Question Regarding Items on a Trailer

[OneJay]

Hey everyone. Quick question regarding insurance for a car towed on a trailer. Here's the scenario:

You are towing a car on a trailer, let’s say it is a race car, and is never driven on the street, and therefore has no insurance. The trailer is hit by an uninsured driver, and the car falls off the trailer, and both the trailer and race car are damaged. Are the damages covered through UIM coverage, or would that coverage only apply to the insured car towing the trailer? Also, say the trailer contained something different, such as a load of furniture or something, and the same scenario happened. Would the personal property in/on the trailer be covered?

 

[MissOptimis]

Hello! There are a lot of pieces to your question so no easy answer. The anwer is it depends. Every policy is different. A policy will define whether a trailer is covered and what kind of trailer is covered. Typically, liability coverage extends from the vehicle that is pulling the trailer. To have coverage for the damage of the trailer the trailer needs to be added to the auto insurance policy for physical damage and have deductibles shown in the declaration page. This is typically how a trailer is viewed but you should always consult your policy.
The race car... whole other topic. Typically in order for the race car to be covered there needs to be auto insurance on it. Whether the vehicle was being driven or not is moot. An auto insurance policy can provide coverage for collision or non collision incidents. Also, known as other than collision. Similar to a tree falling a vehicle. The vehicle was not being operated but it was damaged.
Furniture... again the answer is it depends. Are you a moving company or are you helping your buddy move a couch? The furniture would not fall under auto insurance but would fall to home insurance. If you are a business moving furniture for money coverage could likely be declined since you were operating as a business which has limited or no coverage under a home insurance policy.
UM and/or UIM is Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage. This coverage is typically activated when the other party has no coverage or not enough coverage.
In summary, the trailer could be covered for liability by the vehicle pulling the trailer. This does not include damage of the trailer. The race car will probably not be covered since the vehicle was not listed as a covered vehicle under the policy. This is regardless of UM/UIM. Personal property in the vehicle could be covered by home insurance.

 

[djs]

MissOptimis nailed it.

You have to pursue the other driver to cover the damages your policy won't cover. The other driver is responsible to cover this, but, probably doesn't have a lot of resources to cover the damage.

The trailer damage may or may not be covered, depending on your policy and the coverages for your car. You would have to have collision coverage and the policy would have to provide language that the trailer becomes an extension of the car (some do, its worth checking).

Everything on the trailer, whether its a furniture or a non-licensed (non-street) racing car, is personal property. Look to your homeowners or renters policy for coverage. There is usually a lot of language on home style policies about motor vehicles, what is covered, what is not, etc. If the car was built for the road, its probably not covered.

Dan

 

[VolAgent]

Food for thought. Is the race car street legal? I realize you don't have tags for it as it is a race car, but could you have gotten them? If it is impossible for you to have gotten plates and insurance, that may or may not change your situation.