Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, on June 12, 2023, signed SB 418 repealing insurance requirements for boat liveries and absolves them from purchasing insurance to cover rental customers. This is a victory for Florida boat dealers.
During the 2022 legislative session, the 2022 Florida Boating Safety Act (HB 493) passed, requiring boat rental facilities to insure renters, which increased their operational costs. Read the previous MRAA blog, here. The 2022 Florida Boating Safety Act has made major changes to the way liveries run their businesses. It upped the cost of boat rentals because insurance to cover the renter is expensive and, with only a limited number of providers, was hard to find.
The MRAA sent a letter in May to Governor DeSantis urging him to sign SB 418 into law to provide relief to our Florida MRAA Members. Taking effect July 1, SB 418 requires businesses to offer renters the option to purchase insurance, or sign an acknowledgement denying the insurance, eliminating the need for liveries to purchase “customer insurance.” Now they simply are required to have it available for renters who want extra protection. Additionally, the bill does not undo the other important safety considerations the 2022 Florida Boating Safety Act established, maintaining a safe boating environment for renters and owners alike.
Originally, an attempted correction was introduced as HB 261, sponsored by Representative Adam Botana, which sought to remove the insurance requirement along with a variety of other changes to Florida boating law. HB 261 died in the rules committee, however, and the insurance provision portion was added into SB 418, which passed May 4.
Representative Adam Botana and Governor DeSantis are champions of safe boating and have displayed great leadership in protecting small businesses from overly burdensome compliance costs. Their effort help dealership customers continue to get on the water and enjoy Florida’s waterways.
If you have any questions about this change to Florida’s livery insurance requirements, email me: chad@mraa.com.