PWC Insurance · Updated April 2026
Jet Ski Insurance in Australia
Of the 12 mainstream Australian boat insurance brands we audit line-by-line against the current Product Disclosure Statement, 5 cover personal watercraft on the same policy as a boat, 1 sells a separate PWC PDS, and 6 do not cover jet skis at all. This page tells you which is which, what each PDS actually covers, and where the meaningful differences are.
The Headline Finding
Which Australian insurers cover jet skis?
Not all boat insurers cover personal watercraft. Three categories below, drawn directly from each insurer's current Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination.
Same policy as a boat (5)
These insurers will put a boat and a jet ski on a single household policy. Easiest path for multi-vessel households.
Separate PWC PDS (1)
These insurers cover PWCs but on a separate Personal Watercraft Insurance PDS - meaning a separate policy and a separate premium from the boat policy.
Not covered (6)
These insurers exclude PWCs entirely - via the Target Market Determination, the PDS scope, or both. Worth crossing off early if you're shopping with a jet ski as the primary craft.
Cover Scope
What jet ski insurance covers
A standard Comprehensive PWC policy in the Australian market covers accidental loss or damage to the watercraft, plus legal liability to third parties. The insured events typically include collision, sinking, theft, fire, malicious damage and storm. Each insurer's PDS publishes the exact list and any exclusions.
- ✓ Hull, motor, fittings and accessories — accidental damage from collision, grounding, sinking. The hull and the inboard jet motor are the primary insured property.
- ✓ Theft — subject to storage conditions (see below). Most insurers require either a locked garage or a commercial trailer anti-theft device.
- ✓ Fire and malicious damage — standard on Comprehensive and TPFT tiers.
- ✓ Storm and weather damage — hail, cyclone, lightning. Cyclone-zone storage may attract a loading or a haul-out clause.
- ✓ Third-party liability — typically up to $10 million for bodily injury and property damage to others. Schedule item or PDS-published depending on the insurer.
- ✓ Trailer cover — usually included; often subject to a separate excess for theft when the PWC is unattended on the trailer.
- ⚠ New-for-old replacement — only some insurers offer this. Club Marine guarantees new-for-old PWC replacement for the first two years of registration. Most others depreciate from day one.
For the line-by-line PDS-verified comparison across all PWC-capable insurers, use our side-by-side comparison page.
The Under-25 Gotcha
The QBE under-25 PWC exclusion - read this if you have teenage riders
The single biggest jet ski insurance gotcha in the Australian market is hidden in QBE's Pleasure Craft PDS at page 30: a HARD EXCLUSION for legal liability arising from any person under 25 years of age being in control of the PWC. Bodily injury, illness, death or property damage caused by an under-25 operator is not covered - not loaded, not surcharged, simply not covered.
For households where any rider under 25 will operate the jet ski - a teenage child, an early-twenties partner, a niece or nephew visiting on weekends - QBE is structurally the wrong insurer no matter what the headline premium says. The other six PWC-capable insurers (Club Marine, Nautilus, Youi, CGU, RAC, New Wave Marine) typically apply pricing loadings rather than a flat exclusion. Confirm the under-25 wording at quote stage with each insurer before binding.
Read the full QBE clause:
See QBE Pleasure Craft Insurance review for the full PDS p.30 quote and the surrounding context.
Storage and Theft
Why jet ski theft cover requires more than a chain
PWC theft is one of the highest-frequency claim categories for jet ski owners. Almost every Australian insurer that covers PWCs attaches conditional storage requirements to theft cover. The typical wording (drawn from Club Marine, QBE and CGU PDSes):
Locked garage / yard
Theft covered if the PWC was stored ashore in a locked garage or yard, with physical evidence of visible, violent and forcible removal from or entry to the place of storage. Casual unlocking (like leaving the garage door open) is not enough.
