The card fills in with the statutory position, the figure where one exists, the statute it comes from, and the date we last read it.
What you get
Or start with the three that do require it
50 states covered · 10 read end to end · 3 require cover
The three states that require it, with the statute and the figure
| State | Who it applies to | Minimum | Statute | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | Motorboats over 50 horsepower, and all personal watercraft | $50,000 liability per occurrence | Ark. Code Ann. 27-101-207 | August 2026 |
| Utah | Motorboats over 50 horsepower, and all personal watercraft | $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident, $15,000 property damage, or a $65,000 combined single limit | Utah Code 73-18c-301; limits at 31A-22-1503 | August 2026 |
| Hawaii | Vessels 26 feet and over | $100,000 for removal and salvage of a grounded vessel | HRS 200-13.5 | August 2026 |
Arkansas asks for proof at first registration and again at renewal. The threshold catches more boats than owners expect: any motorboat over 50 horsepower, plus every personal watercraft regardless of power. If an uninsured boat is involved in an accident on Arkansas waters, the owner commits a Class A misdemeanour.
Utah runs the most detailed regime in the country. Those figures are the motorboat limits under section 31A-22-1503. They are not Utah's motor-vehicle minimums, which are different numbers, and the two get mixed up constantly. Utah also lets an owner post a surety bond or a deposit with the state treasurer instead of buying a policy.
Hawaii is the one almost every published source gets wrong
Hawaii does not require liability insurance. It requires $100,000 of cover for the removal and salvage of a grounded vessel, which is a different product answering a different problem. The threshold is 26 feet and greater, and the state is explicit that 26-foot boats are included rather than excluded. A smaller boat is caught too if its owner has ever grounded a vessel anywhere in the state.
That distinction matters when you buy. A liability policy sized to $100,000 does not satisfy Hawaii if it does not respond to wreck removal, and the state asks to see a declarations page showing that removal and salvage are covered.
One accuracy note about published sources, offered as fact rather than criticism. AI-generated search summaries currently disagree with each other about how many states require boat insurance, with answers ranging from two to three to “47 out of 50” depending on how the question is phrased, and several describe Hawaii's requirement as liability cover. Read the statute, or read a page that cites it.
Your lender requires it, and the wording is the part people miss
If you financed the boat, your loan agreement almost certainly requires insurance, and that binds far more owners than any statute does. Three details rarely make it onto the comparison sites.
Physical damage, not just liability
Your lender will want physical damage cover, not just liability. Liability protects other people. The lender is protecting the asset it has a claim on, so it wants the hull itself insured.
Loss payee is a wording change
Your lender must be named as loss payee on the policy. This is a change to the policy schedule, not a phone call or an email. If the wording is not there, the requirement is not met, whatever cover you hold.
Let the policy lapse and the lender can buy cover for you and bill you. Washington's insurance regulator describes this force-placed insurance plainly: it is more expensive than buying coverage on your own, and it protects the lender rather than you.
Lenders increasingly ask for agreed value rather than actual cash value on newer hulls, which changes what you are paid after a total loss rather than what you pay each year. We have no reliable figure for a typical required limit, because it varies by lender, so we do not publish one. If you are not sure which basis your policy uses, our agreed-value checker walks through it.
Your marina requires it, and the marina sets the number
This is the requirement most owners actually meet, and it is a contract term rather than a law. Nothing in your state's boating code obliges you to carry it; your slip agreement does.
Marina and slip agreements commonly set a liability limit somewhere between $300,000 and $1,000,000, with larger marinas at the higher end. That range is what we see in slip agreements rather than a statutory minimum, and no public primary source publishes it, so treat it as an expectation to check rather than a rule to rely on. Read your own agreement.
One marina-style minimum is properly sourced, and it belongs to a state. Hawaii's Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation requires vessels on mooring or dry-land storage permits in state facilities to carry $300,000 to $500,000 of liability, naming the State of Hawaii as additional insured, with coverage including salvage, pollution and dock damage.
Two mechanics get skipped in most write-ups. Your marina will ask for a certificate of insurance, which your broker issues. Larger operators go further and ask to be named additional insured, which, like the loss-payee wording, is a change to the policy rather than a document you send.
A hurricane plan is a separate requirement some marinas impose, and it is a different document with its own conditions. Our hurricane plan generator produces one.
Do you need insurance to register a boat?
In 47 states, no. In Arkansas, Utah and Hawaii, yes, and each does it differently.
- Arkansas asks for proof of liability insurance at initial registration and at every renewal.
- Utah requires the owner to swear or affirm in writing that security is in effect at the time of registering, under section 73-18c-303, and separately requires evidence to be carried aboard and shown on demand under section 73-18c-304.
- Hawaii wants a declarations page at first registration, at renewal or transfer, and aboard while operating.
