Legislation that went into effect Jan. 1 in Florida requires boat-rental operators to obtain annual permits and have valid insurance for their businesses and customers.

The new requirement, included in the Boating Safety Act of 2022, was sponsored by Republican state Sen. Ileana Garcia and Republican state Rep. Adam Botana, and passed during the Florida legislature’s previous session, in 2022. The bill mandates that the new regulations go into effect Jan. 1 but not be enforced until June 1. The legislation includes changes to boater education.

The Marine Retailers Association of the Americas said in a statement that the “insurance aspect stands to be the most contested requirement because, during the final days of the session, additional language was added to the legislation, causing a ‘glitch’ to be created and requiring insurance for the renter as well as the operation.”

MRAA said this changed the nature of the new regulation from “something liveries were happy to implement immediately to a formidable challenge that may risk the health of their business.”

MRAA said rental operators must offer renter insurance of up to $500,000 per individual and $1,000,000 per incident, adding that there are “limited providers of such insurance, and that currently makes it too expensive for rental operators.”

“We weren’t quite sure what we were going to have to do, but it worked out. We had the liability insurance, and our carrier changed the policy to fit the new law,” Chelsea Hilsabeck, manager with Coco’s Boat Rentals in Marathon, told Trade Only Today.

The new legislation was put in place, in part, to stop illegal rental operations. It requires that the rental operator, or its employees, also have a boating safety license and outline what must be covered with renters during the pre-rental and pre-ride session.

Eric Sornataro, owner of Big Daddy Boat Rentals in Sarasota, said his insurance broker made sure he had the proper coverage. “There are a lot of private boat owners trying to rent out their boat without coverage,” he said. “That’s why they made the law.”

Sornataro said that, with the new rules, he had to submit to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission an insurance binder, liability policy, an updated business license, a profile of his business and a list of the seven boats in his rental fleet.

Garcia and Botana have filed HB 261 in an attempt to remove the requirement that rental operators provide insurance coverage for renters.

For more information on HB 261, contact MRAA government relations manager Chad Tokowicz at [email protected].