MINNESOTA FAMILY PROTECTION ACT

Minnesota law requires liability coverage for all family members and children in an automobile but does not require them to be included on a boat insurance policy.

Insurance companies take advantage of this loophole by excluding the very people most frequently on boats - our family members.

In September 2017, Courtney Godfrey was on her family’s boat on Christmas Lake when she fell into the water and the boat’s propeller severed her foot.

Recovering from her injuries has been challenging but made even more so when the family discovered she was excluded from their boat and umbrella insurance policies by a hidden exclusion…. and she is not alone. These exclusions are commonplace in policies sold in Minnesota.

This is only possible because, unlike automobile policies, insurance companies are not required to include children or families in boat policies.

They aren’t required to cover families by Minnesota law, and they are not required to tell you about this exclusion.
 

NEWS COVERAGE

• Aberdeen News - Minnesota woman pushes for boat insurance law after accident
• The Rock of Rochester - THINK YOUR MINNESOTA BOAT INSURANCE COVERS YOUR FAMILY? (IT PROBABLY DOESN’T)
• MN News Network - Advocates want to plug loophole in state's boat insurance law
• KBJR - Minnesota woman pushes for boat insurance law after accident
• LaCross Tribune - Minnesota woman pushes for boat insurance law after accident
• KXRA - Minnesota woman pushes for boat insurance law after accident
• The Sacramento Bee - Minnesota woman pushes for boat insurance law after accident
• Duluth News Tribune - Does your boat insurance cover your family? You might be surprised.
• Pioneer Press - After accident, TV reporter becomes advocate for new boat insurance law
• KARE - Local reporter pushes to change boat insurance rules
• KSTP - Proposed Boat Insurance Law Would Add Better Protections for Passengers
• KMSP - Minnesota Family Protection Act would close boating insurance loophole