On the lake, the hull is the cheap part.
How Nationwide covers the outboard, the trailer, the electronics, and the tackle that cost more than the boat itself, the family and fuel-spill liability people miss, and the agreed value that protects a Beaver Lake bass or pontoon boat. From an independent agency that places Nationwide every day.
The short answer
Nationwide writes boats in Arkansas through its Pleasure Boatowners program. On a lake boat, the expensive parts aren't the hull — they're the outboard, the trailer, the electronics, and the gear, and Nationwide covers all of them (the motor and trailer must be scheduled). It also includes the coverages people miss — family bodily injury and fuel-spill liability — and offers Agreed Value so a total loss doesn't turn into a depreciation argument. Because Arkansas isn't a hurricane state, eligibility runs generous.
Cover what's bolted to the boat.
On a modern bass boat or ski boat, the outboard, the trolling motor, the electronics, and the trailer can add up to more than the hull. If they're not on the policy, they're not covered.
Nationwide covers the main outboard motor(s) and the boat trailer under one limit with comprehensive and collision — but they must be listed on your declarations. Unscheduled means uncovered.
Then there's everything else on board.
Nationwide's Expanded Boat Coverage reaches the equipment that makes a fishing or ski boat what it is: trolling motors, safety and maintenance equipment, portable communications gear, and on-board maintenance equipment, all built into your insurance limit. On a boat wired with a couple of graphs and a bow-mount trolling motor, that's real money the hull value alone would never reflect.
And the tackle isn't forgotten: optional Fishing Equipment coverage protects rods, reels, and tackle, while Personal Effects covers the personal items you and your guests bring aboard — and can even extend to a boat lift. The theme is consistent: on a lake boat, insure the whole rig, not just the fiberglass.
Two exposures no one thinks about.
The physical damage side of a boat policy gets all the attention. These two liability pieces are the ones that quietly matter most.
Family Bodily Injury
Included with liability, this extends bodily-injury coverage to household family members — the people some boat policies quietly exclude. If your spouse or kids are hurt on your own boat, this is what responds.
Fuel Spill
If fuel gets into the water, cleanup liability can be steep — and it's the exposure most boaters never consider. Nationwide includes it as property damage under your liability limit, so a spill doesn't become a personal bill.
On-Water Towing
When you break down on the lake, a tow to the ramp isn't cheap. On-Water Towing reimburses towing and emergency service on the water — the marine equivalent of roadside, for the moment the motor won't restart a mile from the dock.
The rest of the coverage.
Vanishing Deductible
Included with comp and collision. $100 off your deductible after a 30-day wait, then $100 for each accident-, lapse-, and major-violation-free year, to a $500 maximum.
Salvage & Wreckage Recovery
Covers the cost of recovering and removing your boat after a covered loss — a required and expensive step that a bare physical-damage payment can otherwise leave you holding.
Rental Reimbursement
If a covered loss puts your boat out of commission, this reimburses the cost of renting a substitute — so a repair in July doesn't cost you the season.
Roadside for the trailer
Optional coverage for towing to the nearest repair facility and labor at the roadside when your tow vehicle or trailer is disabled getting the boat to or from the water.
Hurricane Haul-Out
Reimburses part of the cost to pull a boat from the water ahead of a named storm. Built in for members who trailer to the coast — largely academic on a landlocked Arkansas lake, but it's there.
Your gear aboard
Optional coverage for the personal items you and your guests bring on the boat, extendable to a boat lift. Small limit, frequent claims — coolers, phones, sunglasses, gear.
Don't argue depreciation at the worst moment.
The default settlement on a totaled boat is actual cash value — a depreciation argument you have while your boat is at the bottom of the lake. Two options replace that.
- Total Loss Replacement Cost. For a boat totaled within its first three model years, this lets you buy a similar brand-new boat in your local retail market — no depreciation taken. It's the coverage for a newer boat.
