Boat Trailer Insurance: Costs, Towing Coverage & More

When not explicitly covered by your boat insurance, boat trailers can be covered by a mixture of your auto and home insurance, depending on where and how the boat trailer is damaged. Learn more below.

No state will require you to have insurance for a boat trailer. But, boat insurance doesn’t automatically cover boat trailers. You usually must ask to add your trailer to your boat insurance.

States rarely require boat insurance, and they never require boat trailer insurance. Only Hawaii, Arkansas, and Utah mandate boat insurance depending on the size of your vessel or the strength of your motor. Even these states that require boat insurance don’t require coverage for your trailer. These states are usually only concerned with liability when you’re out on the water.

Your boat insurance may not cover your boat trailer by default. Instead, you will need to request to add it to your coverage. Most major boat insurers shouldn’t have a problem with this. When getting a quote, you often just have to indicate that you have a trailer. You will likely need the trailer’s make and year.

Adding your boat trailer to your boat insurance will cover physical damage to the trailer. So, whatever perils your boat is covered from — such as hurricanes, fires, and more — will also apply to your trailer. It will also cover your trailer if it’s stolen.

Some insurers will only cover your trailer for actual cash value. This means that if your trailer was destroyed, your provider would reimburse you for the trailer value minus depreciation. Depreciation formulas vary by company, but generally, the older a trailer is, the less you’ll get for it.

Other insurers, such as Progressive, can reimburse you for the full value of your boat trailer if you add it to your coverage. The trailer cost is factored into agreed-upon and total replacement cost coverages.

You can also opt for coverages for mechanical breakdown and roadside assistance for your boat trailer. Some carriers loop their boat trailer insurance in with their roadside assistance, so you can’t get one without the other. The roadside assistance can include fuel delivery, jumpstarts, battery replacements, and towing — including your trailer — up to a certain number of miles.

Car insurance covers towing a boat when your trailer causes property damage or injuries to someone else. Your liability coverage should cover your boat and trailer when towing them. But, for physical damage protection, you’ll need boat insurance.

Every driver must have liability coverage. Liability coverage protects you from having to pay for damage you could cause others in an accident. Your insurer covers property damage and medical expenses for other drivers with liability coverage. This includes damages your boat and boat trailer could cause on the road.

For instance, if your trailer causes a car accident or damages someone’s fence, yard, or deck, your insurer can cover the costs to fix the damages. Your insurance won’t cover the costs to repair your boat and trailer, though. You’d likely need to rely on your boat insurance for that.

The cost to add your trailer to your boat insurance will vary by company and trailer, but it shouldn’t be too much extra. Most major providers, such as Progressive, Geico, Travelers, and Allstate, will cover your boat trailer if requested. 

Getting boat insurance is usually a wise decision, especially if you have an expensive boat. Boat trailer insurance is a natural add-on to your coverage since you often need a specialized trailer to haul your vessel. Most reputable boat insurers should recognize this, and adding your trailer to your boat insurance should be easy.

Note that homeowners insurance can also cover your boat trailer to a very limited extent. Homeowners insurance typically caps the money you can receive for damaged boats and boat trailers to $1,000 or $2,000. You should always be able to add your boat trailer to your boat insurance. But, you may also get an endorsement for your home insurance policy to increase your boat coverage. 

Getting boat trailer insurance through your boat provider will probably be cheaper, but altering your home insurance may be another option.

If you’re looking for boat and trailer insurance, we can help. At Clovered, we specialize in property insurance of all types, and one of our licensed agents would be happy to pair you with a boat policy with boat trailer insurance.

You can submit our simple boat insurance quote form and wait to hear back from one of our agents. Or, you can call us at 833-255-4117 during business hours. Headquartered in Florida, we partner with some of the top watercraft insurers in the country.