Towing a trailer comes with both risks and rewards. The rewards are often the ability to get out and experience the great outdoors the risks often revolve around the fact that when you attach a heavy trailer to the hitch of your van truck or car accidents are more likely to happen.
So before you take off on your next fishing or camping trip it’s important to minimize the potential financial impact of these risk by making sure you have the insurance coverage you need.
Is my trailer covered under my current truck insurance policy?
Most insurance providers will cover your trailer when it’s hitched and towed behind the personal vehicle that you already have current valid insurance on. The difference is that this coverage stops at liability damages. It will not cover expenses related to the repair of the trailer or the replacement or repair of any personal belongings held within the trailer.
Whether or not the trailer is covered also depends on the type of trailer you are towing. If it is a utility trailer with a car on it or a recreational vehicle such as an ATV then it’s likely the item carried would have basic liability coverage—meaning if someone sued you due to an injury caused by the trailer or its contents you’d be covered. When it comes to travel trailers most insurance companies will require you to obtain and pay for separate coverage.
Do I need a separate policy?
To get comprehensive coverage for both your trailer and your belongings you need to purchase a separate travel trailer insurance policy.
The good news is that most insurance companies offer policies for all types of trailers. Recreational vehicle or RV insurance can be purchased for camper trailers while other types of policies can be purchased for just about anything else you can tow (from boats to ATV’s ). Better still these separate insurance policies tend to be very affordable.
What about a rented trailer?
If you decide to do a bit of travelling and want to rent a trailer you can tow keep in mind that your truck insurance policy probably won’t cover the rented trailer. To get coverage you either have to talk to your independent insurance broker and ask for temporary coverage to be added to your policy or pay the rental company for their offered coverage.