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A Sea-Doo purchase exposed a policy contradiction
A new Sea-Doo can be sitting at the cottage dock before the insurance paperwork catches up. That is what happened in the Ontario case McNair v. Aviva Insurance, according to a September 11, 2026 report by Insurance Business Canada. The purchaser apparently assumed, or simply forgot to confirm, that his existing homeowner’s policy covered the watercraft. A fatal accident later forced the coverage question into court.
The reported dispute centered on two provisions in the same policy. One excluded boats over 25 horsepower. Another promised 30 days of coverage for a newly acquired boat while the owner arranged insurance. The court found that the temporary coverage applied during that 30-day period, despite the horsepower exclusion. The result turned on the policy’s conflicting language and the court’s treatment of ambiguity in favor of the insured. This was an Ontario decision about one policy, one watercraft, and one set of facts. It does not mean every homeowner’s policy covers a new boat.
The insurance angle is the contradiction itself
Most homeowners policies offer limited watercraft coverage, if they offer it at all. The Texas Department of Insurance says homeowners coverage may pay for boat damage only up to a limited dollar amount and generally does not provide the liability protection needed for injuries or damage to others. State Farm’s March 2026 guidance similarly says homeowners policies often restrict coverage to small boats or low-horsepower engines.
The clause that catches owners is usually called newly acquired watercraft coverage or a temporary coverage provision. It may give an owner a short period to insure a new boat. That does not automatically erase separate exclusions, deductibles, horsepower limits, navigation restrictions, or liability conditions. In McNair, the court reportedly had to decide how those provisions worked together because the policy did not clearly reconcile them.
That is the distinction many buyers miss. A temporary grace period may exist, but the conditions inside it still matter.
What a buyer should check today
If you bought a boat or personal watercraft recently, open the homeowner’s policy and look for “watercraft,” “newly acquired property,” “newly acquired watercraft,” “motor size,” and “liability.” Read the definitions and exclusions together. Do not stop after finding the 30-day promise.
Ask the insurer in writing whether the exact make, model, horsepower, purchase date, storage location, and intended use are covered today. Ask whether the temporary provision includes liability, bodily injury, property damage, wreck removal, fuel-spill response, and defense costs. Then ask when that temporary protection ends and what separate boat policy must replace it.
My own rule is simple: I do not launch a newly purchased boat based on a verbal assumption about a home policy. I want the answer in writing before the first trip, especially when passengers, a powerful engine, or a marina contract is involved.
The bottom line
A homeowner’s policy may contain a short new-boat grace period, but that does not make it a complete marine policy. Send your insurer the exact boat details today and obtain written confirmation of liability and physical-damage coverage before anyone takes the helm.
Original reporting by Branislav Urosevic. Source: Insurance Business Canada, September 11, 2026.