Are Trailers Covered Under Commercial Auto Insurance?

Do you utilize trailers during the operation of your Florida business? If you do, you might be wondering if your commercial car insurance policy covers the trailers that you attach to your vehicles. Let’s explore if trailers are covered by your commercial insurance policy and if you need a separate policy for your trailers.

Commercial Car Insurance Coverage Types

Commercial car insurance typically includes property damage liability, personal injury protection, comprehensive, collision, uninsured motorist, and underinsured motorist. These coverages are designed to help you repair or replace accident-damaged vehicles. Your policy may also include rented vehicles and personal vehicles used for business. When reading through your commercial car insurance policy to see if it covers trailers, you’ll most often come across sections for property damage and personal injury, collision, comprehensive, uninsured, underinsured, rental vehicles and personal use vehicles. It also includes a small amount of trailer coverage.

  • Property Damage – Covers damage to other people’s property as well as any injuries that require medical treatment.
  • Personal Injury – Helps pay for injuries and medical treatments for the individuals operating or riding inside your work vehicles. This is sometimes also referred to as medical payments coverage.
  • Collision – Helps pay for the repairs or replacement of the policyholder’s vehicle.
  • Comprehensive – Helps pay for damage that wasn’t the result of operating the vehicle. This might include fires, theft, and vandalism, as well as certain weather events.
  • Uninsured and Underinsured – Helps pay for the repairs or replacement of the work vehicle if it’s in a collision with a driver who doesn’t have insurance or has a low amount of insurance coverage.
  • Rental Vehicles – Helps pay for rented vehicles while your vehicle is being repaired or replaced.
  • Personal Vehicles for Business – Covers your employee’s vehicles if they’re being used for business purposes.
  • Trailer Coverage – While it may be difficult to locate, trailer coverage is often included in commercial car insurance policies. However, it doesn’t usually cover trailers that weigh more than 2,000 pounds.

Does Commercial Car Insurance Cover Trailers?

Commercial vehicle insurance is designed to cover many different types of commercial vehicles. This includes tow trucks, dump trucks, commercial taxis, semis, box trucks and commercial vans. When it comes to trailers, you may have a limited amount of coverage. The truth is that you need to read your policy and ask your Florida insurance agent. Most commercial policies cover trailers that weigh less than 2,000 pounds. For trailers that weigh more than 2,000 pounds, you’ll likely have to purchase a separate trailer liability policy, and depending on the trailer coverage limitations, you may want an extra policy on your lightweight trailers.

Can You Get a Separate Policy for Your Trailers?

You can get a separate trailer liability policy in Florida. The minimum amount of trailer insurance you can buy is liability coverage. Like most insurance policies, liability only covers the other person’s or business’s property and injuries.

Additional coverages you can get for your trailer include:

  • Collision – This helps repair or replace your trailer, regardless of fault, if you’re in an accident.
  • Comprehensive – This covers damage to your trailer while it’s not being used. In general, this coverage typically applies to damage that’s caused by certain weather events, falling objects, fires and vandalism.
  • Contents – Contents coverage helps pay for items that you are storing or carrying in your trailer.
  • Trailer Interchange Insurance – If you rent trailers, you’ll want a policy that includes trailer interchange insurance. This covers any trailers that you’re using but don’t own.
  • Non-owned Trailer Insurance – This coverage helps pay for damage that occurs to trailers you don’t own that are hooked-up to an engine or power unit that you do own.

Is Commercial Trailer Insurance Required in the State of Florida?

Commercial trailer insurance is not required by Florida law, like vehicle insurance. However, businesses that regularly use trailers for transport and storage may want to consider trailer insurance. Additionally, if your trailers were purchased with a loan, your lender may require that you specifically insure your trailers.

Why Should Businesses Consider Trailer Insurance?

Think about the costs of the products, tools and equipment that you’re carrying on your trailers. How much is it worth? If those items were to become damaged or undeliverable because of an accident, could you afford to replace those items or pay the customer for the loss? While some businesses may be able to cover those costs, there’s a good chance you’re not one of those businesses. Trailer insurance helps financially protect you from these types of losses if they occur due to a covered event.

Commercial Car and Trailer Insurance with Fearnow in Florida

If you need a separate trailer insurance policy or commercial vehicle insurance for your fleet of work trucks, vans, cars and semis, Fearnow can help you find policies that provide your desired level of coverage at prices you can afford. Our insurance agency has the ability to look through the policies of many different insurance carriers.

On average, we help our clients save up to 37 percent on their insurance premiums, and we offer more than just commercial vehicle and trailer insurance. We can help you find affordable general liability, commercial boat and nonprofit insurance policies.

To learn more about our commercial vehicle insurance and trailer insurance, give us a call at 813-689-8878.