With warmer temperatures arriving earlier than usual, the water season is well underway. Whether you’re out on your boat every day or just on weekends, boat insurance should be top of mind during the summer months — and even beyond.

Naturally, you want to protect your boat while you’re using it. It’s important, though, to understand the associated coverages to ensure you are properly protected. Choose from standard and specialized coverages, including:

• Liability, which protects other people and property if you’re responsible for an accident
• Comprehensive, for incidents such as vandalism, flooding, and fires that may happen to your boat
• Collision, for instances in which you hit another object and damage your boat
• Fishing Equipment, which protects your gear onboard or while it’s being transported on or off your insured boat
• Uninsured Boater, which protects you in case an uninsured boat collides with yours.

Protecting your boat while it’s on the water is an easy decision, but what about when it’s not on the water? What about when it’s sitting in a slip or even in your yard?

In fact, nearly 20% of all boat claims are filed between Labor Day and Memorial Day — when boating isn’t at its peak. Most of these claims are filed due to vandalism, theft, fire, or flooding, which can happen at any time, not just during warmer months.

And what about injuries? You’re most likely responsible if someone gets hurt on your boat, but did you know you could be responsible for injuries around your boat, too? If you bypass boat insurance, you won’t have liability coverage to protect you in cases that involve injury, which means you may be responsible for paying someone’s medical bills whether you’re using your boat or it’s sitting unattended.

Whether you store your boat in a marina or your yard, you may want to rethink any decisions to cancel your boat insurance while it’s not being used.

Before you make any changes, be sure to check your policy and review it with your agent to make sure you’re getting the most for your money. Remember to look at what you have, then purchase boat insurance that covers your way of life. If you own a home, car, business, etc., you may want to consider a higher level of boat insurance coverage or an umbrella policy to protect your assets.