Inflatable Boat, RIB and Dinghy Insurance: Tenders, Outboards and the Homeowners Gap

By Jon Merwin, Founder and CEO, Licensed Insurance Advisor

An inflatable is often the boat nobody thinks to insure. It rides on the swim platform, sits upside down on the float, or lives in the garage until the weekend. Yet a modern rigid inflatable boat (RIB) with a good outboard can be worth more than many small fiberglass boats, and it is easy to steal, easy to puncture and easy to lose in a blow. This guide explains where a standard homeowners policy stops, how a boat policy picks up an inflatable, RIB or tender, and what New Hampshire owners should have in hand when they ask for a quote.

Portsmouth Atlantic is a family-owned independent agency based near Portsmouth Harbor and the Piscataqua. We compare 40+ carriers, and for boats we can quote Liberty Mutual, Progressive, Foremost Specialty, American Modern, Hanover and SkiSafe, with Chubb for higher-value boats. Call (603) 431-4020 with questions.

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Inflatables, RIBs and tenders are not one kind of boat

Carriers ask what you have before they ask anything else, because the risk changes a lot from one inflatable to the next:

• Soft-floor or roll-up inflatables. Fabric or slatted floors, often with a small outboard or an electric motor. Many owners carry them deflated in a car or a locker.
• Air-floor and aluminum-floor inflatables. Stiffer and faster, and often used as tenders for cruising boats.
• Rigid inflatable boats (RIBs). A fiberglass or aluminum hull with inflatable tubes. RIBs range from small tenders to center-console boats with large outboards, and carriers usually treat them as powerboats.
• Tenders. Any of the above used to get from a mooring or anchorage to shore. How it is insured depends on the policy on the bigger boat.

Tube material matters too. PVC and Hypalon (also sold as CSM) age differently in sun and salt, and an adjuster will look at the condition of the tubes and seams after a claim. Keep the purchase paperwork and a few dated photos of the tubes each season.

Where the homeowners policy stops

Many people assume a dinghy is covered as personal property under their homeowners policy. The standard ISO special form, HO 00 03, shows why that is risky (ISO HO 00 03 05 11, the homeowners special form):

• A low limit. Watercraft of all types, including their trailers, furnishings, equipment and outboard engines or motors, share a special limit of $1,500 for each loss. That one figure covers the tube, the hull and the motor together.
• No theft away from home. The theft peril does not include theft of watercraft, their equipment or outboard motors when it happens off the residence premises. A tender stolen from a town float or a dinghy dock falls into that gap.
• Wind only indoors. Windstorm or hail damage to watercraft is covered only while the boat is inside a fully enclosed building. An inflatable on a rack in the yard or tied to a float is outside that.
• Liability limits by motor size. For a boat you own powered by outboards, homeowners liability generally applies when the motors total 25 total horsepower or less. Larger outboards need to be declared at the start of the policy or reported in writing within 45 days of buying them.

Companies can and do change these terms by endorsement, and some home policies treat small boats more generously. Your declarations page and the special limits section show what you have. Our homeowners insurance page covers the home side.

What a boat policy adds for an inflatable

A boat policy built for the inflatable or RIB usually brings the pieces together on one policy:

• Physical damage to the tubes, hull, console and outboard, on or off the water, including theft away from home.
• Agreed value or actual cash value. Agreed value pays the amount set at the start for a total loss; actual cash value takes age and wear into account. Tubes and outboards age, so ask which one applies to each part.
• Liability if the inflatable injures someone or damages another boat or a float, without the homeowners horsepower question.
• Trailer and equipment. Trailers, fuel tanks, oars, pumps and electronics, often with their own limits.
• Medical payments and uninsured boater coverage, which many boat policies offer as options.

Our post on how boat insurance works walks through each of these parts in more depth.

Tenders on a mooring: the policy on the bigger boat

If the inflatable serves a larger boat, start with that boat’s policy. Some forms extend coverage to a dinghy used with the insured boat; some cap that coverage or limit how far from the main boat the tender may go; and some want the tender and its outboard listed by serial number. If the tender carries guests ashore, its liability matters as much as its hull value.

On the Seacoast, tenders are part of daily boating. The New Hampshire Division of Ports and Harbors oversees more than 1,500 moorings in 29 mooring fields, and mooring permits run from April 1 to March 31 (NH Division of Ports and Harbors). A mooring holder in Portsmouth Harbor, Rye Harbor or Hampton Harbor can apply for a skiff permit for the skiff dock at the state-owned commercial pier in that harbor, with a copy of the mooring permit attached (N.H. Admin. Code Pda 606.02). A tender that sits at a skiff dock all day is exactly the off-premises theft and wind exposure a homeowners policy leaves out.

