Renting your boat through Boatsetter or GetMyBoat can earn income — but the insurance gaps can leave you exposed. Here is what Florida boat rental owners must know.
The Peer-to-Peer Boat Rental Market in Florida
Peer-to-peer boat rental platforms — particularly Boatsetter and GetMyBoat — have made it easier than ever for Florida boat owners to generate income from their vessels when they are not using them themselves. The platforms connect boat owners with renters seeking everything from half-day bay cruises to week-long cruising adventures, and the income potential is real for owners with appealing vessels in popular Florida boating markets.
But the insurance picture for boat rental through these platforms is more complex than the platforms' marketing materials suggest, and Florida boat owners who rent their vessels without understanding the insurance gaps are taking on exposure they may not fully appreciate until after an incident occurs.
What Platform Insurance Typically Covers
Both Boatsetter and GetMyBoat market some form of insurance protection as part of their rental ecosystem. However, the coverage provided through these platforms has important limitations that owners must understand:
- Hull damage gaps: Platform policies typically have deductibles of $1,500 to $3,000 or more for hull damage claims. Damage that falls below the deductible — the most common type of minor rental damage — is paid by the renter or absorbed by the owner.
- Third-party liability: Platform policies may include liability coverage for renter-caused damage to third parties, but the limits and exclusions vary and may not match what your marina or state regulations require.
- Geographic restrictions: Platform insurance may only cover incidents within defined geographical areas. A renter who takes the boat outside the approved area — something that happens — may void platform coverage entirely.
- No coverage for owner's own recreational use: Platform insurance only applies during active rental periods. When you are using the boat for your own recreation, you need your own marine insurance.
The Critical Problem: Your Recreational Policy
The most significant insurance issue for Florida boat rental owners is what happens to their own recreational marine insurance when they rent commercially through a platform. The answer, in most cases, is that recreational policies explicitly exclude commercial use — including platform-facilitated rentals. If you have a standard recreational marine policy and rent your boat through Boatsetter without disclosing this use to your insurer, your recreational policy will not cover any incident that occurs during a rental period, and many insurers would consider the undisclosed commercial rental use grounds for policy cancellation even for non-rental incidents.
This means the platform's insurance is your only coverage during rental periods — with all the limitations described above. This gap has surprised many Florida boat rental owners who discovered it after an incident, when it was too late.
Solutions for Florida Boat Rental Owners
Florida boat owners who want to rent through platforms have several options for addressing the insurance gap:
- Disclose rental use to your marine insurer and request a commercial rental endorsement: Some carriers will add an endorsement that explicitly allows platform-facilitated rental for a defined number of days per year and maintains your coverage during those rental periods. This is the cleanest solution.
- Purchase a separate commercial rental policy: A standalone commercial hull and liability policy for rental operations runs parallel to your recreational policy. More expensive but provides comprehensive, purpose-built coverage.
- Restrict rentals to platforms that offer genuinely comprehensive insurance: Evaluate platform insurance carefully before listing — read the actual policy documentation, not just the marketing materials. Confirm liability limits meet your marina's requirements.
Marina Restrictions on Commercial Rental
Many Florida marinas prohibit commercial boat rental from their slips, or require prior approval and additional insurance documentation from boat rental operators. Review your slip agreement before listing your boat on a rental platform — operating a commercial rental business from a marina slip that prohibits it can result in slip termination.
Ready to find your best-fit insurer? Get a Quote from FloridaCover — we match every Florida boater to the right carrier for their vessel and use.
The FloridaCover editorial team has over 15 years of combined experience covering US marine insurance, Florida boating, and maritime industry research.
