When Sam was about to depart for a weekend horse present, he found his horse trailer had a damaged taillight. Realizing the issue couldn’t be repaired in time, he requested his neighbor Jo to borrow her trailer. She agreed.
Inside minutes, Sam hitched his truck to Jo’s trailer, unaware that her trailer’s tongue ball socket and his truck’s hitch ball weren’t suitable — Jo‘s trailer required a hitch with a wider ball. Later, whereas Sam drove down the freeway, the trailer broke away from his truck, injuring his horses, breaking a fence, injuring motorists and destroying Jo’s trailer.
Lending your trailer might appear to be a easy and pleasant lodging, however accidents can happen. The danger of legal responsibility is all the time current. Insurance coverage points add to the complexity. By no means assume everybody’s insurance coverage insurance policies shield them in opposition to the worst-case situation.
Insurance coverage for trailering
Insurance coverage coverages for hauling can embrace:
Legal responsibility protection. This protection is vital as a result of it protects the motive force (topic to coverage phrases) in opposition to claims from injured individuals who search fee for medical payments, misplaced wages, ache and struggling, and different losses.
Collision protection. This protection is meant to supply safety in opposition to damages the truck or trailer might maintain from a collision or different kind of accident.
Complete protection. This covers damages to the automobile, or probably the trailer, from one thing aside from a collision, resembling a hearth, windstorm, hailstorm, vandalism or theft.
Different auto-related coverages can embrace uninsured and underinsured motorist protection, medical funds protection, and even protection for roadside help for broken trailers and towing to a service facility.
Coverages exist to guard property house owners from injury to or lack of private property, resembling horse tools, within the trailer. Needless to say all insurance policies have necessities, exclusions, circumstances and limits, and coverages can differ from firm to firm. Skilled haulers require further protection.
Injury or loss to borrowed trailer
Jo and Sam are most likely coated by private vehicle insurance policies and home-owner’s legal responsibility insurance coverage insurance policies. After they lend or borrow a horse trailer, nonetheless, these coverages might not be sufficient. Car insurance coverage insurance policies typically have exclusions that forestall protection for accidents associated to another person’s trailer.
One auto coverage’s exclusion states: “This protection doesn’t apply to: … Injury to property owned or being transported by an insured particular person.” If an accident happens, this exclusion may deny Sam protection for injury to Jo’s trailer and its contents.
Sam’s coverage may also comprise an exclusion for “injury to property rented to, or within the cost of, an insured particular person.” Insurance policies would possibly exclude losses or injury to a “trailer” that isn’t particularly listed as a scheduled merchandise of property on a coverage.
Injury to horse in trailer
What if the ground boards in Jo’s trailer had been rotting and damaged whereas Sam was hauling, injuring his horses? If Sam desires Jo to pay for his horse’s accidents and veterinary payments, would Jo’s insurance coverage cowl his declare? Possibly not.
Coverage exclusions much like these addressed above would possibly forestall Jo’s insurer from overlaying claims involving property injury arising from a trailer that Jo loaned out to another person.
Damages attributable to towing borrowed trailer
If Jo’s trailer separated from Sam’s truck and collided with vehicles on the street, Sam would possibly count on his personal vehicle insurance coverage coverage to guard him from claims of the opposite motorists. It won’t.
Some insurance policies exclude sure advantages for bodily damage or property injury “arising out of the possession, upkeep, use, loading or unloading of motor automobiles or all different motorized land conveyances, together with trailers, owned or operated by or rented or loaned to an insured.”
Make no assumptions
Whether or not you might be lending or borrowing a horse trailer, make no assumptions about your insurance coverage, particularly as a result of trailering can generate very substantial losses and liabilities. Plan forward and keep protected.
This text doesn’t represent authorized recommendation. When questions come up primarily based on particular conditions, direct them to a educated insurance coverage agent or lawyer.
Fershtman is an equine regulation lawyer and writes the Equine Legislation Weblog for FosterSwift of Foster, Smith, Collins and Smith PC Attorneys.
