Houseboat insurance

One marine insurance agency pegs the usual price at about 1% of what the hull is worth annually. Hull value is simply what the boat is worth, separate from your belongings on it.

For boats in general, Chubb paints a broader picture. According to Chubb, owners typically pay somewhere between 1% and 5% of what their boat is worth per year, with yacht premiums running more than $1,000 annually.

Treat these numbers as a rough guide. What you actually pay comes down to the boat itself, its location, and your usage.

Insurers will ask questions that affect your premium and, in some cases, whether they'll write a policy for you at all.

• Age of the boat. Once a houseboat passes 15 years old, a survey is generally required before an insurer will issue coverage. That survey is an inspection done by a marine professional who writes up the boat's condition. Certain insurers will take a survey performed with the boat still floating.
• Your boating history. Some insurers look for one to five years of owning a boat within 10 feet of the houseboat's length.
• Where the boat stays. This is mostly an inland business. Insurers generally won't cover houseboats kept in coastal or tidal areas, largely because of storm risk.
• Winter care. Expect questions about whether the boat remains in the water year-round and whether it has a bubbler or similar freeze protection. A bubbler pushes water around the hull so ice can't build up against it.
• Time out of use. Markel gives a lower yacht premium for the months a boat is laid up over winter. Lay-up refers to the stretch of months when the boat sits in storage unused.

If you live aboard, tell insurers when you ask for a quote. Progressive, for one, won't cover houseboats or any boat that serves as your main home.

Markel's yacht policy may come with liability protection for people who live on their boat. Liability coverage steps in when you're at fault for another person's injury or property damage.

Here's where some of the big names stand, so you don't waste time on a company that won't quote you.

• American Family: says it protects the houseboat whether it's on the water, stored away, or being towed, physical damage included.
• State Farm: lists houseboats among the kinds of boats it will insure.
• Markel: handles houseboats through its yacht program, which is aimed at watercraft over 26 feet long.
• GEICO: won't cover motorless houseboats, floating homes, or any boat longer than 50 feet.
• Progressive: won't take houseboats on.