By Paul Kesick, COMI, USCG Captain, 100 Ton Master CG License, Senior Sales Executive, Marine and RV Programs Division
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Key Takeaways
- Marina insurance coverage gaps arise because standard policies overlook maritime operations, exposing owners to unexpected risks.
- Common gaps include issues related to care, custody, and control of client vessels, fuel operations, and wharfinger liability.
- A tailored marina insurance program aligns coverage with actual operations, addressing risks and ensuring effective claims handling.
Standard commercial insurance policies aren’t built for maritime operations. Here’s what marina owners need to know about marina insurance coverage gaps, maritime liability, and how to structure protection that actually reflects how their business operates.
Many gaps occur because policies are written for traditional commercial risks rather than maritime operations. For marina owners, the risk isn’t whether insurance exists. It’s whether the coverage responds the way you expect when something goes wrong.
The answer, more often than business owners expect, is no. Not because they skipped coverage, but because their policies were built for land-based businesses – marinas operate under maritime law. This disconnect between how marinas operate and how many insurance programs are structured is one of the most common sources of unexpected coverage gaps in the marine industry – marinas operate under maritime law. This changes almost everything about how liability works, how claims get handled, and what “adequate coverage” actually means.
Why Land-Based Insurance Thinking Fails on the Water
A standard commercial general liability policy assumes your business sits on solid ground, interacts with customers in predictable ways, and resolves disputes in state court under familiar rules.
Maritime Law Changes How Liability and Claims Are Evaluated
When an incident occurs on or over navigable water, federal maritime law often applies. That means there are different standards for liability and different procedures for claims. There are also different expectations for what a business owner should have known or done. A policy written without maritime exposures in mind may exclude the very scenarios most likely to occur at a working waterfront.
In practice, this means claims may be evaluated under different legal standards, different defenses, and different expectations for marina operators than most commercial business owners anticipate.
The result is a coverage gap that only becomes visible after a loss.
Common Marina Insurance Coverage Gaps
Marina insurance coverage gaps occur when standard commercial policies fail to address exposures associated with operating on navigable water, including vessel custody, maritime liability, environmental risks, and specialized regulatory obligations.
• Care, custody, and control: When a customer’s vessel is in your slip, on your lift, or in your yard for service, you may be financially responsible for damage that occurs while it’s in your possession. Many general liability policies exclude or sharply limit this.
•[Work on or over water. Employees working on docks, fuel piers, or vessels face risks that workers’ compensation alone may not fully address. Depending on their duties and where work occurs, exposures under the Jones Act or the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act may apply. This may create liability that many marina operators don’t realize they’ve assumed.
• Fuel operations and pollution. A fuel spill at a marina is not the same as a fuel spill at a gas station. Cleanup obligations, regulatory exposure, and third-party claims can escalate quickly under maritime environmental rules. Even small spills can trigger costly cleanup requirements, fines, and claims that exceed the limits or fall outside the scope of standard pollution endorsements.
• Wharfinger liability. If you provide dockage, maritime law may impose duties that go beyond those of a typical landlord–tenant relationship. These obligations can include maintaining safe berth conditions and warning of known hazards. This creates liability exposures that standard commercial policies often don’t address.
• Protection and indemnity (P&I). If your business owns or operates vessels (workboats, launches, tow boats), hull insurance alone won’t address third-party injury, property damage, or crew-related liabilities. P&I coverage is designed to respond to these maritime exposures.
These are all routine risks for marinas, but they require policies designed for maritime operations.
What a Maritime-Specific Program Looks Like
The goal is the right insurance, structured around how your business operates. A well-structured marina insurance program isn’t about adding more policies. It’s about aligning coverage with maritime exposures, contractual obligations, and how your facility actually functions day to day. In this way, you create the foundation of a tactical risk solution rather than a transactional insurance purchase.
Aligning coverage with how your marina actually operates
That starts with understanding the full scope of your exposures: what services you offer, which vessels or equipment you own, how customers use your facility, and the regulatory environment in which you operate. From there, coverage can be layered to address maritime liability, property, pollution, and operational risks in a coordinated way.
Equally important is working with underwriters and brokers who understand maritime law and the marine insurance market. Policies need to be placed with carriers who know how to handle maritime claims.
How Marshall+Sterling Approaches Marina Insurance Risk
Marshall+Sterling’s ocean marine practice insurance specialists work with marinas, boatyards, yacht clubs, and commercial marine operators. Our team works with marinas, boatyards, yacht clubs, and marine operators across the country, giving us direct visibility into the operational risks that often create hidden insurance exposures. We understand the difference between a policy that looks complete on paper and one that will perform when a claim hits.
Identifying exposures before a claim forces the issue
Our approach starts with exposure identification. As part of our Tactical Risk Solutions for Business, we focus on understanding how your marina actually operates before recommending coverage. That means walking your facility, reviewing contracts, and asking the right questions. This helps uncover vulnerabilities and blind spots that can otherwise go unnoticed.
From there, we build programs that address your risk profile, place them with marine-specialist carriers, and support them with a team that knows how to advocate for you when claims arise.
Next Steps
If you’re unsure whether your current program addresses potential marina insurance coverage gaps, reviewing your coverage before renewal season can uncover exposures that may not be obvious on paper. A conversation with a marine risk advisor can help ensure your insurance program reflects how your marina actually operates.
About the Author
Paul Kesick, COMI, is a Senior Sales Executive at Marshall+Sterling and a nationally recognized ocean marine insurance specialist. He has been with Marshall+Sterling since 2013. Currently, he serves more than 400 marine clients across over 40 states. Paul holds a Certificate of Ocean Marine Insurance (COMI) designation and has maintained a U.S. Coast Guard 100-Ton Master Captain’s License since 1990. Prior to his insurance career, he owned and operated a towing and salvage business on the Hudson River for more than 20 years. This experience brings decades of hands-on maritime work to his work in marine insurance.
