You are holding several hundred boats you do not own, on a property that floods by design.

General liability

The docks, the parking, the fuel dock and the yard, and injury to boaters, guests and contractors on your property.

Without it — Piers, ramps and wet surfaces with the public on them, before anyone touches a vessel.

Marina operators legal liability

Damage to customers’ boats in your care for storage, mooring or repair.

Without it — The boats are the value on site and none of them are yours.

Piers, docks and wharves

The structures themselves, which most property forms treat as a special class.

Without it — Docks are frequently excluded or heavily sublimited on a standard form.

Protection and indemnity

Marine liability, including injury to workers covered by maritime law.

Without it — Land-based workers comp does not answer a Longshore or Jones Act claim.

Pollution and fuel

Fuel spill, clean-up and third-party damage.

Without it — Pollution is excluded from property and liability, and fuel docks spill.

Named storm and windstorm

Hurricane and wind coverage for the site and the vessels in it.

Without it — The single event that damages everything on the property at once.

Crime and social engineering

Parts, outboards and fuel walking off the yard, and a deposit wired to somebody posing as a broker.

Without it — Wiring a deposit to somebody posing as a broker is not burglary, so property coverage stays shut. Ask for social engineering by name.

Group health and benefits

Dockhands and yard techs who can move a customer’s boat without touching anything.

Without it — Boat handling is learned on your dock, not at a school. Losing an experienced hand costs you damaged hulls before it costs you anything else.

Are customers’ boats covered by our property policy?

No. Your property policy covers what you own, and the boats do not qualify. Marina operators legal liability is the coverage for vessels in your care, custody and control, and it is where the real exposure sits: a boatyard can be holding tens of millions of dollars of other people’s property with its own buildings worth a fraction of that. Set the limit against your peak on-site value, which for most yards is winter storage rather than the summer season.

What is the workers compensation complication?

That maritime employment is governed by federal law rather than state comp. Employees working on or adjacent to navigable water can fall under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, and crew members under the Jones Act — both of which a standard state workers comp policy does not answer without specific endorsement. Yards routinely discover this at the first serious injury. Describe exactly what your staff do and where they stand while doing it.

How is hurricane exposure handled?

With a named storm deductible, usually as a percentage, and with conditions you must actually meet. Many coastal marina policies require a written hurricane preparedness plan — hauling vessels, doubling lines, removing canvas — and can reduce or deny a claim where the plan was not executed. The plan is a policy condition rather than advice, so it needs to be written, staffed and rehearsed before the season.

How percentage wind deductibles work