Arkansas doesn't ask. It requires.
Almost no state requires boat insurance. Arkansas does — $50,000 of liability on anything over 50 horsepower and on every personal watercraft, with proof on board. Here's what the law says, what the policy actually covers, and where your trailer finally fits.
The short answer
Arkansas law requires liability insurance on any motorboat over 50 horsepower and on every personal watercraft — at least $50,000 per occurrence, from an insurer authorised in Arkansas, with proof carried on board. Almost no other state requires anything. That $50,000 is a legal floor, not a recommendation, and Progressive publishes limits up to $500,000 combined single limit above it. The boat policy is also where your trailer belongs — the auto policy no longer takes it.
The floor the state set for you.
If you've boated anywhere else, this is new. Most states let you put a boat on the water with nothing behind it and break no law. Arkansas took a different view.
The minimum liability Arkansas will let you operate on. Not a recommendation. Not a considered judgement about what a boating injury costs. The least the state will tolerate.
And for most boaters, the floor becomes the ceiling.
Fifty thousand dollars is the number on the form, so it's the number people carry. It sounds like a lot until you put it next to an injury — a propeller strike, a collision, someone thrown from a tube. A serious one can exceed $50,000 before anyone has left the hospital.
Arkansas follows an at-fault liability system. A policy limit determines what the insurance company may pay. It does not automatically cap what someone may be legally responsible for.
This is the same shape as the argument on the auto page, where Arkansas's 25/50/25 minimums are also a floor most people mistake for advice. Progressive publishes liability limits up to $500,000 combined single limit. Ask what the higher ones cost before assuming the minimum is the sensible choice.
Liability insurance required.
It is unlawful for the owner of a motorboat over 50 horsepower, or of any personal watercraft, to allow it to be operated unless it's covered by a liability insurance policy issued by an insurance company. The policy must provide at least $50,000 of liability coverage per occurrence, and the insurer must be authorised to do business in Arkansas.
Proof of insurance has to be on board and available for inspection by an enforcement officer — and proof has to accompany your registration application. Which means the insurance comes before the registration, not after.
Mandatory fine. Not discretionary.
And the minimum is mandatory.
The owner is deemed guilty. That's a criminal charge, not a citation.
The judge may dismiss on a showing that coverage was in force at the time of arrest.
Read that last one again.
The charge can go away if you can show the coverage was in force. That's exactly why the statute puts the proof on the boat rather than in a drawer at your house — and why photographing your ID card before the season starts is a five-second job worth doing.
Three classes of boat share Beaver Lake.
The requirement doesn't reach everything on the water, and the gap it leaves is worth understanding before you're in it.
Liability insurance required, proof on board. Most of what's on the lake on a summer weekend.
Required regardless of horsepower. The engine size doesn't matter — a PWC is a PWC.
No liability insurance required at all. The jon boat with a 40-horse outboard may lawfully carry nothing.
Which is what Uninsured & Underinsured Boaters coverage is for.
It pays a covered person occupying a boat or PWC for bodily injury caused by the owner or operator of an uninsured or underinsured boat or PWC.
Read that against the three classes above. The boat that hits you might lawfully carry nothing, because it's under 50 horsepower. Or it carries the state minimum — exactly $50,000, because that's what the form said — and the damage is $200,000. Either way the shortfall lands on you unless something answers for it.
This is the coverage that answers for it, and on the water almost nobody has thought about it. On the road you worry about one Arkansas driver in six. Out here the requirement has a horsepower hole in it.
The coverages, and the limits they carry.
Some of these are included with the coverage you're already buying. Others are optional. The difference is worth knowing.
Liability
Bodily injury and property damage you become legally responsible for out of the ownership, maintenance or use of the boat. This is the coverage Arkansas mandates. A liability-only option exists for meeting state, marina or club requirements.
Wreckage removal
If your boat sinks, pays reasonable costs for any attempted or actual raising, removal or destruction of the wreckage. Included with Liability, unless removal isn't legally required.
Water sports
Bodily injury liability and medical expenses for people towed for waterskiing, kneeboarding, wakeboarding and tubing — included automatically with Liability and Medical Payments. Parasailing, kiteboarding and anything designed for flight are excluded.
Medical payments
Reasonable medical and funeral expenses for anyone occupying a covered watercraft, regardless of fault. Options at $1,000, $2,500, $5,000, $7,500, $10,000 and $25,000 per occurrence. No deductible.
Physical damage deductible
Options of $250, $500, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 and $10,000. It applies to hull, machinery, permanently-attached equipment, portable boating equipment, and the trailer if insured. If two or more deductibles apply to one loss, in most cases only the highest applies.
