trailers, equipment, and insurance -- a MUST read

smoke-n-my-i's

smoke-n-my-i's

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I am putting this here as a competition cook myself. Mods, if you feel it needs to be moved, please do.

I am trying to notify everyone I can, so please read and pass the info on.

IF you have a trailer, competition or otherwise, please call your auto insurance company NOW.... do NOT wait. I found out the hard way that my trailer was NOT covered. I had call, and apparently there was some confusion and misunderstanding on possibly on both parts.

My trailer was only covered for liability while it was hooked to the truck. That was all. I had an accident Sunday night and total both the truck and trailer. No other vehicles involved. I hit some black ice on a bridge and that was all it wrote.....

I called my trailer dealer today to find out about what it would cost to fix. With what I told him, it is totaled. So I called my insurance agent, and was told that I had not added it to the policy. But they do not add cargo trailers. I explained to him it was a totally enclosed trailer and that I used it only for bbq comps and was going to start vending out it this year. He then said if he had known, it could have been added with no problem since it was enclosed and not just a normal trailer for just hauling stuff....

So, please do yourself a favor, if you do not know, call and be very specific, and make sure it is covered. I understand that it really isn't that much of a price difference, and a few dollars a year, can save you thousands later on.

Please pass this info on to everyone you know....

Thanks,
Bill
Smoke-N-My-I's Competition BBQ L.L.C.
 
Ouch...

Thanks for sharing that. Hopefully nobody else will go through the pain you are.
 
Here are a few pics..... It is worse than it looks. Look real close at the left wheel. The towing agency says that either the spindle or axle is broken but we can not see it. The side door is not closing at the bottom, so it appears that the box frame is bent. So in order to repair it if the frame isn't bent, is to completely strip it to the frame, and rebuild it. Labor and parts then would run more than a new trailer...... so, totaled. Here is a couple of the truck as well.






If you look real close, other than the bent fender on the right side, you might can see where the lip of the rim is flat against the tire.... will need replacing.



Left front, sheet metal damage. We think the framing is also bent and shifted.



Look real close, you can see the wheel is in at the top, indication of something broken on the axle, spindle, or????




another shot of the front.


When we tried to unhook it from the truck, either the receiver hitch itself, or the trailer tongue is bent, we couldn't really tell in the dark, and too covered up with snow to see it real clear now....
 
Sorry to hear about the accident and thank you for the great advice. I insured my trailer as soon as the paperwork was signed over to me. The few dollars now is money well spent when we hear stories like this.
 
I saw the pictures on Facebook, Bill. I'm glad that no one was hurt.

This is good advice. Our renewal paperwork was handy so I checked and mine is covered (which is what I thought, but i checked anyway).
 
I think mine cost like an extra 20 bucks or so on my current policy for a 5x8 enclosed..
i insured it before I even took it on the road
 
Insurance

I think my insurance is $18.00 every 6 months. I was told my home owners insurance covers the contents of the trailer even if it is stored in an offsite lot. I hope I never ahve to find out.
 
wow, sorry for your lost, and thanks for passing it along.

I called my insurance company when I got my trailer, and he said when I hook it up to my truck, it's covered. I never gave it another thought. I will call tomorrow to get it insured by itself.

Thanks Again.
 
Mine is a vending trailer and is isnured for $35K and includes the equipment inside. It costs around $500 a year in MI.

For those that have a basic trailer coverage, it doesn't cover contents. Contents up to $1500 in your car/truck are covered but not sure about stuff in a trailer. I'd suggest people also look at insuring the contents.
 
So sorry Bill, we learned this the hard way too. I had even spoken to our broker who said it was covered by my truck insurance when in tow and my homeowners when in my driveway...WRONG!!

Please everyone check make sure you have the proper coverage...we lost a 25,000 trailer with no ability to recoup any of it.

Bill we were lucky the truck did not go with it.

BUT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS THAT YOU ARE OK!!!

@ mike - get that fixed!! it is wrong it is NOT covered.
 
wow that sucks about the insurance,Glad to see your ok I drive 18 wheeler year round and BLACK ICE is what I fear most
 
Not trying to be a smart a--, but everything one has on the road in our name needs to be declared to an agent.I was changing policies recently and the first one contacted told me he figured a commercial policy because of signage on my van advertising my services. Luckily he saw this.That would have voided my coverage with previous company because they did'nt care to ask, and wrote a residential policy.Steve.
 
Number 1, I'm glad you're OK!!! I'm also sorry you're having to go through this.

I too haad my trailer (6x10) covered as soon as it got home. I think it's running me a total of $17.00/6 months.
 
If you are using the trailer in your catering operation you can probably get the value of the trailer and it's contents added to your commercial liability policy. Each carrier is different so you need to sit down with your agent and review. If you agent says it is covered without adding any premium you need to get a letter from the agent stating that so if he is wrong you can get covered by his errors and omissions policy. It is really important to get an agent you can trust, not just the guy who has the cheapest insurance rates.
 
We a had to send in photos and give the insurance company the replacement value of the internal contents of the trailer. Glad your Ok and sorry to hear about the misfortune.
 
I am an insurance agent in CA...I have no idea what your policy or state guidelines are, ask your agent if contents is covered under your homeowners policy if you have one. It might be, the trailer would probably not be. Another thing to consider, depening on your HO deductible and amount of loss, you could be looking at the claim raising your HO rates for the next 3-5 years, another consideration.
 
smoke-n-my-i's said:
I am putting this here as a competition cook myself. Mods, if you feel it needs to be moved, please do.

I am trying to notify everyone I can, so please read and pass the info on.

IF you have a trailer, competition or otherwise, please call your auto insurance company NOW.... do NOT wait. I found out the hard way that my trailer was NOT covered. I had call, and apparently there was some confusion and misunderstanding on possibly on both parts.

My trailer was only covered for liability while it was hooked to the truck. That was all. I had an accident Sunday night and total both the truck and trailer. No other vehicles involved. I hit some black ice on a bridge and that was all it wrote.....

I called my trailer dealer today to find out about what it would cost to fix. With what I told him, it is totaled. So I called my insurance agent, and was told that I had not added it to the policy. But they do not add cargo trailers. I explained to him it was a totally enclosed trailer and that I used it only for bbq comps and was going to start vending out it this year. He then said if he had known, it could have been added with no problem since it was enclosed and not just a normal trailer for just hauling stuff....

So, please do yourself a favor, if you do not know, call and be very specific, and make sure it is covered. I understand that it really isn't that much of a price difference, and a few dollars a year, can save you thousands later on.

Please pass this info on to everyone you know....

Thanks,
Bill
Smoke-N-My-I's Competition BBQ L.L.C.
Click to expand...


Bill sorry to hear about this! Did your agent say whether there was any trailer coverage under your Homeowners policy? If you told him about the trailer originally and he did not ask the questions about the trailer and you thought you had coverage this could be an error and omissions claim against your agent the insurance professional that should guide you through the process and ask the questions. You did your part by letting him know and thought you had coverage. I would push it with the agent some. Many homeowners policies have some trailer coverage and even a little money generally $1000 max would be helpful.
 
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