Insurance Question

[gahorseygal]

Hello fellow equestrians! I am no longer teaching horseback riding lessons so I will not be renewing my insurance this February when my coverage lapses. HOWEVER:

I have been trailering some friends horses and was wondering if there is any insurance coverage for this and if it’s beneficial to look into getting this coverage.

I of course can chat with my insurance agent about this when I call to cancel, but figured a third party may be good to ask as well. I don’t want to be sold something I don’t really need or financially just doesn’t make sense. Thanks!

Oh - currently only trailered friends of mine and just asking gas money. BUT thinking about offering trailering locally for others to get some more use out of my trailer. In case this is relevant to your answer.

[Kimstar]

If you accept remuneration for trailering, legally then it would be a “commercial” use of your rig and the insurance rate is considerably higher. I’m not sure how the insurer would view the gas-payment-for-trailering situation though. In any event. you also require insurance coverage for injury to the horses you are transporting. Things get complicated quickly!

I would consult your agent immediately before continuing as you can invalidate any coverage you do have if the activity has not been declared to the insurer in the event of a loss.

[Jealoushe]

You absolutely need commercial insurance to haul horses for money. Depending on your location you may need special licensing and permits etc. Best to call your broker on that.

[c0608524]

I believe even asking for gas money falls under “paid hauling” - and that requires commercial insurance.

It’s my age old excuse to not trailer others horses:

“Sorry! I’m not insured commercially. I cannot trailer your horse.”

Maybe it’s because my dad was a truck driver but I’m well aware of the “behind the scenes” stuff that goes on as a commercial hauler. In addition to the insurance, both my truck and trailer would require annual safeties and I would need to have a CVOR/log book. Seems like a lot of time and money for minimal return!

[pluvinel]

@Kimstar

I’m not sure how the insurer would view the gas-payment-for-trailering situation

I happen to have been reading my insurance policy recently. And things like sharing gas is covered (like in a carpool situation). I suggest reading ones insurance document especially the “exclusions” section. I also recommend a personal liability umbrella policy.

[clanter]

@pluvinel

personal liability umbrella policy.

if charging for services I am pretty sure that would require commercial coverage.

If OP’s agent says a personal liability policy would work for them Be sure to get that in writing on the agent’s letterhead in case there is a problem where they would need to go after the agent’s errors and omissions

[CHT]

That’s the same as where I live, but you have to be careful to only charge actual expenses - so if you haul your own horse and a friends horse, you can only charge 50% of the fuel used - you can’t include “wear and tear” though… An exception is hauling in an emergency to a vet clinic or to leave a fire (as examples), those can be billed and not be commercial. This wouldn’t help the OP though, as it sounds like they want to help pay for their trailer.

We have insurance to haul our clients only, which is much cheaper than general hauling insurance - not sure if that applies in this case.

[clanter]

the problem to me is whomever’s horse you do haul or friend for a profit unless they are invited guests who only pay their share of gas the haul becomes a business

The problem is if there is an issue it is not your friend coming after your assets it is their insurance carriers attempting recover their losses as their carrier will go after you, they have the legal staff just setting around to recover that money

We once had a commercial operation when our kids were young, primary reason was to provide for their horses and allow them to have the freedom to have friends over.

Once we closed that we still have guests stop by to see the livestock as we are in the middle of the city and these people just are spellbound when they see acres of open ground with real animals where they expect to see houses built next to one another.

Our homeowners carrier is fully aware that we have a variety of domesticated animals here, the policy covers the guests as long as we do not make this a business.

We often are asked to provide animals for events, unless that event provides the insurance for us as additionally insure we do not do that event. Even taking some goats to an international sales meeting for Lockheed Martin they complied as for so reason they wanted some goats there (some one had tracked us down from having seen some of the trained goats on a TV show)

[pluvinel]

@clanter

if charging for services I am pretty sure that would require commercial coverage.

Yes, agreed. If you are commercial, you need commercial insurance. I was thinking more along the lines of someone hauling a horse for a friend (to a show or to the vet) and friend paying the gas.

As far as the driver logs for CDL, a ways back, there was pushback from drivers of livestock for Electronic Logging Devices. Feds wanted limits on driver time. Drivers say they are hauling livestock that needs to come off trailer…not sure where dispute ended up.

Google knows all…here is FMCSA guidance

Regulatory Guidance: Transportation of Agricultural Commodities including Livestock | FMCSA

[BeeHoney]

As others have pointed out, if you haul horses for money, you need commercial insurance as you are clearly responsible for the animals you are hauling. An insurance agent can help you sort out the options. Hauling horses for a friend with them chipping in for gas does not make you a commercial hauler, but also the fact of not charging money does not absolve you of responsibility should an accident occur.

Even just hauling horses casually for friends, I still strongly recommend having a conversation with your insurance agent about how they would handle the situation if something happened while you were hauling a friend’s horse. Just because you aren’t commercial and aren’t charging money doesn’t mean that people can’t hold you financially responsible and expect you to “make things right” or even sue you if something should happen.

Let’s say you glance at your phone and get in an accident or have to slam on your brakes and the horses are injured–even though you were doing your friend a favor, the friend might perceive that the accident was your fault and thus feel you are responsible for vet bills. So many things can happen–a mechanical issue like a sharp edge from a backed out rivet and the horse gets a horrible cut or a horse or a person gets kicked or stepped on or run over when loading or unloading.

An insurance agent could hep you sort out what insurance would best cover you. It’s possible an umbrella policy or horse owners liability policy would cover you for any accidents where humans were hurt. I think covering the horses is a lot more difficult. It’s very difficult to insure against being held responsible for injury/loss of other people’s property/livestock, unless you have a CC&C policy.

I run a boarding facility and have a commercial policy and a CC&C policy that covers me for hauling horses that I am responsible for as part of my farm business only. I’m sure this type of policy exists in other states, that is why you see trainers/farm owners able to haul their clients horses around without separate commercial hauling policies.

In making your final decision, it’s also helpful to know what the equine liability landscape looks like in your state. Some states have laws related to activities related to farms and livestock that help protect farm owners and horse owners from liability. What assets you have is another factor in making a decision about insurance. If you have a lot of assets, it makes sense to be more conservative about insurance, or even hauling other people’s horses at all (hauling horses is a very high risk activity).

[gahorseygal]

Thank you all! Sounds like chatting with my agent is the best route. But if it is the case that any paid hauling needs a commercial policy I won’t go that route. Will definitely make sure to get clarification on hauling friends and liability there.

Also someone mentioned I’m looking to pay my trailer off which is untrue. Trailer was bought with cash. Just looking to get more use out of it is all and go riding with friends!