Fuel spill liability
Unintentional oil or fuel spills that result in bodily injury or property damage. Enhanced Fuel and Oil Spill coverage pays the cost of cleanup required by law, up to the federal Oil Pollution Act limit.
Fishing equipment — primary
Rods, reels and tackle that are damaged, lost or stolen. Most per item is $1,000. A tackle box counts as one item no matter what's in it; a rod and reel count as two. $250 deductible per claim. This coverage is primary — no homeowners claim needed.
Personal effects
Replacement cost for personal items on the boat — cameras, phones, tablets, clothing, coolers, sunglasses, scuba gear. Limits from $1,000 to $10,000, $1,000 per item, $250 deductible. Also primary.
Roadside assistance
For disablement while the watercraft is on its trailer being towed, loaded or unloaded. Towing, jump starts, fuel, flat tires, lockouts. Coverage extends to the tow vehicle even if it isn't insured by Progressive. Three covered emergencies per vehicle per 12 months.
Sign & Glide® on-water towing
You call dispatch, they send the tow, Progressive pays the operator directly in most cases. On-water towing, jump starts, fuel delivery, disentanglement, soft ungrounding. Three covered emergencies per 12 months. Not a rescue service — call the Coast Guard or law enforcement in an emergency.
Propulsion Plus®
Mechanical breakdown — including from wear and tear — on the lower unit of an outboard motor and the upper and lower units of an inboard/outboard. Requires Comprehensive, Collision and Sign & Glide. Claims within 30 days of purchasing the coverage are not honoured.
Trailer trip interruption
Optional add-on to Roadside Assistance. If the trailer or tow vehicle breaks down or is in an accident more than 100 miles from home: $100/day lodging, $50/day alternative transport, $50/day food, up to $500 per occurrence.
Propulsion Plus doesn't reach jet drives.
It covers the lower unit of an outboard and the upper and lower units of an inboard/outboard. That's the whole list.
Now look at what's actually on Beaver Lake. Every personal watercraft is a jet drive. So is a share of the wake boat fleet. If you're buying Propulsion Plus expecting it to sit behind your PWC or your surf boat, check the drive type first — the coverage may not reach the thing you bought it for. That's not a defect; it's the design. But it should be a decision, not a surprise.
Four ways a total loss can be paid.
This is the choice that decides what a claim is worth, and it's made at the quote — not at the loss. Most people never know they made it.
| Settlement option | What a total loss pays | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Total Loss Replacement | Replaces the boat with a new, previously untitled boat of the same make and model as far as possible, with comparable equipment — less the deductible. | For new boats and new motors. Based on purchase price including taxes and fees. If the boat is over five model years old at the time of loss, or you'd rather not replace it, it pays the purchase price on the declarations page instead. Not available for PWC. |
| Agreed Value | The value shown on your declarations page, less the deductible — regardless of what the boat is actually worth at the time of loss. | Available on all boats qualifying for physical damage coverage. No marine survey is required to get it. Not available for PWC. |
| Actual Cash Value | The lowest of: replacing the property, repairing it, its actual cash value at the time of loss, or the market value on the declarations page — less the deductible. | The most economical option, and the one where depreciation shows up. Review the declared value periodically so it still reflects the market. Available for boats and PWC. |
| Total Loss Coverage (PWC) | The MSRP of a current model year PWC of the same make and model, less the deductible. | PWC only, at new business or endorsement, for a new PWC with Comprehensive and Collision. Runs until the PWC is three model years old at renewal, then settlement becomes Actual Cash Value. |
Two things that apply no matter which you pick.
No depreciation on partial losses. Once the deductible is paid, parts are compensated at today's value regardless of how long they've been in service. Most partial losses are exactly where "betterment" deductions show up on other contracts, so this is worth comparing line to line against whatever you're carrying now.
Disappearing Deductibles. Comprehensive and Collision deductibles drop 25% for each claim-free policy period — at the fourth consecutive one, the deductible is $0. Included at no extra premium with Total Loss Replacement and Agreed Value, and available for purchase with Actual Cash Value and Total Loss Coverage. A paid Comprehensive or Collision claim resets it at the next renewal; liability, roadside and Propulsion Plus claims don't.
Your gear lives in three different buckets.
The fish finder, the rods, and the tubes are not covered the same way — and which bucket something falls into decides what it's worth at a claim.
- Depth and fish finders
- Radar, sonar, navigation systems
- Trolling and kicker motors
- Audio and video equipment
- Ship-to-shore radios
- Downriggers and outriggers, power poles
Fastened to the hull with bolts or brackets. Rides with the boat's declared value — not capped by the fishing equipment per-item limit.
