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Traveled Lane Trailers Divider

Trailering 101

Traveled Lane Trailers Divider
Are You Covered?
A word about insurance.

DISCLAIMER: Please check with your individual insurance company   regarding their policies and coverage on trailers and towing.  Also you may wish to check with your states Motor Vehicle Administration for insurance minimums required for trailers.

    How many times have you called your insurance company informing them you are about to take delivery of a new vehicle and heard the words "You're Covered."  Assuming everything is okay you go pick up your trailer and head merrily down the road. Or are you?  We'll venture to say you haven't heard the whole story.
    From a trailer dealer perspective 99% of the time you are covered to the extent that the State Law cares.  (Please refer to individual state laws to be sure.) Meaning, if you do damage to someone  and it is caused by the trailer that damage is "usually"  covered by the insurance of the tow vehicle.  Well that's fine for the person you hit, but what about you?  Unfortunately, that's the part the insurance company seems to forget to tell you. And now that XX.XX dollar horse trailer is about to be alot more expensive with the addition of the money you will be shelling out of your own pocket to fix it.

"But you said I was covered."


    So why don't they tell you this? We would like to think that it's because they just do not realize how expensive horse trailers are since they don't deal with them on an every day basis.  We find that horse trailers, with the bulk ranging between $7,000 - $15,000, cost less than $100 dollars PER YEAR to fully cover the trailer (liability, collision, theft, etc...).  With rates like this who wouldn't want to insure their brand new trailer?  And yes we did say $100 PER YEAR.  We stress this because many times insurance companies who are not familiar with horse trailers will quote rates as high as cars.  We have urged several of our customers to question their quotes, in every case the resulting quote was $100 or less per year.  Keep in mind the $100 or less per year rate is pretty typical, but where you live and your driving record may effect that rate slightly.
    So when do you know if your getting the whole story.  It has been our experience that if the insurance company is "fully" covering the trailer they will ask you for the same type of information as if it were a car, vehicle identification #, year, make, model, selling price etc... Then based on that information and the deductibles you agree upon they will give you a quote.
The bottom line, check with your insurance company and find out what type of insurance and coverage you actually have.   You may be surprised at what you don't have.. 
Two Side Notes: 1) Don't forget to check with your home owners insurance, or if you have an all encompassing "umbrella policy."  Sometimes these types of policies will automatically apply some coverage to new additions.  BUT CALL THE INSURANCE COMPANY TO BE SURE,  it still may not be enough. 2)  We get asked quite often about "cargo insurance", that seems to be a industry all unto itself. We did not address it in this article and many times it does not seem to be an option offered by typical "auto" insurance companies. If you would like it and can't get it thru your normal insurance you may wish to check with a livestock mortality insurance company.

Happy Trailering... See you Next Month. (Or whenever we feel like something needs to be said.)

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If you have any comments, suggestions or topics for a "Trailering 101" article we'd be happy to take them.  Trailering education is our goal.

Traveled Lane Trailers Divider

 

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