What Follows the Hitch, and What Does Not

Towing splits neatly into two questions that people tend to merge: what happens if the trailer causes harm to somebody else, and what happens if the trailer itself is damaged or stolen. The answers are usually different.

Liability normally extends

While a trailer is attached to a covered vehicle, the liability coverage on that vehicle commonly extends to it. That is the good news, and it is why people assume the rest is handled too. The wording varies by policy and sometimes by trailer type, so confirm it rather than inheriting the assumption.

Damage to the trailer is separate

Comprehensive and collision on your truck cover your truck. A utility trailer, boat trailer, car hauler or enclosed trailer is a separate piece of property, and covering it against damage or theft usually means listing it on the policy or insuring it separately. An unlisted trailer that is stolen out of the driveway is a common and avoidable disappointment.

What is inside it is a third question

Contents are generally not an auto policy matter. Tools, equipment, a motorcycle, landscaping gear — those usually belong to a homeowners, renters, inland marine or commercial policy depending on what they are and why you have them. Ask specifically. The answer is rarely the one people hope for.

The safety half, which is also the insurance half

• Ratings. Tow rating, tongue weight and gross combined weight are limits, not suggestions. Exceeding them is a mechanical risk and a liability argument waiting to be made.
• Brakes. California requires brakes on trailers over a certain weight and requires a breakaway system on some. Check the current Vehicle Code requirements for your trailer's weight before you tow.
• Lights and safety chains. Cheap to get right, expensive to get wrong.
• Speed. California sets a lower maximum speed for vehicles towing trailers than for ordinary traffic. It is enforced and it is also the physics.

Renting a trailer

Rental counters offer their own damage products. Whether you need one depends on what your policy already does with a non-owned trailer, which is worth a phone call before you are standing at the counter deciding under time pressure.

Tell us what you tow and how often and we will make sure the trailer is on the policy rather than assumed onto it.