Insurance Tractor Insurance

[wkpoor]

Been trying to get info from State farm about insuring my tractor for use off the property. Not commercial just for personal use. They told me its covered under the home owners only at home. If I put it on the trailer and leave the driveway its not. Now I can put a policy on it by itself like on the cars for 250.00 a year. I might use it 12x's a year off my property. My biggest issue is if it departs the trailer in transit and hits another vehicle. I'll bet most don't have coverage on either the tractor or the trailer. I do have policies on the trailers. Most of the time what I'm towing behind the truck is much more valuable than the truck like about 3x's more. Seems to make sense to insure it like I do the vehicle.
What do most people do?

 

[john_bud]

I hope the experts correct me if I'm wrong, but your auto policy covers your liability if the trailer departs the tow vehicle and if anything on the trailer departs. That's liability for damage done by the departure to some one else's person or property. So if you roll your truck while towing a trailer holding your tractor and the tractor comes off and hits a bus load of orphans and nuns going to church camp, your liability is covered to the limits of your policy.

The value of the trailer and / or anything that departs during a tow is NOT covered by the normal auto policy. You would need an "Inland Marine" policy to cover the value of the trailer and tractor if it is damaged in an accident.

My stuff is paid for, so I don't cover its value. It does make me more mindful of consequences.

 

[wkpoor]

I hope the experts correct me if I'm wrong, but your auto policy covers your liability if the trailer departs the tow vehicle and if anything on the trailer departs. That's liability for damage done by the departure to some one else's person or property. So if you roll your truck while towing a trailer holding your tractor and the tractor comes off and hits a bus load of orphans and nuns going to church camp, your liability is covered to the limits of your policy.

The value of the trailer and / or anything that departs during a tow is NOT covered by the normal auto policy. You would need an "Inland Marine" policy to cover the value of the trailer and tractor if it is damaged in an accident.

My stuff is paid for, so I don't cover its value. It does make me more mindful of consequences.

My stuff is all paid for too. I have policies on the trailers because State Farm put a $1000.00 limit on trailer coverage under my homeowners. My 2 trailers the dump and the deckover both bought within a year of each other were $12,000. Made sense to insure them in case the accident is my fault.
You have actually answered the $50,000 question in that whatever is riding on the trailer whether its covered or not, has liability protection for the other guy. What I wonder is if I'm involved in an accident and hopefully its the other guys fault, will they pick up the tab on the whole rig that could potentionally be 3x's greater than just the tow vehicle. I've already been there a couple of times where the other guy's insurance doesn't want to anny up on the deal and my insurance has to step in. That only works with full coverage.
Man I hate insurance!!! More angles than a protractor and none of them add up.

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

i called my auto insurance provider about 6 years ago and asked them about being covered if i pulled a trailer....

they told me as long as it was attached to the truck with covereage, it would be covered.......that backed that up by adding, if the contents of the trailer came off and did damage to something, then it wouldn't be covered.......

so strap her down REAL good was the lesson i took from that.......

i've been with geico for a while now, i've never asked them......probably should

 

[john_bud]

i called my auto insurance provider about 6 years ago and asked them about being covered if i pulled a trailer....

they told me as long as it was attached to the truck with covereage, it would be covered.......that backed that up by adding, if the contents of the trailer came off and did damage to something, then it wouldn't be covered.......

so strap her down REAL good was the lesson i took from that.......

i've been with geico for a while now, i've never asked them......probably should

That doesn't make sense that if something comes off... it's not covered.

Does that mean if I have a tire blow out and the treads hit a pedestrian I'm not covered? If I'm towing a camper and a bike or cooler or water jug comes off I'm not covered? I rather think that wouldn't hold up.

But, I ain't no expert and what makes sense isn't what the law protects. Only what makes "Cents", if you get my drift...

 

[Flatheadyoungin]

yeah, i thought it was crazy too......it was our local grange dealer......i was with them for years until geico beat the pants off of them......but i've never had a claim with any of them to see how they perform...

That doesn't make sense that if something comes off... it's not covered.

Does that mean if I have a tire blow out and the treads hit a pedestrian I'm not covered? If I'm towing a camper and a bike or cooler or water jug comes off I'm not covered? I rather think that wouldn't hold up.

But, I ain't no expert and what makes sense isn't what the law protects. Only what makes "Cents", if you get my drift...

 

[RWolf]

I've got Geico homeowners insurance. The way I worded it to them was that I sometimes use the tractor at my primary residence but generally kept it stored off premise on my ranch property. They accepted that so I am able to insure my tractor at the ranch. My auto insurance covers it when I'm moving it between.

Good luck.

 

[RobJ]

and hits a bus load of orphans and nuns going to church camp,

Man don't start!! How about a bus load of illegals, bus load of murderers heading to the dead chamber, or a bus load of mother in laws!!

