Trailer Insurance.... To hold or not to hold? That is the question.


We started a series earlier this year where we delved deeper into individual products to give you a better understanding. These have been personal lines products like Home, Boat and Car. Wrapping up this series is one a lot of people don't consider but is pretty important, Trailer insurance.


It's true a trailer whilst being towed by a moving vehicle usually has cover under the motor vehicle insurance. I stress usually. There are some bare bones products on the market that may not include this benefit so please check your PDS. What this means is if the trailer is damaged or causes damage to another persons property whilst being towed your car insurance for the towing vehicle should cover it. Again check your own PDS to make sure. Being in this industry though we see when things go wrong. How often do you leave your trailer beside your home or in the front garden? It's pretty easy for someone to come along and hitch it up and take it away. Your Car Insurance on that towing vehicle is now null and void as the trailer is only covered whilst attached and being towed.

Sure a little box trailer may only cost you $1,000 but then again many are considerably higher. Consider if you have a tilt tray for ease of getting say a golf cart or ride or quad bike on it. What about fixed tool boxes or fibreglass canopies. Is it an a frame or fully enclosed and what is kept in it. You often don't think about it but a trailer can be an expensive item. Over the past few months we have personally placed cover on a couple of trailers each around $5,000 - $10,000 in value. Naturally the more attractive looking then the more volatile it is to theft.

So now that you're thinking about what your trailer is worth and know that the towing vehicle does not always cover it, why do you need the insure your trailer separately? A trailer once unhitched is a separate vehicle. How often do you unhitch the trailer and just for a second feel it wrench away from your hands? What if it was on an slope and it got away from you. We have seen it where a trailer has got away and run into a neighbours wall. (No I didn't do it) In this instance your Car Insurance on the usual towing vehicle will NOT cover you. The damage to your trailer again may not be a concern but what about the damage to other peoples property?

A runaway trailer can become a weapon. Depending on the weight in it or and speed it gets up to it can cause considerable damage. Even at low speed if the weight puts enough pressure on a fence or wall it can cause damage. What if a car was parked across the road and a trailer ran away straight into the car. You could be up for thousands of dollars in Third Party repair costs. Then there's damage from flood or storm. Particularly Flood as a trailer is generally light and could be easily lifted away.

You can now probably see what can go wrong with a trailer. Another piece of insurance huh? Were does it stop! Well in reality Trailer Insurance is dirt cheap. We renewed a little box trailer last week for a client which is only $102.00 for full comprehensive cover. Another more elaborate trailer worth $10,000 we recently insured for $430.00. This one even included cover for up to $5,000 contents. As you can see it is not expensive. If you are not concerned about covering your trailer you can just insure it for any Third Party Damage it may cause. Whilst this would be lower again in premium consider the difference in premium to comprehensive and you may want to cover it fully.

Trailers come in all sizes and types. Infact they are probably one of the most customised types of road using vehicle around. 2 wheel box trailers, Horse trailers, open siders, cage box trailers, 4 wheel trailers, enclosed canopies........ the list goes on. And we aren't even talking about camper trailer, caravans or boat trailers here. With such a unique type of vehicle that covers a broad range of needs, consider having it protected even against the damage it may cause whilst unhitched. Don't presume your car insurance will always kick in with your trailer. For anywhere from $100 up you can cover it comprehensively and customise the cover to meet your needs.

*** This advice is general only. Please refer to your PDS for detailed information about your particular trailer insurance or one being proposed.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A new IAA partnership is forged.

Image
On September 30 2011 two 30 something kids from The Manning Valley kick started their own business. It was a simple little day which involved sitting in our dining room with the sounds of Dora the Explorer in the background and a highlight being getting the head shots taken. 3 years on I don't think we've changed much aside from a few more grey streaks that seem to be permanently etched into the side of my head. How time has flown. From our dining room we moved to the formal lounge room and set it up as a separate business centre. Then some 12 months later our first major step when we opened our first physical office above the RTA in Macquarie Street Taree. We have been in this location for just on 2 years now and love meeting with clients in our informal meeting room or putting together green slips for the community. So as we celebrate our 3rd birthday today we are pleased to announce the next chapter in our business. Effective tomorrow October 1st 2014 we take possess
Read more

The importance of Incident Reporting

Image
We spent the weekend going from party to party. Now 10 years ago that would have been club to pub, but with 2 beautiful daughters aged 7 & 4 it means cake to lollies back to cake, throw in some fairy bread then all fall down! Yes similar affect to the old club to pub days but it's the sugar doing the damage nowadays. One of the kids parties was at a local amusement style park. The girls had a ball on water slides and all kinds of things. Our youngest had finally built up enough courage to go with dad on the go karts. Now these go karts aren't powered mind you, a cable takes you to the top of the hill then you "Plummet" down riding the brake pedal all the way. Whilst walking to the Go karts we witnessed a frightening event. A young boy, maybe 10 - 12 years old had lost control of the kart at the very top of the hill and for whatever reason could not engage the brake pedal. There was only one outcome here and it involved a terrifying ride for the lad to the
Read more

150 Deaths in only 12 years..... Alarming

Image
It's interesting how our blog sometimes manifests itself. it can be something topical at the time or simply something we observed that people take for granted. This weeks comes from the observation category and really only has a small insurance slant to it. Over the holiday season many headed to rural properties to camp or hang out with family and friends. A regular activity on these properties is Quad Bike riding. Over January whilst travelling on at least 3 occasions we passed properties where people were enjoying time on a Quad Bike. Don't get us wrong, this is not the fun police coming out, Quads are great fun! However why is it that just about every time we see Quad bike's it's being ridden by a child looking no more then the age of 10 who is not wearing any form of protection? Sorry but it simply doesn't make sense. With all the world knows about Quad - or All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) - bikes we still let children rip around a paddock and over mou
Read more