Covered on the water — down to the gear, the trailer, and the dog.
Liberty Mutual watercraft coverage settles a total hull loss on an agreed value — the number you set up front, not a depreciated guess — and builds in the things that actually go wrong on a lake: your boating gear, personal effects, on-water towing, even a benefit if your dog is hurt aboard. Here's what's included, what the Captain's Package adds, and how Arkansas boating rules fit. From an independent agency that places Liberty Mutual every day.
The short answer
Liberty Mutual watercraft insurance covers your liability, your boat, and a surprising amount that rides along with it. Total hull losses settle on an agreed value. Built in with physical damage: your equipment and personal effects, on-water emergency assistance, wreckage removal, and even a benefit for your dog or cat aboard. The optional Captain's Package adds new-boat total price protection and higher limits. Arkansas requires $50,000 liability on PWC and 50+ HP boats; other boats aren't state-mandated but lenders and marinas usually are. Backed by an A (Excellent) carrier, quoted against 40+.
The core policy, on an agreed value.
The foundation is the part most people picture — liability and damage to the boat — but the way the hull is valued is what separates a good boat policy from a frustrating one.
Liability
Covers injuries and damage you're responsible for on the water, with limits from $100,000 to $1 million. Wreckage removal is automatically included — an extra amount toward clearing a sunken or wrecked boat if your liability limit is used up.
Uninsured / underinsured watercraft
Pays for injuries you're entitled to recover when the boater who hits you has no coverage, or not enough. On a lake where plenty of boats carry nothing, it's the coverage that protects you from someone else's gap.
Medical payments
Covers medical expenses for anyone injured in, on, or getting into or out of the boat, regardless of fault — and coverage for water-skiers being towed is included.
Agreed-value hull
A total loss of the hull is settled on the agreed value you set when the policy is written — not a depreciated figure argued afterward. Motors, trailers, and some equipment may be depreciated by age and loss type, which is worth walking through.
Unattached equipment
Portable gear kept on the boat — anchors, oars, lights, fire extinguishers, safety and lifesaving equipment, water skis, wakeboards — is included up to 10% of the hull amount or $100, whichever is greater. Higher limits are available.
Personal effects
Clothing, scuba and snorkeling gear, fishing equipment, and other personal items are included up to $750 (subject to a deductible). If you carry serious tackle, higher fishing-equipment limits are available.
The coverage you didn't know you had.
This is where a watercraft policy quietly does more than you'd expect. Most of this comes built in when you carry physical damage coverage.
On-water emergency assistance
If you're disabled on the water, it covers towing, labor, and delivery of gas, oil, or a loaned battery — the marine version of a roadside call, built in with physical damage coverage.
Pet coverage
If your dog or cat is injured or killed as a result of an upset, collision, or theft of the boat, the policy provides a benefit toward veterinary costs or a death benefit — up to $1,000. A small thing that means a lot on the water.
Additional fishing equipment
Anglers with real money in rods, reels, and electronics can add dedicated fishing-equipment coverage — a single-item limit applies, with overall limits available well beyond what personal effects alone covers.
Tender coverage
A small tender — ten feet or less and eight horsepower or less, used to service your boat — gets liability coverage automatically. Include its value in the hull amount to cover it for physical damage too.
The Captain's Package.
A covered total loss on a boat two model years old or newer is replaced — to the greatest extent possible — with a new boat of the same make and model and comparable equipment. Available when physical damage coverage is on the policy.
What it adds, in one option.
For a newer or higher-value boat, the Captain's Package is usually the right call. On top of new-boat total price protection, it raises personal effects coverage to $2,500, increases on-water emergency assistance to $1,000 per occurrence, and adds trailer roadside assistance for a disabled trailer while your covered boat is being towed.
It's the difference between a policy that pays out a depreciated number on a two-year-old boat and one that puts you back on the water in a comparable new one. Whether it fits comes down to the boat's age and value — exactly the kind of call we'll make with you rather than leave to a checkbox.
When the state requires it — and when it doesn't.
Arkansas requires at least $50,000 of liability insurance on all personal watercraft and on motorboats over 50 horsepower — a rule most states don't have. Other boats aren't state-mandated, but lenders and marinas typically require coverage.
What that means on a Northwest Arkansas lake.
If you run a jet ski or a boat with a real motor, the $50,000 requirement applies to you — and this program's liability starts at $100,000 and climbs to $1 million, so meeting the state floor and going comfortably past it is straightforward. Even on a boat the state doesn't require you to insure, a serious injury on a busy weekend at Beaver Lake can run far past what you'd want to cover out of pocket.
