Do I need a separate policy for P&I, or is it included in my hull policy?

Many yacht policies combine hull and machinery (H&M) cover with P&I in a single form, which works well for most pleasure-use owners. If you operate commercially, charter regularly, or carry crew under employment contracts, a standalone P&I policy may give you broader limits and more appropriate terms. We'll review both options based on how you use the vessel.

What happens if I sail outside my navigation limits without telling my underwriter?

Your cover is likely void for any loss that occurs outside the agreed navigation area. That includes both hull damage and any P&I claim arising from that passage. If your plans change — a passage to the Eastern Caribbean, a Gulf crossing into Mexican waters — contact us before you depart so we can arrange an endorsement. It's usually straightforward to extend limits with advance notice; it's very difficult to do anything after a loss.

How does a named storm deductible work, and when does it apply?

A named storm deductible is a separate, typically larger deductible that applies when a loss is caused by or occurs during a named tropical storm or hurricane. Policies differ on the trigger: some apply the deductible from the moment a storm is named, others from when a watch or warning is issued for your area. Your hurricane plan — where the vessel is located and who is responsible for moving it — can affect whether the deductible applies and at what level. Read this section of your policy carefully and ask us to walk through it with you.

I charter my yacht a few times a year. Does my pleasure-use policy cover that?

Almost certainly not without a specific endorsement or a change to commercial terms. Charter use — even occasional, even to people you know — is a material change in how the vessel is used, and most pleasure-use policies exclude it. If you charter without disclosing it, a claim arising during or connected to a charter period is likely to be denied. Tell us about your charter arrangement upfront and we'll make sure the policy is structured to cover it.

What do you need from me to get a quote started?

The basics are: vessel name, year, builder, LOA in feet, hull value, USCG documentation or state registration number, your navigation area and hurricane plan, captain's license details, crew count and employment arrangement, charter use if any, and your claims history for the past five years. A current survey and your existing declarations page are helpful but not always required to get an initial indication. The more complete the picture you give us, the more accurate the quote.

How long does it take to bind cover once I've submitted everything?

For a well-documented risk with a current survey, binding can happen within a few business days once we have everything we need. If a survey is required and hasn't been done, that's the main variable — scheduling and completing a survey adds time. Don't leave this to the last minute before a planned departure or a charter booking. Give yourself at least two to three weeks if a survey is likely to be needed.

Can I Buy Public Liability Insurance Online?

Written by the Florida Yacht Cover editorial team · reviewed by Anton Kuznetsov, founder

If you're asking whether you can buy public liability insurance online for your yacht, the short answer is: it depends on what you actually need. For a Florida-based motor or sailing yacht cruising the Bahamas, the Caribbean, or the Gulf coast, the coverage that matters most isn't called 'public liability' — it's Protection and Indemnity, or P&I. P&I is the marine equivalent, and it covers your legal liability to third parties: crew injuries, passenger bodily harm, damage to other vessels, wreck removal, and pollution. Getting that cover right — especially with named storm deductibles, navigation limits, and charter use in the mix — takes more than clicking through a generic online form. Here's what you need to understand before you bind anything.

P&I vs. Public Liability: Why the Distinction Matters for Your Yacht

On land, 'public liability' is a familiar term. On the water, the equivalent is Protection and Indemnity insurance, and the scope is considerably broader. Your P&I cover responds when a third party — a guest, a marina worker, another vessel's owner, or a government authority — makes a claim against you arising from your yacht's operation. That includes bodily injury to anyone aboard who isn't a paid crew member, property damage to docks, pilings, or other boats, and your legal costs defending those claims.

Where P&I goes further than standard public liability is in areas specific to maritime law. Wreck removal liability, for example, can be substantial: if your vessel sinks in a navigable channel, the US Coast Guard can compel you to remove it, and that cost falls on you. P&I also covers your liability under the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC), which sets a floor on how far you can cap your exposure — but only if your policy is structured to engage it properly.

If you charter your yacht — even occasionally, even to friends at below-market rates — your liability exposure changes materially. A bareboat or crewed charter arrangement can shift your policy from a pleasure-use form to one that requires commercial P&I terms. Buying a generic online policy without disclosing charter use is one of the most common reasons yacht owners find themselves uninsured at the moment of a claim.

