You Hold Millions in Boats You Don't Own, on the Water.
Protecting marinas, boatyards, and wet and dry storage operators
Marinas and boat storage operators dock, haul, store, fuel, and service customers' vessels — wet slips, dry stack, boatyards, and seasonal storage. The defining feature is care, custody, and control of high-value boats the operator does not own, kept on and around the water where wind, storm surge, fire, and sinking threaten the whole facility at once. That combination — bailee liability for others' vessels plus waterfront catastrophe — is what sets a marina apart from ordinary property or storage. A marina needs coverage built around marina operators legal liability for stored boats, waterfront property and pollution, and the premises and operations of a public waterfront. This is a corner of marine insurance built for how marinas actually take loss and get sued.
Properly structured coverage protects the operation, the boats in its care, and its customers.
The Marina's Signature Exposures
The defining exposure is care, custody, and control: marina operators legal liability responds when a customer's boat is damaged, sunk, dropped during haul-out, or destroyed while in the marina's care — a bailee exposure standard property forms exclude. Layered on top is waterfront catastrophe: a hurricane or major storm can damage or sink dozens of boats and destroy docks in a single event, an accumulation few land businesses face. Protection and indemnity (marine liability) covers injuries on docks and vessels, the fuel dock brings pollution and spill exposure, and haul-out equipment, travelifts, and repair operations add their own risk. Docks, piers, and buildings are the property exposure, with business income if the facility closes.
Key Risks in Marina Operations
Marinas and storage operators face exposure related to:
A customer's boat damaged, dropped, or sunk while in the marina's care
A hurricane or storm surge damaging many boats and the docks at once
A fire spreading across a dry-stack building or a fuel dock
A fuel-dock spill triggering pollution cleanup and liability
An injury to a customer or guest on a dock, pier, or vessel
A travelift or haul-out accident dropping a boat
A boat sinking in a slip and leaking fuel or oil
Holding millions in boats you don't own, on the water, is what most defines the class.
Core Coverages for Marinas & Boat Storage
A properly built marina program typically includes:
Marina Operators Legal Liability (Care, Custody & Control) — Covers damage to customers' boats in the marina's care, custody, or control — the bailee exposure property forms exclude.
Protection & Indemnity / Marine General Liability — Cover bodily injury and third-party liability on docks, piers, and vessels.
Property — Docks, Piers & Buildings (Wind/Flood) — Cover the waterfront structures and dry-stack buildings, including named-storm and flood exposure.
Pollution / Fuel Dock Liability — Covers spills and cleanup from fueling and stored vessels.
Hull & Equipment (Owned Craft, Travelifts) — Cover the marina's own vessels, travelifts, and haul-out equipment.
Business Income & Umbrella — Replace income after a closure and add limits over a catastrophe or injury claim.
Workers' Comp / USL&H — Cover shore staff and, where applicable, maritime workers under the Longshore Act.
What's Commonly Overlooked
Marina programs are most often weakened by:
No marina operators legal liability, assuming property covers boats the marina doesn't own
Wind, named-storm, and flood sublimits too low for a waterfront catastrophe
Fuel-dock pollution and spill exposure left unaddressed
USL&H (Longshore Act) exposure treated as ordinary workers' comp
Care-custody limits below the value of the boats actually stored
The gaps that hurt most are missing marina operators legal liability and undersized catastrophe limits.
Real-World Claim Examples
A customer's boat is dropped during haul-out or sinks in its slip
A hurricane destroys docks and damages dozens of stored boats
A fire spreads through a dry-stack storage building
A fuel spill at the dock triggers cleanup and pollution liability
A guest is injured on a dock or gangway
Any one of these can be significant, and the care-custody and catastrophe claims are the most distinctive.
Regulatory & Licensing Context
Marinas operate under overlapping maritime and environmental rules. Fuel docks and waterfront operations are subject to Coast Guard, EPA, and state spill-prevention (SPCC) requirements, and stormwater and clean-marina programs govern discharges. Waterfront workers can fall under the federal Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (USL&H) rather than state workers' comp, and vessel-related injuries can invoke admiralty law and the Jones Act. Dock leases and slip agreements set the liability and insurance terms between marina and boat owner, and local zoning, riparian, and building codes govern the structures.
Why Proper Placement Matters
Underwriters weigh the number and value of boats stored, wet versus dry-stack storage, hurricane and flood zone, dock and building construction and age, fuel-dock and repair operations, travelift and haul-out activity, prior storm and care-custody losses, and USL&H exposure. Because waterfront accumulation and bailee liability are specialized, marinas are placed through marine and specialty markets that price named-storm and care-custody exposure. Setting care-custody limits to the boats actually stored, sizing named-storm and flood coverage to the location, and addressing fuel-dock pollution and USL&H are the essential steps.
Our Approach
At Cory Washington & Co., we insure marinas around the boats you hold and the water you sit on — placing marina operators legal liability for vessels in your care, protection & indemnity for dock and vessel injury, waterfront property with named-storm and flood limits that fit your location, and fuel-dock pollution coverage. We address USL&H exposure where your workers trigger it. We also insure related businesses, including boat and marine dealers, RV parks and campgrounds, and self-storage facilities.
You hold millions in boats you don't own, on the water, which makes a marina a distinct risk — we build the coverage to match it, care-custody and catastrophe included.
All insurance descriptions on this website are provided by Cory Washington & Co. LLC strictly for general informational purposes. They are not intended to be, and should not be relied upon as, legal, financial, or insurance advice. The information presented is general in nature and does not guarantee the availability, terms, conditions, or scope of any insurance coverage. Actual coverage is determined solely by the specific policy language issued by the insurer and remains subject to underwriting approval. Nothing on this website creates or implies an agent-client relationship, binds coverage, or alters any existing policy. Cory Washington & Co. LLC expressly disclaims any liability for actions taken, or not taken, based on the content provided here. For advice regarding your particular situation, please consult directly with a licensed insurance professional at Cory Washington & Co. LLC or another qualified insurance professional, and always review your policy documents in full.
See the coverages a marina & boat storage business may carry — core, prevalent, and situational — plus the gap most often missed, in the Marina & Boat Storage Coverage Checklist.
Download the fillable Marina & Boat Storage Supplemental to start your submission, or browse all applications.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get marina & boat storage insurance through Cory Washington & Co.?
Request a quote or contact our team. We start with a short conversation about your operations, analyze your exposures, then negotiate marina & boat storage insurance across multiple carriers that compete for your account and present options with the trade-offs explained. Cory Washington & Co. LLC is licensed in all 50 states.
How are marina & boat storage insurance premiums priced?
Premiums vary from business to business. The main drivers of marina & boat storage insurance pricing are the nature of your operations, your revenue and payroll, your loss history, and the limits you carry. Rather than quote a flat figure, we negotiate across several markets and walk you through the options, so you only pay for the protection you actually need.
Is marina & boat storage insurance mandatory?
It depends on your situation. Some coverage is required by law; more often, marina & boat storage insurance is required by a contract, lease, lender, or client before they will do business with you — and even when it is not mandated, it guards against exposures that can be severe. We review your operations and obligations and tell you plainly what you need and why.
What if another agency has already declined or non-renewed my coverage?
Difficult, specialty, and previously-declined placements are a core part of our work. We access excess & surplus (E&S) and specialty markets that many generalist agencies cannot, and we explain the trade-offs clearly so you can decide with confidence.
Available in all 50 states. See how requirements differ in California, Texas, Florida, New York, or choose your state.