One more Arkansas rule worth knowing: anyone born on or after January 1, 1986 must carry a boater education certificate to operate a motorboat, PWC, or sailboat (Ark. Code § 27-101-501) — and completing a recognized boating course can also earn a premium credit. We can't give legal advice, but we can make sure the coverage is set correctly for how and where you boat.
The credits stack up quickly on a boat.
Watercraft policies reward the rest of your account and a few things about the boat itself. We run your specifics and apply every credit you qualify for. (Amounts vary, some apply only to new business, and aren't published here — they're confirmed at quote.)
Account & Homeowners
For carrying another personal policy — auto, home, condo, or renters — with the same carrier, and for owning your home.
Multiple Watercraft
When you insure more than one watercraft on the same policy.
Diesel Power
For a diesel-powered boat (outboard and personal-watercraft craft aren't eligible for this one).
Safety Course
For completing a recognized boating-safety course — such as a Power Squadron, Coast Guard Auxiliary, or the Arkansas Boating Basics course.
Paid in Full
For paying the policy term in full at inception or renewal.
Ownership, Experience & Advance Quote
For owning the boat a few years, for years of boating experience, and for quoting ahead of your start date.
A boat rewards a whole account.
Add the boat to the account and the credits appear.
The biggest boat savings come from the rest of your household — the account credit for the auto or home you already carry, the homeowners credit, and the multiple-watercraft break when there's a boat and a jet ski. When one agency holds the whole picture, those get applied on purpose instead of missed — and we can line the boat's liability up with a personal umbrella so a lake accident doesn't reach past your limits.
The two numbers to get right on a boat.
First, the agreed hull value — set it to what the boat is actually worth, because that's what a total loss pays. Second, your equipment and electronics — a modern fish-finder, trolling motor, and rod locker can outvalue the boat's built-in equipment coverage, so add the fishing-equipment limit if that's you. We'll set the hull value on purpose, size the extras to your rig, and stack every credit that fits.
Backed by an A (Excellent) carrier.
On September 10, 2025, AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) for the members of Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc., stable outlook — the group behind the companies that write this coverage in Arkansas. A financial strength rating is an opinion about an insurer's ability to pay claims; it doesn't grade how a specific claim is handled and isn't a recommendation. The current rating is at ambest.com.
Where we earn it on a boat.
The quiet boat mistakes are an agreed hull value set too low and electronics and tackle left under the built-in limit — both invisible until the total-loss check arrives. We set the value, size the equipment coverage, weigh the Captain's Package on a newer boat, and confirm you've captured the account and safety-course credits. We don't adjust your claim and can't overrule an adjuster — but we'll make sure the policy was built right, and we'll move you to another of our 40-plus markets if Liberty Mutual stops being the best fit for what you run.
Driven by the boat and the credits.
Boat premiums turn on the hull value, the horsepower and type of craft, how and where it's used, your experience, and the coverages and deductibles you choose — so a posted number would mislead. The upside is the credit list is deep, and stacking the account, homeowners, and safety-course credits can move the price meaningfully. This isn't a quote or a guarantee. Tell us about the boat and we'll build the real figure with you, LM against 40-plus carriers.
The rest of the toy box.
Liberty Mutual boat questions.
Is boat insurance required in Arkansas?
Sometimes yes. Arkansas requires liability insurance — a minimum of $50,000 — on all personal watercraft and on motorboats powered by more than 50 horsepower, which is a requirement most states don't have. For other boats there's no state insurance mandate, but a lender who financed the boat, or the marina where you slip it, will almost always require coverage anyway — and the liability exposure on a crowded Arkansas lake is real regardless.
Separately, anyone born on or after January 1, 1986 must carry an Arkansas boater education certificate to operate a motorboat, PWC, or sailboat (Ark. Code § 27-101-501). This is general information, not legal advice.
How does Liberty Mutual pay if my boat is totaled?
Total losses of the hull are settled on an agreed value — the amount you and the carrier set when the policy is written, not a depreciated number argued after the fact. That's the single most important thing to get right up front. Some other equipment — motors, unattached and permanently attached equipment, tenders, dinghies, and trailers — may be settled with depreciation depending on age and the type of loss, so the policy's loss-settlement terms are worth walking through.
If you carry the Captain's Package and your boat is two model years old or newer, a covered total loss can be replaced with a comparable new boat. Exact terms are set by the policy and confirmed at quote.
What comes included that I might not expect?
Quite a lot rides along with physical damage coverage. Unattached equipment — anchors, oars, lights, safety and lifesaving gear, water skis and wakeboards — is automatically included up to 10 percent of the hull amount or $100, whichever is greater. Personal effects like clothing and fishing or dive gear are included up to $750. On-water emergency assistance covers towing, labor, and delivery of gas, oil, or a loaned battery if you're disabled on the water, and wreckage removal is built in with liability.