Still just as tragic right!!!??!!

 

[Jstpssng]

My tractor is on the same commercial auto policy as my truck, for an extra $140 per year. It has liability whether it's on a trailer or running down the road. Everything is paid for but I couldn't replace it; so I also have comprehensive and collision on the tractor and implements.
I don't have a trailer so I asked my agent if I was covered if someone else was hauling it, and she said I was.

 

[Rara Avis]

Whatever your agent or telephone represetative tells you...Tell them to put it in writing and mail it to you...If you receive nothing...then you'll know what's really covered...

 

[john_bud]

Man don't start!! How about a bus load of illegals, bus load of murderers heading to the dead chamber, or a bus load of mother in laws!!

Still just as tragic right!!!??!!

When you get to court, that bus load of murderers will magically turn into nuns and orphans. Happens every time!

jb

 

[cperky]

The value of the trailer and / or anything that departs during a tow is NOT covered by the normal auto policy. You would need an "Inland Marine" policy to cover the value of the trailer and tractor if it is damaged in an accident.

.

EXACTLY!!

Get an Inland Marine Policy!!

 

[tallyho8]

In Louisiana your trailer and contents are insured for collision and liability to the extent of your coverage when pulled by your insured truck but ONLY if the trailer is registered in your name. If you have failed to register your trailer in your name to avoid taxes, or if it is someone else's trailer, then it is only covered for a limit of $500.

 

[Skerby]

The golden rule of buying ANY insurance is, if you can afford to replace something, don't insure it. Thus, if you're pestered to buy an extended warranty (i.e., insurance) on a plasma tv from a teenage Best Buy associate, dont. If your home, EVEN IF IT'S PAID FOR!, is uninsured make sure you can pay out of your deep pockets, otherwise you cannot afford to be without.
Get it? Learn it -- live by it.. stay ahead of the uninformed and pressure commissioned sales people.

 

[deere755]

I was told before I added my trailer to my farm policy that if my trailer was in my shed and the shed burned to the ground the trailer would not be covered. If the trailer was hooked to the truck and the shed burned to the ground it was covered. I have too say that insurance is only as good as the agent who sells it. I have had a home owners policy and a farm policy for quite some time now. We recently got a new agent same company and after he viewed my policy and looked my place over he said he could make home a farmstead and insure it all under a blanket policy. Now I have one policy and I saved a bunch of money. It upsets me that I have paid all those premuims that I did not need to.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Insurance may not be rocket science, but you need to be at least as smart as a rocket scientist to figure it out. Even a lawyer has trouble with the fine print policy language and we as laymen are expected to understand this bunk. Most of the insurance agents dont know what the policy includes either until a claim is filed.

 

[kthompson]

As an insurance agent there is a lot of truth in most post on this. It has been about 7 years since I quit with P&C.

Your agent does not have to send it to you in writing, just ask them to tell you where in the policy it states that it is covered and note it and read it yourself. There is some truth, no can be a lot of truth to agents having no idea what the full extent of what they are selling. Some companies do a good job on educating the agent and so do a good job of keeping them uninformed. There can be many reasons why a company mails you the policy directly but one reason is so you don't ask the agent to explain it to you which you have the right to.

This is tough cover accurately on a site that covers many states when so much of this can and does vary from one state to another due to state laws. Also what one company will do on such another may not be able to due to not having authority for that coverage in that state, inland marine being such an issue.

Jumping rabbits a little here...if you have health insurance you buy yourself and you are self employee or just don't have workers comp coverage be sure your health insurance will cover you for on the job injury. Some do not. I can tell you there is a major company in our state who does not and many agent selling their coverage does not know it. Again, ask them to tell you where in the contract it tells that. Hey, don't limit it to health insurance, if you are self employed check all coverages you have. And on P&C insurance, it does not matter you got the policy issued by not telling the full truth or such, when the claim happens they have the full law to NOT cover you if they at that time find it is not accurate. kt

 

[kthompson]

I forgot, there is a company mention on this thread that when a person came to us who had them it was due to the way they had been handled with a claim most often. Sad time to find out. Will not name their name for they may have changed. They did hid behind a law that allowed them not to pay a claim if a driver had passed out due to a medical condition if not disclosed to the insurance company. So if a driver did not remember the accident, wow, they had to have blacked out before it so we do not cover it! No joke and they are not the only one. For my nickel in this case you can tell the company by their ads, listen and think what kind of person they are trying to attract?

I am sure most if not all State Department of Insurance Departments will have a web site when you can find the complaints file on a certain insurance company. It normally tells you how many were filed and how they were treated to some degree. If they do not show the percentage of business in that line they have in the state those numbers can be almost meaningless but can still give some indication of the ethics of the company.
kt