Continental Marine Excursion Vessel Insurance Program — Overview
Continental Marine Insurance Services offers an Excursion Vessel Program tailored for excursion vessel operators with primarily land-based operations. The program is designed for agents placing small to mid-sized passenger and tour vessels that operate day trips, sight-seeing runs, dinner cruises, eco-tours and similar excursion services. Underwriting and placement are handled through Continental Risk / Continental Marine as a general agency and excess & surplus lines broker working with varied markets.
Ideal Accounts and Appetite
This program fits operators with straightforward shore operations and routine passenger exposures. Typical classes include:
- Car and passenger ferries
- Dinner cruise vessels
- Eco-tour and sight-seeing vessels
- Head boats and tour vessels
- Six-pack charter vessels
Good-fit accounts are vessels with routine itineraries, day-trip operations, established maintenance programs, and modest shore facilities. Accounts with complex offshore operations, long-distance or overnight passenger voyages, highly exposed special events, or unproven safety programs may require referral to specialty markets or may be outside the appetite.
Coverage Highlights
The program expands traditional hull and Protection & Indemnity (P&I) coverage to include shore-based property and liability options, allowing you to place both vessel and related onshore exposures on a single program.
- Ocean marine coverages: Hull, P&I, collision liability, medical payments, equipment ashore, and a builder’s risk extension for vessel construction, repair, alteration, overhaul, rebuilding and outfitting of scheduled vessels.
- Property (ashore): Buildings, business personal property, business income and extra expense (shore operations only), EDP and property coverage enhancements.
- Liability (ashore): Premises, completed operations, products and umbrella liability follow-form options.
- Additional options: Non-owned auto, crime, and inland marine schedules.
Underwriting Notes and Minimums
Underwriters expect straightforward shore operations and standard maintenance and safety protocols. Key submission items typically include vessel schedules, tonnage/length/IMO or state registration details, crew and passenger capacities, recent loss runs, details of shore facilities, and evidence of inspection or maintenance programs.
Minimum premium: $1,000. Markets and terms vary by risk; Continental Marine works with multiple carriers to secure competitive options.
Territories and Availability
The program is available in most states. Continental Marine currently offers placement options in the following jurisdictions: AL, AK, AZ, AR, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, DC, WV, WI, WY. Carriers vary by state and account characteristics.
Why Place This Business with Continental Marine
- Specialized program built for excursion and tour vessel exposures with combined vessel and shore options.
- Access to multiple markets through a general agency and E&S broker model—useful when admitted capacity is limited.
- Flexible coverage options to package ocean marine and shore property/liability on one submission.
- Experienced underwriting for routine excursion operations and builder’s risk for vessel work when needed.
Example Scenarios
- You have a client operating a 75-foot dinner cruise vessel that runs evening sight-seeing trips and stores equipment in a small shore facility—this program can combine hull, P&I and shore property coverage, including business income for shore operations.
- An eco-tour operator running day trips with a small shore office and rental boats—this placement can include equipment ashore, inland marine scheduling and umbrella liability to broaden protection.
Please prepare standard marine and shore submission documents when requesting a quote. Continental Marine can help identify the right market based on vessel type, operations and shore exposures.