It may not come as a surprise that Australians love taking boats out on the water as 87% of the population live within 50km of the coast. Data from the Boating Industry Association for 2022/23 shows that 2.5 million Australians have a boat licence—that’s almost 10% of the population.

As a boat is a considerable investment, it’s a good idea to protect it as you would your car. Boat insurance can offer similar benefits to car insurance, such as cover for damage to the boat itself and its contents, and legal liability, if you damage someone else’s property, or someone is injured or dies as a result of an accident you’ve caused.

However, it additionally offers more boat-specific cover, paying out for environmental damage caused by an oil, fuel or waste leakage, for example. Many policies also offer cover for sailboat racing and waterskiing, typically as an optional extra and for an additional premium.

As all policies differ in their features, it’s essential to compare them to find what you need for a suitable price. You should first decide, if you need third-party only; third party, fire and theft; or comprehensive cover which protects against the widest range of eventualities. We’ve conducted extensive research into the latter, to find what we consider to be the best comprehensive policies. All policies include cover for loss or damage to your boat as a result of storms, floods, fire and theft. You can find out how we scored them in the methodology section further down this page.

Note: the below list represents a selection of our top category picks, as chosen by Forbes Advisor Australia’s editors and journalists. The information provided is purely factual and is not intended to imply any recommendation, opinion, or advice about a financial product. Not every product or provider in the marketplace has been reviewed, and the list below is not intended to be exhaustive nor replace your own research or independent financial advice. For more information on how Forbes Advisor ranks and reviews products, including how we identified our top category picks, read the methodology selection below.