Insurance for trailer towing

[Chris71]

I need to transport a car next month. I don't have a trailer or a suitable tow car myself, but I've got a friend who can lend me a trailer and another who has a suitable tow car and some towing experience who's offered to do the driving.

The car we'll be transporting is insured under a classic car policy for normal road driving. Likewise, the tow car is insured and owned by the person who will be driving it.

We've had a read through the small print of both policies and I'm still a bit unsure as to:

• Whether the car on the trailer is insured for loss or damage while it's being towed (and if so by whose policy)
• Whether the trailer is insured for loss or damage
• How we make sure the owner of the trailer is protected against any liability while we're using it

I suppose the answer is "speak to your insurance company", but can anyone explain who would usually cover each of those three elements.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Every UK car policy by law has to provide third party cover for attached trailers. So if the trailer damages another vehicle, or injures someone, during the trip, the third party will be compensated.

Beyond that, you're going to have to speak to the towing car's insurers to see if they will extend the trailer cover to comp, to cover any damage to the actual trailer, and speak to the insurers of the car being towed to see if they can extend cover to comp whilst it's being towed.

[OutInTheShed]

I regularly transport boats behind cars.
The risk of damage to the boat is covered by the boat policy.

Third party risks while being towed are excluded from the boat policy but covered by the car policy.

In your case, I doubt anyone is covering risks to the trailer itself.

[smokey mow]

Chris71 said:

1 Whether the car on the trailer is insured for loss or damage while it's being towed (and if so by whose policy)
2 Whether the trailer is insured for loss or damage
3 How we make sure the owner of the trailer is protected against any liability while we're using it

1 the tow cars policy will not extend to what is on the trailer, you need to check your classic cars policy to see if it is still covered whilst being towed.

2 you will be covered on the towing cars policy for third party liability if it hits someone else but not comprehensive.

3 you would need a separate policy for that but everyone I know, myself included, self insures.

[Chris71]

Thanks gents. That makes sense.

Was just a bit confused as the guy we're borrowing the trailer from said a friend of his had lent someone a trailer and then apparently got sued by a third party when the person he'd lent the trailer to crashed into them. I wonder if he's got something mixed up there as it sounds like any insured driver would have third party cover for the trailer they're towing.

[Ganglandboss]

smokey mow said:

Chris71 said:

1 Whether the car on the trailer is insured for loss or damage while it's being towed (and if so by whose policy)
2 Whether the trailer is insured for loss or damage
3 How we make sure the owner of the trailer is protected against any liability while we're using it

1 the tow cars policy will not extend to what is on the trailer, you need to check your classic cars policy to see if it is still covered whilst being towed.

2 you will be covered on the towing cars policy for third party liability if it hits someone else but not comprehensive.

3 you would need a separate policy for that but everyone I know, myself included, self insures.

This!

I'm a member of a dive club and we, like many similar clubs, have RHIBs on trailers and people often ask this question.

Another question somebody raised a while back, which you might want to consider, is what your breakdown cover provides. We had a lad who had a company car, and he was told the company's breakdown cover would not cover trailers.

Consider:

• Are you covered if the trailer develops a fault?
• If the tow vehicle has to be recovered, will they also take the trailer?

When I looked into it, I found most of the mainstream breakdown policies covered both, but some had limits on the trailer size etc. We did find some policies that would not include trailers.

[dxg]

Probably a good idea to double-check that the tow car is certified for towing. Just because it's got a tow bar attached doesn't mean it's designed for the task.

[drmotorsport]

dxg said:

Probably a good idea to double-check that the tow car is certified for towing. Just because it's got a tow bar attached doesn't mean it's designed for the task.

This! the plated weight on the trailer must be within the stated towing capacity of the tow car, any insurance will be null and void if it's something like a Fiesta trying to tow a Range rover. I have storage and transit cover for my race car and trailer and as others have pointed out you will have 3rd party cover on the tow car's insurance, it may be an idea to find some temporary insurance for the trailer/contents as there is also history of trailers being stolen from motorway services etc

[Chris71]

dxg said:

Probably a good idea to double-check that the tow car is certified for towing. Just because it's got a tow bar attached doesn't mean it's designed for the task.

Already checked. It's an XC90 with a towing capacity of 2.2 tonnes IIRC and a 900kg racing car, so we should be fine.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

drmotorsport said:

This! the plated weight on the trailer must be within the stated towing capacity of the tow car, any insurance will be null and void if it's something like a Fiesta trying to tow a Range rover.

I doubt that very much. It isn't easy for an insurer to null and void a policy following a claim, and the 2015 insurance act lays out the circumstances where they car. Towing beyond the weight you're legally allowed to tow is never going to meet the threshold for making the policy null and void.

The widely held belief that any infringement of the law will result in your policy being made void is largely nonsense.

[MustangGT]

Chris71 said:

Already checked. It's an XC90 with a towing capacity of 2.2 tonnes IIRC and a 900kg racing car, so we should be fine.

Should be fine unless you have a very, very heavy trailer under the racing car.

[Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary]

drmotorsport said:

dxg said:

Probably a good idea to double-check that the tow car is certified for towing. Just because it's got a tow bar attached doesn't mean it's designed for the task.

This! the plated weight on the trailer must be within the stated towing capacity of the tow car, any insurance will be null and void if it's something like a Fiesta trying to tow a Range rover. I have storage and transit cover for my race car and trailer and as others have pointed out you will have 3rd party cover on the tow car's insurance, it may be an idea to find some temporary insurance for the trailer/contents as there is also history of trailers being stolen from motorway services etc

It's not the *plated* weight, but the *actual* weight of the trailer that must be within the towing vehicles capability. E.g
You can tow an empty car trailer which has a GVM of 3,500kg using a Fiesta, providing the weight of the empty car trailer does not exceed the towing capacity of the Fiesta.