- Agreed Value. Amends the loss settlement to pay the exact amount shown on your declarations if the boat is totaled, available for boats up to 15 model years old. It's the coverage for a boat you want protected at a set number regardless of age — and for most well-kept lake boats, it's the one worth having.
The package that pays for itself.
Here's a specific, easy-to-miss win: if you select Personal Effects, Fishing Equipment, Rental Reimbursement, and On-Water Towing together at Nationwide's pre-determined limits, the premium for those coverages is reduced substantially — and Roadside Assistance is added at no charge. It's a package discount that rewards insuring the boat properly, and it only happens if someone sets it up on purpose. We set it up on purpose.
Where the savings stack.
Beyond the coverage package, Nationwide's boat discounts reward bundling, ownership, and a clean record.
Multi-Line & Multi-Boat
Multi-Line applies when the boat joins other Nationwide policies — auto, home, commercial, or other Powersports. Multi-Boat applies with more than one boat (personal watercraft don't qualify for it).
Homeowner
Applies simply because you own a home or condo — and a Nationwide homeowners policy is not required. Another discount that only lands if someone thinks to ask.
Prior Insurance & Claim-Free
Continuous prior coverage in the six months before switching earns a credit, and staying free of boat comp and collision claims earns another at renewal.
Advance Quote, Diesel & Paid in Full
Quoting eight or more days ahead earns a credit, a diesel-powered boat earns one, and paying the term in full earns another. Small levers, all free.
Built for Arkansas water.
Because Arkansas is inland and not hurricane-exposed, Nationwide's eligibility runs generous — which covers just about everything you'll see on Beaver Lake.
A few boats fall outside the box.
There are engine and construction rules: hulls need to be aluminum, fiberglass, or rubber; horsepower caps scale with the number of engines (a single up to 500 HP, twins up to 1,000, triple outboards up to 1,050, and four-engine setups aren't eligible); and home-made, kit, wood-hulled, and tunnel-hulled boats aren't accepted. Bass boats get a higher speed allowance than other boats. If your rig is unusual or high-performance, that's a quick call — and if Nationwide can't take it, one of our other markets usually can.
Arkansas doesn't make you. Your lender does.
Arkansas has no law requiring you to insure a recreational boat. But that's rarely the end of the question: if there's a loan on the boat, the lender will require coverage; many marinas and slips require proof of liability; and the liability itself — injuring a passenger or another boater, hitting a dock or another vessel — doesn't disappear just because no statute mandates a policy.
On a lake as busy as Beaver on a summer weekend, the practical answer is simple: you want coverage whether or not a law makes you carry it.
A planning note, not a quote.
Boat premiums swing on type, value, horsepower, operator experience, and coverage selections, so a single planning number would mislead more than help. This isn't a quote or a guarantee. What reliably helps: bundling the boat onto an auto or home account for the multi-line discount, and taking the coverage package that lowers the cost of the effects, fishing, rental, and towing coverages while adding roadside free. That's the number we'll build with you.
Backed by an A (Excellent) carrier.
On November 7, 2025, AM Best affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) for the members of the Nationwide Property and Casualty Group, stable outlook — the companies behind this coverage in Arkansas.
Where we earn it on a boat policy.
The usual boat-policy mistakes are the same three: the motor, trailer, and electronics aren't scheduled, the valuation is left at actual cash value on a boat worth agreed value, and the coverage package that saves money never got selected. We set those at the quote. And because we're independent, if Nationwide's boat program isn't the best home for your rig, we place it with one of our 40-plus other markets instead.
The policies around this one.
Nationwide boat questions.
Does Nationwide cover my outboard motor and boat trailer?
Yes, when you carry comprehensive and collision — the main outboard motor(s) and the boat trailer are covered under one limit, but they must be scheduled on your declarations. That's where boats get underinsured: on a modern bass or ski boat, the outboard and trailer can be worth as much as the hull, and if they aren't listed, they aren't covered.
