Illinois Boat Insurance (QUOTES, COST & COVERAGE)

What Does Illinois Boat Insurance Cover?

Here’s what Illinois boat insurance generally covers:

• Damage to permanently attached equipment, like anchors
• Damage from a fire, lightning, collision, and vandalism
• Property damage liability (if your boat causes damage to another person’s property)
• Bodily injury liability (if someone is injured while on your boat)
• Guest passenger liability (covers legal expenses of someone else who’s permitted to drive your boat)
• Medical payments (covers your expenses, as well as those of your passengers)

It’s imperative that you understand what’s exactly covered by your Illinois boat insurance policy before making your way out on the water. Check whether it covers these scenarios:

1. Mechanical Breakdown – It’ll cover the cost of repairing or replacing your boat’s outboard motor. But, the insurer will not pay for that if it’s brought about by wear and tear.
2. Salvage – Your boat may become disabled in such a way a basic tow will barely help. In this case, you might have to contact a salvage company to help you recover it. Salvage companies will typically ask for a certain fraction of the boat’s total value as payment. That can be very costly. It’d, thus, be an excellent idea to ascertain that your Illinois boat insurance policy includes the salvage coverage. However, not all insurers offer it.
3. Gadgets – Only a few insurance firms cover costly accessories, such as fancy coolers or fishing equipment, especially if they’re not permanently attached to your boat. Some insurers offer personal property coverage, which compensates you if they’re lost or stolen while out on the water. You can inquire whether your insurer offers endorsements. These are handy additions if you wish to increase the personal property limits.
4. Damage By Uninsured Boaters – Check if the policy covers damage that may be brought about by uninsured boaters.

There are two main types of damage coverage that you can purchase for a IL boat, including:

Actual Cash Value – This Illinois boat insurance coverage will pay the boat’s value at the specific time it’s damaged. Your insurer will determine the boat’s market value once it’s destroyed and pay that amount as compensation.

Agreed Amount Value – In this case, the insurance company will pay you the amount they had agreed on with you beforehand. But, if it’s possible to repair the boat, the insurer will provide new items as a replacement for the old ones without accounting for depreciation.

What Illinois Boat Insurance Doesn’t Cover

Typically Illinois boat insurance doesn’t cover:

• Defective machinery
• Machinery damage
• Damage from aquatic life, like sharks and whales.
• Normal wear and tear
• Damage from insects and mold

How Much Does Illinois Boat Insurance Cost?

How much does Illinois Boat Insurance cost? The average price of IL boat insurance is usually very affordable. The premiums vary depending on the company and their underwriting rules, and it depends on the coverages and deductible selected. Other factors that might affect the insurance cost include your boat’s type, value, size, and horsepower.

You’ll be allowed to choose your deductible – the amount that’s deducted from an individual’s insurance check once they make a claim. Typical policies will have deductibles of $500 for theft, $1,000 for medical coverage, and $250 for damage to property. But, liability claims filed against you won’t have a deductible.

Some insurance companies offer discounts and various ways through which you can save money, including:

• Using a diesel-powered boat
• Carrying other policies, like home or car insurance, with the same company
• Taking safety courses

What You Should Know About Boating Insurance

Navigational Limits – If you have a yacht or a large boat, your Illinois boat insurance policy is likely to have limits that outline where you can and cannot navigate the vessel. Should you navigate outside of the regions agreed to, then your Illinois Boat Insurance might not cover you. A broader navigation area will prompt for higher insurance costs.

Under-Age Operators – At times, you may be tempted to let your 13-year-old drive the boat. But, if he/she doesn’t meet the license and age requirements in IL, your policy won’t cover you. You should, thus, check with IL boating regulatory agency.

Marine Inspections – In case you own an old model, most insurers will require that you have the boat inspected by marine surveyors. In turn, they will be able to assess its current condition and correct market value. A marine survey is worth considering for safety, even if it’s not needed.

Boat Trailers – Illinois boat insurancee may cover physical damage to a boat’s trailer. However, it doesn’t cover the liability brought about by towing a trailer. That’s often covered under an auto insurance policy. Bear in mind that trailering laws tend to vary from one state to another.

Layup Periods – It’s typical to take a boat out of the waters during cold weather. Most insurers might give you a layup credit since the boat isn’t being used. However, if you take it out before the specified period ends, the insurer won’t cover you because you’ll have violated the policy.

Enjoy Your Watercraft And Know You Are Covered

IL boat insurance will protect against accidental damage, liability, and much more. It’ll also cover multiple additional things you may not have thought about, including fuel spill liability, wreck removal, and salvage coverage. Besides, you can purchase additional coverage to protect personal property, like watersports equipment and fishing equipment.

Hitting the open water in a boat can be incredibly enjoyable. But, before setting sail, ensure you and your prized boat are protected with an appropriate policy. With comprehensive coverage, you’ll be able to float that boat confidently and enjoy every exciting moment without much worry.

IL Boat Insurance Quotes

Request a Illinois Boat Insurance quote in Anaheim, Bakersfield, Chula Vista, Concord, Corona, Elk Grove, Escondido, Fontana, Fremont, Fresno, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Glendale, Hayward, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Lancaster, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Modesto, Moreno Valley, Oakland, Oceanside, Ontario, Orange, Oxnard, Palmdale, Pasadena, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Roseville, Sacramento, Salinas, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santa Clarita, Santa Rosa, Simi Valley, Stockton, Sunnyvale, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Vallejo, Victorville, Visalia and all other cities in IL.

The Illinois Department of Insurance

The IL Dept. of Insurance is the regulatory agency behind the insurance rules for the state of Illinois. If you want to understand these rules, then this is definitely the agency that you need to focus on. Let’s start with limits within the state.

Illinois Minimum Insurance Limits

• For auto insurance, Illinois requires $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident.
• For life insurance, there are certain regulations in place to determine how someone is able to get or offer life insurance, but there are no limits listed.
• For commercial insurance, insurance agents may offer broker or casualty insurance as well as covered property insurance, covered causes of loss, specified perils and open perils along with a number of coverage forms like builder’s risk, legal liability, building ordinance, glass, peak season, inflation guard and peak element.

IL Insurance Regulations

As for regular insurance regulations there are a lot of things that Illinois provides that you can look up. For example, there are deadlines for the insurer to pay the claim or deny it, deadlines for submitting paperwork to prove a loss for insurance reimbursement, specific information your insurance company is required to give you and regulations on what information you have to provide to your insurance company.

One of the Illinois regulations calls for you to be treated by your insurance company in good faith. This means that your insurer must be considered of your needs and must communicate completely and honestly with you about your policy and everything that you need to know about it in order to make a good decision. In turn, you are legally obligated to be honest and cooperative with your insurance company when it comes to your claim.

You should also be aware that your insurance company is required to offer prompt, honest and complete communications. The company and all of its representatives must respond to your communications within 15 calendar days with a complete response based upon the facts that are known.

Finally, be aware that your insurance company is required to have a fair claims process. Unless it is specified in your policy, you do not have to use the forms that are provided to you by your insurance provider in order to make a claim. You can create a list of losses on your own if you need to. In addition, insurers are not able to ask for unreasonable proof of loss. If you provide photographic evidence or video of items that you lost, insurers are not able to ask you to provide additional information.