For the main boat, see our Portsmouth boat insurance page; boaters across the river can read our boat insurance page for the other side of the Piscataqua.

New Hampshire rules that touch inflatables

• Registration. All powerboats, including electric ones, must be registered while on New Hampshire waterways, and sailboats 12 feet and over must be registered too (NH Marine Patrol, boat registrations).
• Boater education. Everyone 16 or older who operates a motorboat over 25 horsepower on New Hampshire waters must hold a boating education certificate (NH Marine Patrol, boating education). A RIB with a larger outboard falls under that rule.
• Tidal or inland. When you register, you choose tidal or inland use. Tell us the same thing when you quote, because carriers ask where the boat runs.

Winter storage and theft

Most inflatables come out of the water in the fall. Some owners deflate soft inflatables and store them indoors; RIBs usually sit on a trailer or a rack. Tell the carrier where the boat spends the winter, take the outboard off if it will sit outside, and keep the serial numbers for the hull and motor in your phone. Many boat policies cover the boat while stored as long as the storage location matches what was declared.

Our boat safety tips cover the on-water side. If you also have a personal watercraft, see our New Hampshire jet ski insurance page, and if your liability limits are high on the home and auto, our New Hampshire umbrella insurance page explains how an umbrella sits over boat liability.

Get an inflatable boat or tender quote

Tell us what you have and where it lives. We compare the boat options side by side and check whether your current boat or home policy already includes the tender, and we don’t charge any fees for quoting or service. With 200+ years of combined experience on our team, we help with the claim if a tube tears or a motor goes missing. Request a quote. There’s no obligation to buy. Use the quote form below, phone (603) 431-4020 or email insure@portsmouthatlanticins.com. We are in the office Monday to Thursday from 9 AM to 5 PM and Friday from 8 AM to 4 PM ET. You can read about our founder, Jon Merwin, or begin at our main boat and watercraft insurance page.

Frequently asked questions

Does my homeowners policy cover my inflatable dinghy?

Only in a narrow way. The widely used ISO homeowners form caps watercraft of all types, including their trailers, equipment and outboard motors, at $1,500 for each loss. It also leaves out theft of a boat or motor away from your home, and it covers windstorm damage to a boat only while the boat sits inside a fully enclosed building (ISO HO 00 03 05 11). A tender tied to a dinghy dock in Rye Harbor is outside most of that. Your own policy may differ, so check its special limits section.

Do I need to register an inflatable with an outboard in New Hampshire?

Yes. The NH State Police Marine Patrol says all powerboats, including electric ones, must be registered while on New Hampshire waterways, and sailboats 12 feet and over must be registered too (NH Marine Patrol). A paddle-only inflatable is not a powerboat under that rule. Registration is separate from insurance; it does not give you any coverage.

Does the 25 horsepower rule matter for liability?

It can. Under the ISO homeowners form, liability for a boat you own with outboard power generally applies only when the motors total 25 horsepower or less, unless you declare a larger motor at the start of the policy or report it within 45 days of buying it. Many RIBs run outboards well above 25 horsepower. A boat policy carries its own liability, so the question goes away once the RIB is insured on its own.

Is my tender covered under the policy on my bigger boat?

Sometimes. Some boat policies extend to a dinghy or tender used with the insured boat, often with a limit, a distance rule or a requirement that it be listed. Others want the tender and its outboard scheduled separately. We read the tender wording on your current policy before we suggest anything new, so you know whether the RIB on your davits is already included.

What if someone steals the outboard off my inflatable?

Theft of an outboard away from your home is usually excluded on a homeowners policy, so a boat policy is where that claim belongs. When we quote, we list the motor by make, horsepower and serial number. Engraving or recording the serial number, using a motor lock and taking the motor off overnight where you can all help after a loss and with some underwriters.

What should I send for an inflatable or RIB quote?

Send the maker, model, length and year of the tube and hull; the tube material if you know it, such as PVC or Hypalon; the outboard make, horsepower and year; whether there is a trailer; where it is kept in season and over the winter; and the boat it serves, if it is a tender. Request a quote. There’s no obligation to buy. The form on this page works, or phone (603) 431-4020.

Sources

• ISO Homeowners 3 Special Form, HO 00 03 05 11: Coverage C special limits, windstorm and theft perils, Section II watercraft liability
• New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol: boat registrations
• New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol: boating education
• New Hampshire Division of Ports and Harbors: moorings
• N.H. Admin. Code Pda 606.02: skiff permits in Portsmouth, Rye and Hampton harbors

This page is general background for owners of inflatable boats, RIBs and tenders. Nothing here binds a policy, predicts how a claim will be settled or serves as legal advice. The carrier’s form and its underwriters control coverage, and forms, endorsements and state rules are revised over time. For a specific boat, phone (603) 431-4020.