On a trailer
Theft covered if the PWC was on a trailer secured with a commercially-manufactured purpose-built anti-theft device. Examples named in QBE's PDS: Klampit, Hitchhelmet, Trailercop, TrojanSentry, braided steel cable. Ordinary chains and padlocks do NOT qualify.
Practical implication: if you store a jet ski on a trailer at home (the most common Australian setup), fit a recognised anti-theft device before binding any policy. Insurers will pay the claim if the device was in use; they will deny the claim if the trailer was unsecured at the time of theft.
Third-Party Liability
Third-party liability cover for jet skis
The third-party liability ceiling is the single most important cover dimension for any PWC owner. A jet ski colliding with another vessel, a swimmer, a wakeboarder or a marina structure can generate claims well into six or seven figures. Most Australian insurers publish a $10 million liability limit; some publish it explicitly in the PDS, others set it on the Policy Schedule at quote stage.
One important watersports-specific gotcha: Youi's Watercraft PDS at page 29 requires "Watersports Liability" to be specifically declared at quote stage and noted on the Schedule. If a customer tows a water-skier, wakeboarder or tube without declaring it, the standard General Liability does not automatically cover the resulting injury claim. Suncorp also publishes a separate "Water-skier's liability" optional cover that must be selected.
New-for-Old
New-for-old PWC replacement - the Club Marine differentiator
For owners buying a brand-new jet ski, the new-for-old replacement window matters far more than the headline premium. PWCs depreciate rapidly - 25% in the first year is not unusual - which means a Market Value pay-out two years into ownership can be substantially less than the purchase price.
Club Marine's Pleasure Craft PDS at page 24 guarantees new-for-old replacement of a PWC in the first two years from new registration if it is declared a total loss. This is the industry-leading pathway. Other insurers either depreciate from day one or apply Agreed Value mechanics that erode without active renewal-stage indexing.
PWC-covering insurers with explicit new-for-old replacement:
How Premiums Are Calculated
What drives a jet ski insurance premium
Australian boat and PWC insurance premiums are built from the same seven structural inputs explained on our boat insurance cost pillar - sum insured, vessel length and engine, storage location, owner age and claims history, intended use, cover tier, and any household-policy bundling. For PWCs specifically, four levers move the premium more than the others:
- 1. Storage. A locked garage with a recognised anti-theft device is the cheap end. A trailer in a driveway with no anti-theft device may not be insurable for theft at all.
- 2. PWC age and value. A new PWC priced over $25,000 attracts a higher premium but qualifies for new-for-old replacement (Club Marine specifically). Older PWCs may default to Market Value with significant depreciation.
- 3. Operator age and licence. Under-25 primary operators attract loadings everywhere, and a hard exclusion at QBE. Verified completion of a recognised PWC licence course can offset some of the loading.
- 4. Use pattern and watersports. Inshore weekend use is the cheap default. Towing water-skiers, wakeboarders or tubes shifts the policy into watersports territory and may require a specific declaration (Youi, Suncorp). Racing is excluded by every mainstream PWC insurer except specifically endorsed events.
Per our editorial rule (CLAUDE.md §4.3 / ASIC s12DA compliance), this site does not publish fabricated "average jet ski insurance" dollar figures. Every dollar number on this site is traceable to a specific PDS clause or a live-quote source. Run a live quote with two or three of the seven PWC-capable insurers to see your actual band.
Compare jet ski insurance from 6 insurers side-by-side
Our PDS-verified comparison page shows all 12 mainstream Australian boat and watercraft insurers in one table. Filter to the 6 that cover PWCs, compare the under-25 wording, the theft-storage requirements and the new-for-old window, and pick your shortlist.
Jet Ski Insurance FAQ
Do you need jet ski insurance in Australia?
No - jet ski insurance is not legally required in any Australian state or territory. However, the third-party liability exposure when a jet ski collides with another vessel, jetty, or injures a swimmer can easily exceed $100,000 in a single incident. Marinas, boat ramps, mooring operators and waterway authorities increasingly require proof of liability cover. Most experienced PWC owners therefore carry at least Third Party Only liability cover even though it is not compulsory.
