Legal Question in Insurance Law in California

Insurance for boat rentals

I rented a boat and paid a deposit on it at the time of rental. I got in an accident in the boat and figured that I would only lose the deposit and the deposit would act like a deductible on a car. It turns out that the boat rental company does not have outside insurance on the boat and that I am liable for all damages on the boat. They stated that their policy is that they do not offer any boat insurance unless someone specifically asks for it and because I did not ask for it, that I have to pay for the cost of all damages. Are there any CA laws that require boat renters to explicitly offer insurance to their renters or that require that boat renters carry outside insurance on their boats to mitigate the cost of damages for their renters?


Asked on 11/09/01, 6:47 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Steven Murray Steven W. Murray, APC

Re: Insurance for boat rentals

You would probably be covered by insurance under your homeowners or renters liability policy.

Also, any genuine business has insurance so I don't believe the story that there is none. As a permissive user of the boat, you are probably an additional insured under the policy issued to the rental business. (See H&N Code sec. 661.)

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Answered on 11/09/01, 7:14 pm


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