What Online Platforms Can and Cannot Do for Florida Yacht Owners

Several online platforms offer instant-bind yacht insurance, and for smaller, simpler risks — a 35-foot sailboat kept in a marina, used for day sailing, no charter, no paid crew — a digital quote-and-bind process can work. You answer questions about the vessel, its value, your navigation area, and your experience, and a policy document arrives by email. That process is real, and for straightforward risks it is efficient.

The limitations appear quickly when your situation involves any of the following: a vessel over roughly 60 feet, offshore passages to the Bahamas or Eastern Caribbean, a paid captain or crew, charter income, a liveaboard arrangement, or a hull value that places you in the specialist market. At that point, the online form either declines to quote, produces a policy with exclusions you won't notice until you file a claim, or quotes a premium that doesn't reflect your actual risk profile.

Named storm deductibles are a particular area where online platforms often underserve Florida owners. Your policy may show a standard deductible for most losses but carry a separate, much larger named storm deductible — sometimes expressed as a percentage of insured hull value — that only appears in the fine print. Understanding how that deductible applies, whether it triggers on a named storm watch, warning, or landfall, and whether your hurricane plan affects it, requires a conversation, not a checkbox.

Named Storm, Hurricane Plans, and Navigation Limits: The Florida-Specific Layer

The Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30. If your yacht is in Florida waters during that window, your underwriter will want to know your hurricane plan. That plan — where you intend to take the vessel, whether you'll haul out, which yard, and who is responsible for executing the plan — directly affects both your coverage and your named storm deductible. A well-documented hurricane plan, submitted before the season opens, can be the difference between a manageable deductible and a coverage dispute after a storm.

Navigation limits define where your policy is valid. A Florida-based policy typically covers US coastal waters, the Bahamas, and often the Caribbean as far south as a defined latitude — but those limits vary by underwriter and by season. If you're planning a passage to the Eastern Caribbean, Turks and Caicos, or along the Gulf coast into Mexican waters, confirm your navigation area in writing before you depart. Sailing outside your agreed limits without an endorsement can void your hull and P&I cover entirely.

Lay-up periods are a related consideration. Some policies offer a premium credit if you agree to keep the vessel in a defined area or out of use for a portion of the year. If you accept a lay-up credit and then move the vessel or use it during that period, you are operating without cover. This is another area where an online-only process tends to produce misunderstandings — the credit looks attractive at purchase, but the conditions attached to it aren't always clearly communicated.

Crew Cover, MLC 2006, and Your Liability as an Employer

If you employ a paid captain, mate, or any crew member — even part-time — your liability exposure as an employer is governed by a combination of US maritime law and, for vessels operating internationally, the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006). MLC 2006 sets minimum standards for crew wages, medical care, repatriation, and compensation in the event of injury or death. If your vessel calls at ports in MLC-ratifying countries, compliance is not optional.

Your P&I policy should include crew liability cover that responds to Jones Act claims (for US-flag vessels with US crew), as well as medical and repatriation costs. The Jones Act gives injured seamen the right to sue their employer for negligence, and the damages available are not capped the way workers' compensation claims are on land. This is a meaningful exposure for any owner running a crewed yacht, and it is not something a generic online liability form will address adequately.

When you request a quote, be specific about your crew arrangement: how many crew, whether they are employed directly or through a crewing agency, whether they hold valid STCW certificates, and whether your captain holds a US Coast Guard license appropriate for the vessel's size and operating area. These details shape both your P&I premium and the conditions your underwriter will attach to crew cover.

What to Bring When You're Ready to Bind Cover

Whether you start the process online or through a specialist broker, the information you need to have ready is the same. Having it organized before you begin will speed up the quote process and reduce the chance of a coverage gap appearing later.

