Quick answer
Marine general liability (MGL) covers third-party bodily injury and property damage from waterfront and marine operations. A standard CGL excludes injury and damage from watercraft you own or operate, with only a narrow exception for non-owned boats under 26 feet that do not carry people or property for a charge, and it is not built for maritime claims. MGL is written for contractors, marinas, terminals, ship repairers and other businesses on the water, and can be paired with P&I for your vessels and a bumbershoot for excess limits. For New York marine contractors, it has to work alongside Labor Law exposure on land and meet the additional insured, waiver and primary wording in your contracts. We place MGL with the specialized markets that write it.
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Fastest way to a quote: email your current policies (workers' comp with any USL&H endorsement, GL, hull and P&I), five years of loss runs, payroll split between land-side work and work on or over the water, your vessel and equipment schedules, a project list and the insurance section of a typical contract to adolfo@nextguardinsurance.com. Marine underwriters need the full picture, and one complete submission moves faster than ten phone calls.
Please send your account to one broker. The marine market is small; when several brokers submit the same account to the same underwriters, the account gets blocked and quotes slow down.
| Issue | Standard CGL | Marine general liability |
|---|---|---|
| Owned or operated watercraft | Excluded | Built for marine operations; owned vessels are usually covered by P&I, with MGL coordinating |
| Non-owned boats | Only under 26 feet and not carrying people or property for a charge | Can be broader, by endorsement |
| Maritime claims | Not designed for general maritime law or federal admiralty claims | Written for them |
| Damage to customers' vessels | Often excluded as property in your care, custody or control | Ship repairer's, wharfinger's or marina operator's legal liability available |
| Marine contractor operations | Often excluded or limited by the carrier's underwriting | Underwritten for docks, piers, bulkheads and dredging |
Many New York marine contractors carry both: a CGL for land-side work and an MGL, or a single marine liability form that covers both. What matters is that the forms fit together with no gap where the land ends.
New York's Labor Law 240 and 241(6) make owners and contractors liable for certain construction injuries, and the claims often flow back to the subcontractor through contractual indemnity. On waterfront projects, federal maritime law may also apply, and which one governs depends on where and how the accident happens. Your liability program should respond either way, with no action-over or employee-injury exclusion that removes the coverage you need. See NY Labor Law insurance and indemnity and hold harmless in NY construction.
Public owners, port and municipal agencies, developers and GCs commonly require:
Send us the insurance requirements before you bid. We read them against your forms and tell you what has to change.
Read the watercraft exclusion before the job, not after the claim. If your crew runs a push boat or uses a crane barge, a CGL alone almost certainly does not cover that exposure. One conversation before the job is cheaper than a declined claim.
The rest of the program, from comp and USL&H to equipment and builders risk, is on our marine contractors insurance page.
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Marine general liability covers third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from marine and waterfront operations, including claims under general maritime law. It is written for marine contractors, marinas, ship repairers, terminals and other businesses on the water.
A standard CGL excludes injury and damage from watercraft you own or operate, except non-owned boats under 26 feet that do not carry people or property for a charge, and it is not designed for maritime claims. Marine general liability is underwritten for waterfront operations and can add marine coverages such as ship repairer's legal liability and non-owned watercraft.
Owned vessels are usually covered by hull and P&I, which pays for physical damage to the vessel and liability from its operation. Marine general liability coordinates with P&I and covers the business's other marine operations.
Marine contractors that use barges or work boats, or that work on piers and over navigable water, usually need marine general liability or a marine liability form, because a standard CGL leaves watercraft and maritime exposures uncovered.
Typically GL at the contract limit with completed operations, additional insured status on a primary and non-contributory basis, waivers of subrogation, P&I for vessels on the job, workers' comp with the USL&H endorsement, Maritime Employers Liability and an excess or bumbershoot policy.
It can. Labor Law 240 and 241(6) apply to many construction projects in New York, including some waterfront work, but federal maritime law may also apply depending on where and how the accident happens. Contractors on waterfront jobs need liability coverage that responds to both.
A bumbershoot is a marine umbrella that provides excess limits over marine general liability, P&I, Maritime Employers Liability, employer's liability and auto.
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