Utah carries the sharpest consequence on this page. Under section 73-18-13.5, the Division revokes the registration of a motorboat involved in an accident unless the owner can show security was in effect at the time.
Three pieces of paperwork get conflated here, and none of them is insurance. State registration gives you a certificate of number and the numbers on your hull. Federal documentation with the Coast Guard is an alternative form of title for larger vessels. A boating safety certificate says the operator has passed a course. A state can require all three and still not require you to insure anything.
Where a requirement really does exist: rentals, party boats and charters
Most of the mandates people half-remember are real. They just apply to commercial use.
| Who | Statute | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Florida vessel livery | Fla. Stat. 327.54(7)(a) | $500,000 per person, $1,000,000 per event |
| Florida commercial parasailing | Fla. Stat. 327.375 | $1,000,000 per occurrence, $2,000,000 annual aggregate |
| Texas party boat | Tex. Parks & Wild. Code 31.175(c), amount set by 31 Tex. Admin. Code 55.405(b) | $300,000 |
| Texas vessel livery | Tex. Parks & Wild. Code 31.111(a) | Required, no amount stated in the statute |
| Washington charter boat, more than six passengers for hire | RCW 88.04.025(4) | Required, no amount stated in the statute |
The two rows with no figure are not gaps in our research. Those statutes impose the duty and leave the amount unstated, and publishing that is more useful than inventing a number. West Virginia gets the same treatment: W. Va. Code 20-7-16(f) requires livery insurance and we defer the current figure to the state DNR.
Georgia works differently again, and our boat rental insurance page covers it along with the Florida livery rules and their statute links.
The boundary is simple. If the boat is being rented, chartered or carrying passengers for hire, those duties apply and they are on that page, or on our charter company insurance page. This page is about the boat you own.
A state minimum is a floor, not a target
Take the highest statutory liability floor any US state sets on a private boat: Utah's $25,000 per person. Now put it next to three other numbers already on this page.
- Utah statutory floor, per person
- $25,000
- Hawaii state harbour mooring permit
- $300,000 to $500,000
- Florida rental operator, per person, for a customer
- $500,000
- Large marina slip agreement, private owner
- $1,000,000
The statutory floor is the smallest number in that list by an order of magnitude. It was written to catch the uninsured, not to reflect what a cruising yacht can actually cost someone.
What drives the limit you need is different from what drives the limit your state names. How many guests you carry. Whether wreck removal and pollution clean-up sit inside your liability limit or outside it, because on a grounding those two costs arrive together and they are not small. Where you cruise, and what the marinas and authorities there ask to see.
World Yacht Insurance is a yacht-insurance introducer arranging hull and liability cover up to $5M for sail and motor yachts worldwide, including the Caribbean, placed in the London market through London Marine Insurance Services Ltd, a Lloyd's-accredited broker authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference 308599. Larger risks are placed in the wider Lloyd's market. We are not an insurer and do not carry risk. Tell us the boat, the value and where you keep her, and we will come back with terms.
This page publishes no premium figures. For what cover actually costs, see our cost guide or the cost calculator.
This page is general information about state law, not financial or legal advice. Statutes change, and the date beside each figure is the date we last read the source.
Frequently asked questions
Which states require boat insurance?+
Three: Arkansas, Utah and Hawaii. Arkansas and Utah require liability cover on motorboats over 50 horsepower and on all personal watercraft. Hawaii requires $100,000 of grounding removal-and-salvage cover on vessels 26 feet and over, which is not liability insurance. The other 47 states impose no insurance duty on a private recreational owner.
Is it illegal to not have insurance on your boat?+
In 47 states, no. In Utah, operating without owner's or operator's security is a class C misdemeanour under section 73-18c-302, and the Division can revoke the registration of a boat involved in an accident with no security in effect. In Arkansas, an owner whose uninsured boat is involved in an accident commits a Class A misdemeanour.
Do you need insurance on a boat to register it?+
In 47 states, no. Arkansas requires proof at registration and renewal. Utah requires a sworn written affirmation at registration and evidence carried aboard. Hawaii requires a declarations page at registration, renewal or transfer. Registration, Coast Guard documentation and a boating safety certificate are three separate things, and none of them is insurance.
What happens if you don't have boat insurance?+
Legally, in most states, nothing. Contractually, a lender can force-place cover at a higher price and a marina can refuse or end your slip agreement. Financially, wreck removal and pollution clean-up are the exposures that turn a grounding into a bill far larger than the boat was worth.
Does my homeowners policy cover my boat?+
Only up to a limited amount, and generally without liability cover. The Texas Department of Insurance states that homeowners policies do not provide liability coverage for a boat. Washington's insurance regulator says larger boats and personal watercraft are likely excluded from a homeowners policy for both property damage and liability.
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