Nationwide also includes Expanded Boat Coverage for trolling motors, safety and maintenance equipment, portable communications gear, and on-board maintenance equipment as part of your limit. On a lake boat, the hull is the cheap part — make sure everything bolted to it is on the policy.
Are my family and passengers covered?
Yes. Coverage for Bodily Injury to Household Family Members is included with liability, with a $25,000 sub-limit. That matters because some watercraft policies exclude family members, so if your spouse or kids are hurt on your own boat, a policy without this leaves them out.
Separately, Fuel Spill coverage is built into your liability — treated as property damage — which protects you against cleanup liability if fuel gets into the water, an exposure most boaters never think about until it happens.
What's the difference between Agreed Value and Total Loss Replacement?
They protect different boats. Total Loss Replacement Cost lets you buy a similar brand-new boat if yours is totaled within its first three model years — it's for newer boats. Agreed Value pays the exact amount shown on your declarations if the boat is totaled, with no depreciation argument, and is available for boats up to 15 model years old.
For anything with real money in it, one of the two is almost always worth having, because the alternative is an actual-cash-value settlement that argues depreciation with you at the worst possible time.
What kinds of boats can Nationwide insure in Arkansas?
On Arkansas's inland lakes, a wide range: bass boats, pontoons, runabouts and bowriders, ski/surf/wake boats, cabin cruisers, fishing boats, canoes and kayaks, utility and jon boats, and personal watercraft. Because Arkansas isn't a hurricane state, eligibility runs generous — boats up to about 40 years old, up to 50 feet, and up to roughly $350,000 in value, with PWC up to $27,000.
There are engine and construction rules — aluminum, fiberglass or rubber hulls, and horsepower caps that scale with the number of engines — so if your boat is unusual, that's a quick conversation.
Is boat insurance required in Arkansas?
Arkansas doesn't have a law requiring you to insure a recreational boat, but that's rarely the whole story. If there's a loan on the boat, your lender will require coverage; many marinas and slips require proof of liability; and the liability itself — for injuries or damage to others — doesn't disappear just because the state doesn't mandate a policy.
On a busy lake like Beaver, the practical answer is that you want coverage whether or not a statute makes you carry it.
How do I get a Nationwide boat quote near Beaver Lake?
Start at our personal lines quote form or call (479) 286-1066. Have the boat's make, model, length, engine, and value handy, and tell us what electronics, trolling motor, and gear are aboard so they can be scheduled.
Bundling with auto or home earns a multi-line discount, and selecting the personal effects, fishing equipment, rental reimbursement, and on-water towing coverages together triggers a package discount that cuts the cost of those coverages and adds roadside at no charge.
If our insurance guides and coverage comparisons are helpful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas boaters can find our local explanations.
Nationwide is one of 40+ carriers we represent.
Which means we can tell you honestly whether Nationwide's boat program is the right home for your rig — or whether one of our other markets fits better. Tell us the boat, the motor, the electronics, and what's on your account, and we'll schedule everything that matters, set the valuation, and build the coverage package that lowers the cost. 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 Nationwide, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Nationwide. "Nationwide," "Nationwide is on your side," and "On Your Side" are service marks of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place. Third-party marks — including Sea-Doo, Jet Ski, and WaveRunner — are the property of their respective owners. Nationwide's Arkansas boat and watercraft policies are issued by Nationwide-affiliated underwriting companies.
This page describes coverage in general 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. Coverage, endorsements, valuation options, eligibility, program terms and availability vary by state, by policy, and over time, are set by the carrier, and are subject to underwriting approval and to the terms, conditions, limits, and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Scheduling requirements, package discounts, agreed value, replacement cost, and all listed features are subject to eligibility, limits, and state availability. Eligibility figures reflect Nationwide's inland (non-hurricane) tier. If anything on this page conflicts with the issued policy, the policy controls.
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 the Nationwide Property and Casualty Group. Statements about Arkansas law are general information, not legal advice.
Last reviewed July 2026.