Which insurers cover jet skis on the same policy as a boat?
Of the twelve mainstream Australian boat insurance brands we have audited, seven cover personal watercraft on the same policy as a boat: Club Marine (rated to 70 knots), Youi, QBE (with a hard under-25 operator liability exclusion), CGU (with conditional storage requirements), RAC and New Wave Marine. Nautilus Marine covers PWCs on a separate Personal Watercraft Insurance PDS. Five do NOT cover PWCs at all: NRMA (explicitly excluded by Watercraft TMD tmdbo003), GIO, Suncorp, RACV and Pantaenius (yacht specialist). For a household with both a boat and a jet ski, the same-policy insurers are the most efficient choice.
What's the difference between Comprehensive and Third Party jet ski insurance?
Comprehensive cover protects your jet ski against accidental loss or damage (collision, sinking, theft, fire, malicious damage) plus legal liability to third parties. Third Party Fire & Theft drops accidental damage but keeps fire, theft and liability. Third Party Only covers just the legal liability to other people or their property - no cover for damage to your own jet ski. For lower-value or older PWCs, Third Party Only is often the honest choice. Of the seven insurers covering PWCs, only Youi publishes all three tiers explicitly; most brands offer Comprehensive or Comprehensive plus Third Party Only.
How much does jet ski insurance cost in Australia?
There is no honest single average. Premiums depend on the seven structural inputs explained on our cost pillar - the PWC's sum insured, age, storage location (locked garage vs trailer vs marina), owner age and claims history, intended use, cover tier and any household-policy bundling. Read the full cost framework on our boat insurance cost guide. The only reliable way to know your premium is to run a live quote with at least two of the seven PWC-capable insurers - higher-value PWCs and racing use materially shift the band.
Can someone under 25 ride my insured jet ski?
It depends on the insurer. QBE has a HARD EXCLUSION at PDS p.30: no cover for legal liability for bodily injury or property damage when a person under 25 years of age is in control of the PWC. This is a deal-breaker for households with teenage or early-twenties riders. Other insurers (Club Marine, Nautilus, Youi, CGU, RAC, New Wave Marine) typically apply pricing loadings or other conditions for under-25 operators rather than a flat exclusion - check each PDS at quote stage. If you have any rider under 25, screen for the QBE exclusion before binding any policy.
Do I need a special anti-theft device for jet ski insurance?
Most insurers require either locked-garage storage with physical evidence of visible, violent and forcible removal in the event of a theft claim, OR trailer storage with a commercially-manufactured purpose-built anti-theft device. Examples named in QBE's PDS include Klampit, Hitchhelmet, Trailercop, TrojanSentry and braided steel cable. Plain chains and padlocks do NOT qualify. Club Marine, QBE and CGU all publish similar conditions. Owners who store a PWC on a trailer at home should fit a recognised anti-theft device before binding a policy - otherwise theft cover may not apply at claim time.
What if I let a friend ride my insured jet ski?
Most policies extend cover to anyone who has your express permission to operate the PWC, subject to the operator holding a valid licence where required by law. The under-25 caveat above still applies if you're with QBE. Hire-out, rental, charter and any commercial use is excluded by every mainstream Australian PWC insurer. If you intend to lend the PWC frequently to specific named people, the safer path is to add them as named insureds on the policy schedule.
What is a PWC for insurance purposes?
Australian boat insurance PDSes typically define a Personal Watercraft (PWC) as a craft propelled by an inboard motor with the operator sitting, standing or kneeling on the vessel and steering with handlebars - jet skis, WaveRunners and Sea-Doos all fit. Definitions in Youi's PDS extend to wind surfers and paddle craft as well; Pantaenius explicitly excludes jet skis from the tender definition. Read the relevant PDS Words with Special Meanings section at quote stage if you own anything unusual.