There's even pet coverage — a benefit up to $1,000 if your dog or cat is injured or killed in an upset, collision, or theft of the boat. Water-skiers are covered under medical payments, and higher fishing-equipment limits are available if you carry serious tackle.
What is the Captain's Package?
It's the upgrade for a serious boat, available when physical damage coverage is on the policy. It raises personal effects coverage to $2,500, increases on-water emergency assistance to $1,000 per occurrence, and adds roadside assistance for a disabled trailer while your covered boat is being towed.
Its headline feature is total price protection: a boat two model years old or newer that's a covered total loss is replaced, to the greatest extent possible, with a new boat of the same make and model and comparable equipment. Whether it fits your boat is worth a quick conversation.
What discounts can lower my boat premium?
Several, and they add up. Depending on your situation, credits can apply for carrying another personal policy with the same carrier, owning your home, insuring more than one watercraft on the policy, a diesel-powered boat, completing a recognized boating-safety course (such as a Power Squadron, Coast Guard Auxiliary, or the Arkansas Boating Basics course), paying the term in full, owning the boat for a few years, having several years of boating experience, and quoting ahead of your start date.
We don't publish the percentages here because they vary and some apply only to new business — but we'll run your specifics and apply every one you're eligible for.
Does my policy cover my trailer, and where can I run the boat?
Your trailer can be insured for physical damage on the same policy, and a small tender — ten feet or less and eight horsepower or less, used to service your boat — gets liability coverage automatically. As for range, the watercraft policy provides broad navigational territory: the continental U.S., Alaska, and Canada and their coastal waters within 75 miles offshore, plus part of the Pacific coast of Mexico.
For an Arkansas lake boater that's far more room than you'll ever need, but it means the coverage travels with you. Specific limits, deductibles, and terms are confirmed at quote.
How do I get a boat quote?
Start at our personal lines quote form or call (479) 286-1066. Tell us the boat — make, model, year, horsepower, and roughly what it's worth — plus the trailer and any serious electronics or tackle, and we'll quote Liberty Mutual against 40-plus other carriers.
If you already have auto or home with us, we'll check the account and homeowners credits at the same time. The most important thing we'll settle together is the agreed hull value, so bring what you think the boat is worth.
If our coverage explainers are useful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas boaters can find our local, plain-English guides.
Liberty Mutual is one of 40+ carriers we represent.
Which means we can tell you honestly whether Liberty Mutual is the right home for your boat — or whether one of our other markets fits better. Tell us the boat, the trailer, and what rides on it, and we'll set the agreed hull value where it belongs, size the equipment and fishing coverage to your rig, weigh the Captain's Package, and stack every credit you qualify for. If a different carrier fits the boat better, we'll say so.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. We are not Liberty Mutual, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Liberty Mutual. "Liberty Mutual" is a service mark or trademark of Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Liberty Mutual's Arkansas boat and watercraft policies are issued by Liberty Mutual-affiliated underwriting companies.
This page describes boat and watercraft coverage in general, industry-standard terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, not an offer of insurance, and not a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Agreed-value and loss-settlement provisions, liability and other limits, deductibles, unattached-equipment, personal-effects, pet, emergency-assistance, fishing-equipment, wreckage-removal and tender coverages, the Captain's Package, navigational territory, eligible watercraft, exclusions, program terms and availability are set by the carrier, vary by state and over time, and are confirmed at quote and subject to underwriting approval and to the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Certain coverages depend on carrying physical damage coverage, some higher limits require additional premium and documentation, and equipment other than the hull may be settled with depreciation. If anything on this page conflicts with the issued policy, the policy controls.
Discounts are described by name only. Their availability, eligibility requirements, and amounts vary, not all discounts can be combined, some apply only to specific coverages or to new business, and certain credits require documentation; all are confirmed at quote. Statements about Arkansas law — including the $50,000 liability requirement for personal watercraft and motorboats over 50 horsepower and the boater-education requirement under Ark. Code § 27-101-501 — are general information, not legal advice, and are subject to change. How any law affects a specific situation is a question for a qualified attorney.
Financial strength ratings are opinions of an insurer's ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations, are subject to change, are not recommendations to purchase, hold or terminate any policy, and do not address an insurer's claims-handling practices; current ratings are at ambest.com. The A (Excellent) rating referenced applies to the members of Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc. Cost is determined by the carrier at quote and is not a figure this page represents or guarantees.
Last reviewed July 2026.