Marine contractors face exposures that standard commercial insurance policies aren't built to cover. Work on, over, or near navigable water involves federal statutes, admiralty law, and specialized rules. Maritime Insurance closes those gaps by pairing coverages like P&I, Hull, and Maritime Employers Liability with the land-based protections your operation still needs. Use the checklist below to review your current program against the coverages marine contractors commonly require and catch any gaps before they become claims.
| Section | What Does It Cover? | Recommended Primary Limits | |
|---|---|---|---|
| YOUR PEOPLE | State Workers' Compensation | Your legal responsibility to employees in your office, warehouses, workshops, and non-waterfront locations. Offered in conjunction with Longshore coverage — especially important in "concurrent jurisdiction" states, where employees can bring claims under both the Longshore and State acts at the same time. | Statutory |
| Longshore/USL&H | Your legal responsibility to employees working on, over, or in areas "adjoining" navigable waters. The Longshore & Harbor Workers' Compensation Act is a federal workers' compensation program designed predominantly for "dockside" workers; Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act coverage is also available. | Statutory | |
| Employers Liability | Insurance that covers an employer's liability for bodily injury to employees occurring within the scope of their employment when that liability is not covered by Workers' Compensation. | $1 Million | |
| Maritime Employers Liability | Your liability to your employees working on or from vessels. Often referred to as Jones Act coverage, this is only one of a handful of maritime remedies. It insures an employer's liability under Admiralty law (Jones Act, Maintenance & Cure, etc.) and provides coverage similar to a P&I policy — but it does not cover Longshore or any third-party liabilities. | $1 Million | |
| Employment Practices Liability Insurance | Protection against claims made by employees, former employees, or potential employees. It covers discrimination (age, sex, race, disability, etc.), wrongful termination of employment, sexual harassment, and other employment-related allegations. | $1 Million | |
| Crew Protection & Indemnity | Coverage for bodily injury to the Master and members of the crew of owned or operated vessels. | $1 Million | |
| YOUR LIABILITIES | Marine General Liability | Your liability to the general public arising out of your work being performed in a marine job, including products/completed operations for liabilities after the work is completed. Many marine policies can also cover an incidental amount of non-marine work if the insurance company is aware of it up front. Don't test at time of claim. It is often adapted to expand or eliminate the watercraft exclusion and endorsed to include Ship Repairers, Terminal Operators, Stevedores, and Wharfingers Legal Liability and similar coverages. | $1 Million |
| Commercial General Liability | If you perform a significant amount of non-marine work, your Marine General Liability carrier may exclude the non-marine work and require that you obtain a separate DRY policy to cover the same liability. | $1 Million | |
| P&I (Protection & Indemnity) | Your liability to the public arising out of the operation of any vessel. Includes Bodily Injury, Third Party Property Damage and, in most cases, removal of wreck. Often described as the marine equivalent of Automobile Liability for a vessel owner. | $1 Million | |
| Vessel Pollution | Your legal liability to clean up any oil, fuel, or pollutants you discharge or spill from a vessel. Coverage can include clean-up, third-party property damage, damage to natural resources, lost revenues, defense, civil penalties, and criminal fines. Vessels over 300 GRT — and all vessels carrying pollutants as cargo — are required by law to carry a COFR (Certificate of Financial Responsibility). | $1 Million | |
| Land Pollution | Liability protection resulting from damage caused by hazardous waste materials, typically covering the costs associated with clean-up of soil, groundwater, or property. | $1 Million | |
| Excess/Umbrella | Excess liability for limits over the P&I, Employers Liability, Marine General Liability, Crew/MEL, and Pollution coverages listed above. Check that ALL underlying liability policies are included. | As high as you can reasonably afford, or as required by contract | |
| Auto Liability | The cost of damage and injury that you cause to another in an automobile accident, even if the vehicle is not owned by the business. Made up of two coverages — Bodily Injury liability, which protects you from the cost of personal injury to others, and Property Damage liability, which protects you from the cost of damage you cause to physical property. | $1 Million | |
| Professional Liability / E&O | Helps cover you if you're found negligent in the professional services you provide in a way that causes financial harm to your customers. Most applicable to services like Design, Engineering, and Surveying. In marine trades this includes professionals such as marine pilots, marine engineers, and average adjusters. | $1 Million | |
| YOUR ASSETS | Hull | Physical damage to your owned, chartered, or leased vessels, barges, etc. Most policies only provide coverage for listed items, so double-check everything you own is listed — items leased/rented can also be included. It protects the vessel, including its machinery and equipment, against physical damage caused by a peril of the sea or other covered perils. | Current Agreed Values |
| Builders Risk | Intended to cover a vessel and related property and materials from the start of construction through final delivery to the customer. Coverage can be placed for the builder or owner of the vessel and insures against physical loss or damage to the vessel, Collision Liability, and Protection & Indemnity exposures during sea trials and delivery. | Completed Value of Vessel | |
| Intended to cover docks/piers/seawalls and related property and materials from the start of construction to the finished result. Coverage can be placed for the builder or owner of the structure and insures against physical loss or damage, along with collision liability. | Completed Value of Structure | ||
| Equipment | Physical damage to your owned or leased contractor's equipment, etc. Most policies only provide coverage for listed items, so double-check everything you own is listed — leased/rented items and over-water coverage can also be included. Coverage follows the equipment in transit from jobsite to jobsite and can include equipment that is owned, rented, leased, or borrowed. | Current Values or Replacement Cost | |
| Property | Coverage for high-hazard and waterfront property. Docks and piers separate or included in the main property policy. | Current Values or Replacement Cost | |
| OTHER | Global Protection | International package policy that can be dovetailed around and with the Marine coverages to ensure complete coverage for Marine workers working overseas. | Various, include in Excess/Umbrella |
| Auto Physical Damage | Physical damage to vehicles you own or lease, usually packaged with Auto Liability. | Current Values | |
| Do your subcontractors or business partners have the same level of coverage? If not, you may be insuring them! | |||
| DISCLAIMER: Not only are policy forms, clauses, rules and court decisions constantly changing, but each risk is unique and policy forms and conditions vary from company to company and state to state. This checklist is intended as a general guideline and may not apply to all situations. Falcon West shall not be liable or responsible to any individual or entity with respect to any loss or damage allegedly caused directly or indirectly resulting from the use of this checklist. | |||
