At this time of year we go out and enjoy the outside. Whether it’s camping, going to the cottage, or simply setting out on an open road wherever it takes you – often a trailer can be part of this plan. Are trailers covered under auto insurance?
When trailers are covered by the policy
The liability part of the car insurance policy extends to the trailer if and when towing. It is important to make sure that the trailer is correctly hitched. This means that it is worthy of the road, and all the warning lights and brake lights are fully functional.
A good idea is to talk to an insurance broker if you want to better understand your insurance limits.
What does my car insurance cover for trailers?
Depending on the policy, if you only have liability insurance and the trailer was attached to the tow vehicle and there was an accident, the insurance would not cover any damage except liability insurance. If you had an insurance policy with collision insurance and annotation on the trailer, both the towing vehicle and the trailer would be covered by insurance.
What does trailer insurance cover?
The type of trailer you have and how you use it determine what type of insurance coverage you need. Some insurances you may need for a trailer include liability, collision and comprehensive coverage.
While the collision covers accident damage, it will provide comprehensive protection against hail and storm, theft and vandalism.
The risk of liability is often overlooked because you are towing instead of driving a trailer and does not have its own engine. However, it is known that trailers are not towed and can cause serious damage. Car liability may or may not include damage resulting from disconnection of the trailer.
If you use a trailer for business purposes, you must cover it under a commercial policy, which is often referred to as “commercial trailer insurance.”
This type of insurance would include car dumpers, side tipper trailers, tipper and transport boxes, concession trailers, dry goods trailers, flatbed trailers, gooseneck trailers, livestock trailers, logging trailers and any other trailers that can be use for business purposes.
Some popular typical trailers include:
- Scooter trailer. You can insure your trailer for the transport of watercraft, especially on the basis of the boat policy, but if you use the trailer for purposes other than towing a watercraft, the watercraft policy does not cover the caravan for full insurance or collision protection. Write a “dual-use” trailer on your car policy to ensure you have comprehensive collision protection.
- Recreational trailers. They are often used as commercial trailers as well as for transporting certain recreational vehicles.