No Driver's Liscence = No Boat Insurance, WTF?

I haven't had a driver's license in years and really could care less about getting it reinstated.

However recently I need to purchase liability insurance for my boat so I can bring her to a marina and apparently can not get insurance without a driver's license, according to the USAA/Progressive Rep.

Does anyone know how to get around this, or if there is someone I can go to for simple liability insurance. I have many years of boating experience, never had an incident on the water, never been involved in a collision in a car either, yet according to the computers that decide this stuff, I am too much of a risk to insure?


I really have great hate for the insurance industry right now.

a reply to: jrod

It's for identity purposes. Do you have a state-issued non-driver photo ID? They're required to accept that.

a reply to: jrod

If the boat is on your property and out of the water your homeowner's will typically cover.

To get separate insurance you need to have a license as the inference is that you will be operating the vessel. Same as having a car, you need a license to get insurance.

(at least in New Jersey)

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

Yes, I have a valid passport and TWIC but no state ID.

Boat US still might be an option. Also my credit is no good due to student loans and a few other dings so I really do not know if I can get a reasonable rate.

Given my experience on the water, it is absolutely insane that they will insure so many with very little sea time, but determine that someone with over 10 years on the water is too risky.

To make this clear, to move a boat into a decent Marina, one needs liability insurance, that way if I crash into another boat, I am covered financially. My problem is despite me living on a boat for the better part of the last 5 years with no Driver's License, the big insurance companies will not issue insurance to someone without DL that is still suspended because I never reinstated it.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Good thing I do not live in Jersey, in fact I have avoided that state due to it's crazy laws. There is no license needed to operate a boat. There are too many people like me in Florida who like to live off the grid.

I'm looking to move into a Marina because my girlfriend wants the amenities and is willing to pay for the slip. It is free and legal to anchor a boat and no insurance is needed.

originally posted by: jrod
I'm looking to move into a Marina because my girlfriend wants the amenities and is willing to pay for the slip. It is free and legal to anchor a boat and no insurance is needed.

Plus, when the oceans rise, so will you (just don't forget to untether yourself)

But in all seriousness, that sucks, and I hope you get it figured out. All of this bureaucratic nonsense is so unappealing in today's society :/

a reply to: jrod

What state are you in, different laws apply where boats are concerned. This may, also, be a requirement for that particular insurance company. Did you try more than one and if so, give us some specific company names.

www.boat-ed.com...

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree

This has nothing to do with me being a safe boater or safe boating classes and everything to do with the Big insurance companies not issuing boat insurance for someone without a drivers license. Even though this may sound rude, I know the martime laws better than most with USCG issued Captain's License.

The reason I never bothered getting my license reinstated is because I had no need for it. I really do not have the money for getting it reinstated, and as I wrote before I really do not care to.

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree

I've called USAA/Progressive. They others I applied online and said it needed to be reviewed, in other words rejected.

The only one that I might be able to get it through is Boat US, and have been a member for the unlimited Tow Service.

What I need now is $500,000 in Liability Insurance in order to dock the boat at a decent marina.