- Rods and reels
- Tackle and tackle boxes
- Lures, hooks, baits
Its own coverage with its own limit — $1,000 to $10,000 — and a $1,000 cap per item. A tackle box is one item however full it is. A rod and reel are two. $250 deductible.
- Anchors, fenders, dock lines
- Water skis, wakeboards, tubes
- Covers and tarpaulins
- Safety and lifesaving gear
- Portable marine electronics
Detachable but kept on the boat for its use. Also rides in the declared value. Scuba and fishing gear are specifically not in this bucket.
So your $3,000 chartplotter isn't capped at $1,000.
It's permanently-attached equipment, which means it rides in the boat's declared value rather than under the fishing equipment per-item limit. Good news — with one condition attached to it.
The declared value has to actually include it. If you rig the boat with a new sonar head unit and a bow-mount trolling motor after you buy the policy and nobody updates the value, you've added several thousand dollars of equipment to a number that doesn't know about it. That's a phone call, and it takes two minutes.
Same logic in reverse for the tournament angler: the rods and the tackle are the other bucket, capped at $1,000 an item. Add up what's actually in the boat before assuming one coverage handles all of it.
Your trailer finally has a home.
If you've read the auto or home pages, you know the problem. This is the page that solves it.
Progressive's personal auto program no longer accepts trailers. Your auto liability may respond to damage you cause other people while towing — but it doesn't pay to repair your trailer. And the homeowners policy gives a trailer a $1,500 contents sublimit at the base package tier, rising to $3,000 at Platinum. That's a contents sublimit that happens to mention trailers. It isn't trailer insurance.
The boat policy is where it lands. The trailer can be included in the insured value alongside the hull, the motor, and the permanently-attached equipment. The physical damage deductible applies to it the same as everything else. Roadside Assistance covers it — and extends to your tow vehicle even when that vehicle isn't insured by Progressive. Trailer Trip Interruption picks up lodging, transport and food if it strands you more than 100 miles from home.
So the boat, the motor and the trailer travel together, on one policy, the way they travel together down I-49.
Which is why "I'll just put the boat on the house" doesn't work.
It isn't only that $1,500 of watercraft sublimit is too little against a bass boat. It's that the homeowners policy can't make you legal — it doesn't carry the $50,000 of liability Arkansas requires and won't satisfy the registration requirement — and it doesn't cover the trailer either.
Progressive's own guidance to agents is blunt about this: sell a specialised watercraft policy rather than packaging or endorsing a boat onto a homeowners policy. On this one, the carrier and the independent agent agree completely.
Progressive publishes its own Arkansas numbers.
So rather than give you a band from our book, here are theirs.
Progressive boat policy, 2024
liability-only policy
Sign & Glide towing
Which is the honest headline on this line.
Boat insurance usually costs less than people expect, and the distance between the $50,000 the state demands and limits that would actually hold up is generally not where your money goes. If you're carrying it anyway — and on anything over 50 horsepower in Arkansas, you are — the marginal cost of carrying it properly is small.
Discounts Progressive publishes on the boat product include multi-policy, multi-vessel, homeowner, paid in full, EFT, advance quote, claim-free renewal, original owner, safety course, transfer, prompt payment, responsible driver, and association membership. On the auto side, bundling shows up as the Auto + Recreational Lines discount — 3% on average, 4% maximum. There's no limit to how many discounts stack.
The policies around this one.
Arkansas boat insurance questions.
Is boat insurance required in Arkansas?
Yes, and Arkansas is unusual in this. Under Ark. Code Ann. § 27-101-207 it's unlawful for the owner of a motorboat over 50 horsepower, or of any personal watercraft, to allow it to be operated unless it's covered by a liability insurance policy providing at least $50,000 of coverage per occurrence, issued by an insurer authorised to do business in Arkansas. Proof of insurance must be carried on board and available for inspection, and proof must accompany the registration application. In practice, the insurance comes before the registration.
What happens if I boat uninsured in Arkansas?
A first violation carries a mandatory fine of not less than $50 and not more than $250. A second offence runs $250 to $500 with the minimum mandatory. More seriously, if the boat is involved in an accident on Arkansas waters and wasn't insured as required, the owner is deemed guilty of a Class A misdemeanor — a criminal charge rather than a citation. The statute permits a judge to dismiss the charge on a showing that the required coverage was in effect at the time of arrest, which is why the proof belongs on the boat.
Is $50,000 of boat liability enough?
It's the legal floor, not a recommendation. Fifty thousand dollars is the least the state will let you operate with, and a serious injury on the water can exceed it. Arkansas follows an at-fault liability system, so a limit determines what the insurance policy may pay rather than automatically capping what someone may be legally responsible for.
