BOAT AND WATERCRAFT INSURANCE · KERR LAKE AND LAKE GASTON
Boat insurance for two lakes and two states.
Kerr Lake and Lake Gaston both cross the Virginia and North Carolina line. So does our license. Pontoons, bass boats, wake boats and jet skis, written from an office fifteen minutes from either ramp.
THE FIRST THING TO KNOW
Your homeowners policy probably does not cover it.
Most homeowners policies cover only small, low powered boats, and only for a small amount. A pontoon, a bass boat with a real outboard, a wake boat or a jet ski usually needs its own policy, for the boat itself, for the trailer it rides on and for what happens if you hit something or someone.
That is not a sales line. It is the gap we see most often, and it is the one that hurts, because the boat is often the second most expensive thing a family owns and the one that gets used in a crowd.
WHERE THE BOATS ARE
Two lakes, one state line down the middle of each.
Kerr Lake
About 50,000 acres and more than 850 miles of shoreline, run by the Army Corps of Engineers as a flood control reservoir, so the water level moves through the year. Mecklenburg, Charlotte and Halifax counties in Virginia; Vance, Granville and Warren in North Carolina.
Lake Gaston
About 20,000 acres, 35 miles long, more than 350 miles of shoreline, held between Kerr Dam and Gaston Dam by Dominion Energy, so the level stays close to constant. Brunswick and Mecklenburg counties in Virginia; Halifax, Warren and Northampton in North Carolina.
One policy covers the boat on either side of the line and on the trailer between them. Because we are licensed in both states, where you keep the boat and where you register it are questions we can actually answer.
WHAT A BOAT POLICY COVERS
Six parts, and the two people skip are the two that hurt.
The boat itself
Physical damage to the hull, motor and equipment, on the water, on the trailer or in storage. Ask whether the policy pays agreed value or actual cash value. On a newer boat the difference is real money.
Liability
Injury to other people and damage to their property, their boat or their dock. This is the part that matters most in July on Gaston.
Medical payments
Medical bills for you and your passengers after an accident, whoever was at fault.
Uninsured boater
Neither state requires boat insurance, so plenty of boats out there carry none. This covers you when one of them hits you.
Towing on the water
Getting a dead boat back to the ramp costs more than most people expect. On water towing and fuel delivery can be added.
Trailer and gear
The trailer, fishing equipment, electronics and personal effects on board, which are usually limited or excluded unless you ask.
ON THE WATER
What we write
● Pontoons and tritoons
● Bass boats and bay boats
● Ski, wake and surf boats
● Runabouts and deck boats
● Jet skis and personal watercraft
● Sailboats
● Jon boats and small fishing boats
● Kayaks and canoes with a motor
Docks and lifts
Docks, boat lifts and boathouses are covered under your homeowners or lake house policy, not the boat policy. On Kerr Lake, where the water level moves, that is worth a look at the same time.
THE STATE LINE
Rules on the water, both sides of the line
Virginia
Every personal watercraft operator, and every operator of a motorboat of 10 horsepower or more, must have completed a boating safety course, whatever their age. That has been the rule since July 2016.
North Carolina
Anyone born on or after 1 January 1988 who operates a motorboat of 10 horsepower or more, or any personal watercraft, must carry a boating safety card. Nobody under 14 may operate a personal watercraft.
A card from a NASBLA approved course is recognised in both states. Confirm the current rules with Virginia DWR and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission before the season; we are agents, not the game warden.
QUESTIONS WE GET
Before you call
Do I have to insure my boat in Virginia or North Carolina?
Neither state requires it by law for a privately owned boat. Your lender will, most marinas and some homeowners associations will, and the person whose dock you back into certainly will.
Agreed value or actual cash value?
Agreed value pays the amount on the policy if the boat is a total loss. Actual cash value pays what the boat was worth that day, after depreciation. Agreed value costs more and is usually the right answer on a boat less than ten years old.
What happens in the winter?
Most boat policies can carry a lay-up period when the boat is out of the water, which lowers the premium. The boat is still covered in storage; you just agree not to run it during those months.
Does it cover the boat on the trailer on Route 58?
Yes for damage to the boat. Liability while towing usually comes from your auto policy, which is why it helps when the same office writes both.
Can you add a boat to my existing policies?
Call the office. Coverage is not bound through the form or by email, and a boat is exactly the kind of thing that should not be assumed covered until somebody here has confirmed it.
Changing your coverage
For adding or deleting coverage, please call the office during business hours. Coverage is not bound through sending a request by email or using the contact form without explicit confirmation from an authorized agent or carrier.