of Travelers boat and yacht claims were collisions — the leading cause of loss, ahead of severe weather at 19%1
accident causes were operator inattention, improper lookout and operator inexperience2
of boating deaths occurred where the operator had no boating safety instruction2
recreational boating deaths in the U.S. in 20242
THE GAP
Auto Insurance Knows the Driver. Marine Insurance Has to Take Their Word for It.
Most states test what a boater knows. Almost none test whether they can handle the boat. That leaves experience — the variable that matters most — on the honor system.
What auto underwriting has
- A licensing road test before anyone drives alone
- Motor vehicle records, checkable at bind
- Standardized driving history across carriers
- Telematics programs drivers can opt into
What marine underwriting has
- A knowledge course in many states — no on-water skills test
- Years of experience, self-reported on the application
- Vessel characteristics and demographics as proxies for skill
- No standard record of what the operator can actually do
AVAILABLE TODAY
A Verified Competency Record, Not a Certificate of Attendance.
Everything in this section is built and in use.
On-water assessment aboard the boater’s own vessel
42 skill categories and 486 observable items, from lookout and the rules of the road to docking, stopping and person-overboard recovery. Skills the boat or waters cannot present are removed before the session.
One published rubric, patent-pending scoring
Designed by a retired U.S. Coast Guard Commander and scored by a patent-pending process. The assessor administers the rubric; the rubric determines the outcome. Every skill is scored and recorded separately.
Verifiable certificate
Delivered by email and text with a certificate number and QR code. Anyone authorized can confirm a current result in seconds, with no special equipment.
Screened, independent assessors
A network of 400+ vetted assessors across 36 states. Each is background-checked and observed on the water by our team before assessing. 54% are former military, law enforcement or first responders.
Conflict rules enforced by software
An assessor may never assess someone they trained in the last three years, or anyone they have a family, employment or business tie to. Conflicted pairings are blocked at booking.
WHAT A CARRIER CAN DO WITH IT
Four Uses, and Only One of Them Is a Discount.
A competency record is useful well before anyone files a rate.
Eligibility
Bind the step-up buyer or new owner you would otherwise decline or rate up, on evidence instead of a guess.
Tiered pricing
A skill-by-skill score separates strong operators from marginal ones. A pass/fail flag throws that signal away.
Post-loss remediation
Make targeted training and reassessment a condition of continued coverage, as an alternative to non-renewal.
Retention
A reason to contact the insured that is not a rate increase, and a record that makes the relationship about safety.
YOUR BOOK OF BUSINESS
One Standard, Four Policyholder Populations.
Each segment carries different risk, and each can be assessed against the same rubric.
Rental and boat-club members
Operators with the least prior experience, often at the helm of an unfamiliar boat. A verified skills check before access creates a documented record for the operator and the business.
Marina customers and slip holders
A stable, recurring base whose on-water ability is invisible to carriers today. Verified status supports better segmentation and a reason to stay.
Licensed USCG captains
Often priced like everyone else. A credential checked and stored alongside an assessed skill record lets underwriters treat professionals as professionals.
Recreational boaters
The broadest segment and the widest data gap. The assessment replaces self-reported experience with a verified record.
We Do Not Have Loss Data. No One Does.
Nobody can yet say what a verified competency score does to claim frequency or severity, because operator skill has never been measured at scale. Any vendor showing you a loss-reduction number for this variable is showing you someone else’s study.
We will report results as they come in, marked indicative until we have at least 250 completed assessments, and we will report correlation, not causation. The way to get the answer is to measure it together — on your insureds, against your own loss experience.
THE PILOT
A Florida Pilot. See How Your Insureds Score, Then Set Your Own Standard.
Pilot cities are Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa–St. Petersburg, the Florida Keys and Jacksonville; other cities can be added by agreement. You choose a group of your insureds in those cities — new owners, step-up buyers, insureds with a recent claim, or any group you want to understand better — and fund their assessments. We schedule and deliver every assessment within six weeks of signature.
- A baseline report. The first look at how your insureds actually score, and where the gaps are
- You set the level. You decide what result your own programs require — the decision is yours, not ours
- Your insureds book directly with us, so we never need your policyholder list
A pilot shows what is typical among your insureds; matching results against claims over time shows which levels predict fewer losses. Treat the first threshold as a starting point that your loss data confirms or adjusts. The Trusted Boater credential standard itself does not change: every critical skill that applies must be met.
- Request a pilot using the form below
- A 30-minute call to choose the city, the group and the start date
- We send pilot terms and a short letter of agreement
- First assessments within weeks of signature
IN DEVELOPMENT
Where the Record Goes Next.
The items below are on our roadmap. They are not available today, and we will not describe them as available until they are.
IVS and BOSS scores
The Insurance Value Score and Boater Safety Score: scoring models that combine the verified competency record with history and, for boaters who choose it, trip data.
Opt-in usage data
Speed, routing and time-on-water from the app, shared only by boaters who choose to share it. Never a condition of the credential, and never sold.
Digital loss reporting
Location, time and conditions captured at the moment of loss and delivered to the carrier as structured data.
Credential verification feeds
Direct checks against state boating education records and U.S. Coast Guard credentials, so third-party cards are verified rather than uploaded.
Carrier lookup
An underwriting lookup with criteria you set — which results or skill tiers qualify for which programs.
Aggregate reporting
Regional and segment-level competency profiles for partner carriers, built from de-identified data.
Our commitments do not change as the platform grows: location sharing stays opt-in and revocable, it is kept separate from the credential, and boater data is not sold.
REQUEST A PILOT
Tell Us About the Group You Want to Understand.
We reply within two business days with a proposed group size, area and start date, and a draft pilot agreement.
Prefer to talk first? Call Vickie at 843-259-2515.
Start With One Cohort.
Thirty minutes is enough to choose the group, the area and the start date.
or call 843-259-2515
Vickie Waller · Founder and CEO, Trusted Boater · info@trustedboater.com