Progressive publishes multiple liability limits above the minimum, up to $500,000 combined single limit. Ask what the higher limits cost before assuming the minimum is the sensible choice.
Does my homeowners policy cover my boat?
Not meaningfully. A Progressive Home policy shows a watercraft sublimit of $1,500 at the base package tier, rising to $3,000 at Platinum. That's a contents sublimit inside Coverage C, not watercraft liability. It doesn't provide the $50,000 of liability Arkansas requires, it won't satisfy the registration requirement, and it isn't designed to insure a boat.
Progressive's own guidance to agents is explicit that a specialised watercraft policy is the right home for a boat rather than packaging or endorsing it onto a homeowners policy.
Does boat insurance cover my boat trailer?
Yes, and this resolves a real gap. Progressive's personal auto program no longer accepts trailers, and while auto liability may respond to damage you cause to others while towing, it doesn't pay to repair your own trailer.
On the boat policy the trailer can be included in the insured value, the physical damage deductible applies to it alongside the hull and machinery, and Roadside Assistance covers the trailer and extends to the tow vehicle even when that vehicle isn't insured by Progressive.
Are my fish finder and electronics covered?
Depth and fish finders, sonar, navigation systems, trolling and kicker motors, ship-to-shore radios and downriggers are treated as permanently-attached equipment — meaning they're part of the insured watercraft value rather than capped by the fishing equipment per-item limit. The practical requirement is that the declared value has to include them.
Rods, reels and tackle are fishing equipment, a separate coverage with its own limits and a $1,000 cap per item. Water skis, wakeboards, tubes, anchors and covers are portable boating equipment. Three categories, three treatments — worth sorting out at the quote rather than at a claim.
What is Uninsured and Underinsured Boaters coverage?
It pays a covered person occupying a boat or personal watercraft for bodily injury caused by the owner or operator of an uninsured or underinsured boat or personal watercraft.
It matters in Arkansas because the insurance requirement only reaches motorboats over 50 horsepower and personal watercraft — a smaller motorboat may lawfully carry nothing at all — and because a boat carrying the state minimum carries $50,000, which a serious injury can exceed. This is the coverage that answers what happens when the other boat can't pay.
How much is boat insurance in Arkansas?
Progressive publishes its own Arkansas figures: an average annual cost of $297.28 for a Progressive boat policy in Arkansas in 2024, with liability-only policies starting around $100 per year. Those are Progressive's published averages rather than a Cribb Insurance Group figure or a quote, and individual rates vary by watercraft, coverages selected, and other rating factors.
Boat insurance is one of the few lines where the honest answer is that it usually costs less than people expect.
If our insurance guides and coverage comparisons are helpful, mark Cribb Insurance as a preferred source so more Northwest Arkansas families can find our local explanations.
Check the card in the glovebox.
If it says $50,000, that's the floor the state set — not a decision anyone made about your boat. Tell us what's on the trailer and we'll tell you what you're carrying, which settlement option you picked without knowing it, whether the electronics are in the declared value, and what real limits cost. Usually less than you'd guess. And if what you have is already right, we'll tell you that too.
Cribb Insurance Group Inc. is an independent insurance agency licensed in Arkansas. We are not Progressive, and this page is not endorsed, sponsored, reviewed, or approved by Progressive. “Progressive,” “Sign & Glide,” “Propulsion Plus,” “Carried Contents,” and related marks are trademarks of Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and its affiliates, used here nominatively to identify products we are appointed to place.
This page describes coverage in general terms for informational purposes only. It is not a policy, an offer of insurance, or a guarantee of coverage, availability, eligibility, or price. Coverage descriptions are abbreviated and do not modify any policy. Available coverages, optional coverages, limits, deductibles, settlement options, exclusions, discounts, and eligibility are set by the carrier, vary by state, by watercraft and over time, and are subject to underwriting approval and to the terms, conditions, limits and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Whether a particular loss is covered depends on the specific facts and on the policy in force. If anything on this page conflicts with the issued policy, the policy controls.
Statements about Arkansas law reflect Ark. Code Ann. § 27-101-207 and Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration guidance as of July 2026. Statutes, registration requirements and penalties change, and their application depends on your circumstances. This is general information and not legal advice — confirm current requirements with the Arkansas DFA or the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and consult an attorney about your situation.
Cost figures shown are Progressive's own published Arkansas figures, are averages, are illustrative only, and are not a quote, not a Cribb Insurance Group figure, and not a guarantee of your rate. Discount availability and amounts vary by customer, policy, and current carrier guidelines. Nothing on this page is a recommendation to purchase, hold or terminate any policy.
Last reviewed July 2026.