Borrowing A Friend’s Trailer? Will Your Auto Insurance Cover It?

Has this ever happened to you? You have something too large or too messy to move with your car and you can’t find a truck to borrow, but you do have a buddy with a trailer. Most people don’t remember to even question if they have insurance on the trailer, they just hitch it up and go. So, if you took the time to seek an answer to this question, congratulations, you are one of the few worries about the details.

This talk is based solely on the North Carolina personal auto insurance policy. I can’t provide an all inclusive coverage analysis in this blog as there are always lots of variables from one situation to the next, and there may be specific exclusions or limitations that apply to your policy or your situation. But, generally, the following will tell you what to expect about how your insurance will come in to play when when you hitch up a friend’s trailer to your car.

The NC personal auto policy will extend the liability protection afforded to your car, to the trailer that you are pulling so long as you are not pulling the trailer for commercial purposes. But here’s the catch: your personal auto policy does not provide any physical damages protection for the trailer. This means that if you damage someone’s person or property with that trailer, then your personal auto policy will respond and protect you. If damage to the trailer itself you will not have coverage for that loss.

So the best plan is to ask your friend if there is collision and comprehensive coverage on the trailer you will borrow. If not, then you are going without coverage as far as the trailer’s damage is concerned and you should make a plan with your friend about how you will repay those damages.

At Clinard Insurance Group in Winston Salem, NC, we are an independent insurance agency. We help our family clients with home insurance, auto insurance and life insurance all across North Carolina. We also write business insurance and have niche specialties in used car dealers, restaurants, repair shops and small contractors. We want to help all insurance consumers be informed buyers. If we can help you with any of your insurance needs, please feel free to call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557 or visit us on the web at www.ClinardInsurance.com.