Plated weight is for licensing rules, which is a semi-moot point now that everyone with a full car licence also has the trailer entitlement automatically.

[gazza285]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I doubt that very much. It isn't easy for an insurer to null and void a policy following a claim, and the 2015 insurance act lays out the circumstances where they car. Towing beyond the weight you're legally allowed to tow is never going to meet the threshold for making the policy null and void.

The widely held belief that any infringement of the law will result in your policy being made void is largely nonsense.

While third parties will more than likely be paid out, the person in the tow car might not receive a great deal.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

gazza285 said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

I doubt that very much. It isn't easy for an insurer to null and void a policy following a claim, and the 2015 insurance act lays out the circumstances where they car. Towing beyond the weight you're legally allowed to tow is never going to meet the threshold for making the policy null and void.

The widely held belief that any infringement of the law will result in your policy being made void is largely nonsense.

While third parties will more than likely be paid out, the person in the tow car might not receive a great deal.

It's possible, but unlikely. But there's no way a policy is being made null and void for towing overweight, as claimed.

[MustangGT]

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

It's not the *plated* weight, but the *actual* weight of the trailer that must be within the towing vehicles capability. E.g
You can tow an empty car trailer which has a GVM of 3,500kg using a Fiesta, providing the weight of the empty car trailer does not exceed the towing capacity of the Fiesta.

Plated weight is for licensing rules, which is a semi-moot point now that everyone with a full car licence also has the trailer entitlement automatically.

That is not what the DVLA and VOSA say. The plated weight matters. A few years ago there was a thread on here where the OP was prosecuted for towing an empty trailer with a plated weight higher than the tow vehicle was allowed to tow.


Simple solution: remove the plate.

If the plated weight was for licensing rules why are there trailers plated at 1 tonne, 2 tonnes, 3.5 tonnes etc?

[Ganglandboss]

MustangGT said:

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

It's not the *plated* weight, but the *actual* weight of the trailer that must be within the towing vehicles capability. E.g
You can tow an empty car trailer which has a GVM of 3,500kg using a Fiesta, providing the weight of the empty car trailer does not exceed the towing capacity of the Fiesta.

Plated weight is for licensing rules, which is a semi-moot point now that everyone with a full car licence also has the trailer entitlement automatically.

That is not what the DVLA and VOSA say. The plated weight matters. A few years ago there was a thread on here where the OP was prosecuted for towing an empty trailer with a plated weight higher than the tow vehicle was allowed to tow.


Simple solution: remove the plate.

If the plated weight was for licensing rules why are there trailers plated at 1 tonne, 2 tonnes, 3.5 tonnes etc?

Previously I could only tow a total of 3,500kg. At the time, my boring Kuga had a gross vehicle weight of 2,200kg (IIRC) and the same weight as towing capacity. The 3,500kg limit meant I could tow a trailer plated at 1 tonne, but not the others.

My solution when I needed to tow our boat trailer (plated at 1,800) was to have my OH sat next to me. She passed her test in Victoria, Australia, and when she swapped it for a UK licence, she got the full towing entitlement, despite passing her test 3 years later then me!

[Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary]

MustangGT said:

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

It's not the *plated* weight, but the *actual* weight of the trailer that must be within the towing vehicles capability. E.g
You can tow an empty car trailer which has a GVM of 3,500kg using a Fiesta, providing the weight of the empty car trailer does not exceed the towing capacity of the Fiesta.

Plated weight is for licensing rules, which is a semi-moot point now that everyone with a full car licence also has the trailer entitlement automatically.

That is not what the DVLA and VOSA say. The plated weight matters. A few years ago there was a thread on here where the OP was prosecuted for towing an empty trailer with a plated weight higher than the tow vehicle was allowed to tow.


Simple solution: remove the plate.

If the plated weight was for licensing rules why are there trailers plated at 1 tonne, 2 tonnes, 3.5 tonnes etc?

VOSA wouldn't say that as they don't exist anymore there is no law that says the vehicle towing must be able to tow the plated weight of the trailer and there was even a document (issued by VOSA as they existed at the time) doing the rounds a fair while back saying it's the actual weight that matters.

R0G had a stickied thread on here, not sure if it is still stickied but he has highlighted this numerous times. The plated weight matters for licensing, but the vehicle only needs to be able to tow the actual trailer weight.

I can't answer why there are trailers plated at those weights, as that will be down to the manufacturer/user but it may be that someone had a trailer downplated because, at the time, they could only tow a car+trailer combo with plated weights not exceeding 3,500kg. Like I said, now everyone with a full UK licence has BE, downplating is a moot point.

Edited by Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary on Thursday 25th July 18:19

[AlexRS2782]

Powerfully Built Company Directors Secretary said:

R0G had a stickied thread on here, not sure if it is still stickied but he has highlighted this numerous times.

Yep, still there at the top of the forum - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[donkmeister]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Every UK car policy by law has to provide third party cover for attached trailers. So if the trailer damages another vehicle, or injures someone, during the trip, the third party will be compensated.

Is this dependent on the insurance company knowing you have a towbar, or answering "yes I plan to tow"?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

donkmeister said:

TwigtheWonderkid said:

Every UK car policy by law has to provide third party cover for attached trailers. So if the trailer damages another vehicle, or injures someone, during the trip, the third party will be compensated.

Is this dependent on the insurance company knowing you have a towbar, or answering "yes I plan to tow"?

Neither. Tp cover for attached trailers has to be provided automatically, by law. Which would also cover you if became detached during the trip and hit someone/something.