For hull and P&I cover on a Florida yacht, expect to provide the following:

Vessel details: name, year built, builder, LOA in feet, beam, draft, construction material, engine type and horsepower
US Coast Guard documentation number or state registration number
Current agreed hull value and any recent survey or appraisal
Navigation area and any planned offshore passages for the coming policy year
Hurricane plan: intended location during June 1–November 30, haul-out yard if applicable
Crew details: captain's USCG license number and endorsements, number of crew, employment arrangement
Charter use: whether the vessel is chartered, frequency, bareboat or crewed, any charter management company involved
Claims history for the past five years
Current policy declarations page if renewing

When to Act and What to Expect on Renewal

If you're buying new cover, allow enough time for a survey if the underwriter requires one — typically for vessels over a certain age or value, or those that haven't been surveyed recently. A full out-of-water survey by an ABYC-certified marine surveyor is standard for the specialist market, and scheduling one in South Florida or the Keys during peak season can take two to three weeks. Binding cover without a current survey may be possible for some vessels, but it often comes with conditions or exclusions that disappear once a clean survey is on file.

On renewal, your broker should be reviewing your navigation limits, named storm deductible structure, and crew arrangements with you — not just rolling the policy over. If your cruising plans have changed, if you've added charter use, or if you've made significant modifications to the vessel, those changes need to be disclosed. Underwriters can and do void cover for material non-disclosure, and a renewal is the right moment to make sure your policy reflects how you're actually using the yacht.

The specialist market for Florida yachts — particularly those over 60 feet, those with offshore itineraries, and those with charter or commercial use — is not a commodity market. Capacity, terms, and appetite shift with loss experience, storm seasons, and reinsurance cycles. What was available at a given premium last year may be structured differently this year. Your broker's job is to present your risk accurately and negotiate terms that reflect your actual operation, not to find the cheapest form that technically covers the vessel.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a separate policy for P&I, or is it included in my hull policy?: Many yacht policies combine hull and machinery (H&M) cover with P&I in a single form, which works well for most pleasure-use owners. If you operate commercially, charter regularly, or carry crew under employment contracts, a standalone P&I policy may give you broader limits and more appropriate terms. We'll review both options based on how you use the vessel.
What happens if I sail outside my navigation limits without telling my underwriter?: Your cover is likely void for any loss that occurs outside the agreed navigation area. That includes both hull damage and any P&I claim arising from that passage. If your plans change — a passage to the Eastern Caribbean, a Gulf crossing into Mexican waters — contact us before you depart so we can arrange an endorsement. It's usually straightforward to extend limits with advance notice; it's very difficult to do anything after a loss.
How does a named storm deductible work, and when does it apply?: A named storm deductible is a separate, typically larger deductible that applies when a loss is caused by or occurs during a named tropical storm or hurricane. Policies differ on the trigger: some apply the deductible from the moment a storm is named, others from when a watch or warning is issued for your area. Your hurricane plan — where the vessel is located and who is responsible for moving it — can affect whether the deductible applies and at what level. Read this section of your policy carefully and ask us to walk through it with you.
I charter my yacht a few times a year. Does my pleasure-use policy cover that?: Almost certainly not without a specific endorsement or a change to commercial terms. Charter use — even occasional, even to people you know — is a material change in how the vessel is used, and most pleasure-use policies exclude it. If you charter without disclosing it, a claim arising during or connected to a charter period is likely to be denied. Tell us about your charter arrangement upfront and we'll make sure the policy is structured to cover it.
What do you need from me to get a quote started?: The basics are: vessel name, year, builder, LOA in feet, hull value, USCG documentation or state registration number, your navigation area and hurricane plan, captain's license details, crew count and employment arrangement, charter use if any, and your claims history for the past five years. A current survey and your existing declarations page are helpful but not always required to get an initial indication. The more complete the picture you give us, the more accurate the quote.
How long does it take to bind cover once I've submitted everything?: For a well-documented risk with a current survey, binding can happen within a few business days once we have everything we need. If a survey is required and hasn't been done, that's the main variable — scheduling and completing a survey adds time. Don't leave this to the last minute before a planned departure or a charter booking. Give yourself at least two to three weeks if a survey is likely to be needed.

Ready to get your P&I and hull cover structured properly? Send us your vessel details, navigation area, and current declarations page and we'll come back to you with a clear picture of your options — named storm deductible structure, crew cover, and charter use included.