Boat insurance in Missouri

The U.S. Coast Guard counted 282,983 registered recreational boats in 2024 for Missouri. During that year the state logged 102 boating accidents, 12 deaths, 64 injuries, and $1,065,495 in property damage.

Figures like these explain why plenty of owners buy coverage even though nobody forces them to. A policy can protect the boat itself, plus any injury or property damage you cause while operating it.

The state sets no requirement at all. When asked whether Missouri boaters must hold liability insurance, the joint U.S. Coast Guard and NASBLA review of state boating laws answers "No". Liability insurance is what pays when you injure someone or wreck their property while driving your boat.

Marinas play by their own rules. Progressive notes that one can demand liability coverage before handing you a slip.

Rental boats have a separate rule. Under Missouri's watercraft livery law, a rented boat must carry the required safety equipment before leaving the dock, and the law says nothing about insurance.

Among the states, Missouri sits on the cheaper end for boat insurance, so many owners pay less than boaters elsewhere. Below are our annual figures for boats stored in Missouri. Treat these as rough numbers rather than firm quotes.

What you pay comes down to the kind of boat, what it is worth, and its home base. Our three-step price range builds a range around your specific boat.

Insurance is only one part of getting your boat ready for the water. Missouri also has rules for registration and who may operate a boat.

• Title and registration: Boats are titled and registered through the Missouri Department of Revenue. Every motorized boat, plus any sailboat over 12 feet, needs both a title and registration.
• Title deadline: You get 60 days from purchase to title a newly bought boat. Starting on day 61, a $10 penalty applies.
• Registration fee: Registering a boat shorter than 16 feet runs $25 plus a $9 processing fee.
• Property tax receipt: When you register or renew, you must show your county's receipt proving last year's personal property tax was paid. If nothing was owed, the county issues a statement of non-assessment, which is a document confirming no tax was charged.
• Sales tax: Buyers owe 4.225% state sales tax plus the local sales tax for where they live, rather than where the boat was purchased.

Education requirements matter too. People born after January 1, 1984, and before January 1, 2006, must carry a boating safety identification card when operating a boat on Missouri lakes. The card shows you completed a state-approved boating safety class. Starting January 1, 2027, the card becomes necessary for people born on or after January 1, 2006 on every Missouri waterway, lakes included. Boating law and boater education fall to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's Water Patrol Division.

Two more rules hold on the water. A person younger than 14 cannot operate a jet ski without someone 16 or older on board. Running a boat with a BAC at or above 0.08% breaks the law. The charge is a class B misdemeanor, and it climbs to a class A misdemeanor when the operator has prior offenses or a passenger younger than 17 is on board.

We build our ranges from the boat's type and value, adjusted for Missouri being a low-cost state. The complete method is spelled out in how we work it out.