Tow car insurance

[wesaaron]

Thinking of having a tow car soon and was wondering about insurance, obviously both insurers of motorhome and car will need to be informed that one will be towing and one will be towed but what happens in the event of an accident if the tow car is damaged? is it the car insurers who will pay up or the motorhome insurers because the motorhome is effectively towing a trailer, (or will they both try to wriggle out of it)
Does anyone have any experience of this? thanks in advance

 

[wildebus]

I have not towed a car but when I have taken insurance out on a vehicle that I have towed with, whilst you are insured to tow no problem, the vehicle insurance did not cover the value of the trailer in any way and I took out separate insurance to cover the trailer and its contents.

 

[GeoffL]

I have not towed a car but when I have taken insurance out on a vehicle that I have towed with, whilst you are insured to tow no problem, the vehicle insurance did not cover the value of the trailer in any way and I took out separate insurance to cover the trailer and its contents.

I concur. When I was a tugger, the towcar insurance covered the combination for third party risks while the trailer was attached to the towcar (so would cover the trailer 'clipping' another vehicle). However, damage to the caravan was covered by its own insurance. Check the toad's policy carefully as it might contain a get-out clause that damage is only covered if it is being driven or it is parked up.

 

[wesaaron]

Thanks for your replies

 

[PaulR]

Can I ask if anybody has any updates on this please. We are about to change into a motorhome soon, but I do need a car also we have a Suzuki Ignes (885kg) that will go on the back.

 

[wesaaron]

Can I ask if anybody has any updates on this please. We are about to change into a motorhome soon, but I do need a car also we have a Suzuki Ignes (885kg) that will go on the back.

When I made enquiries it is as was said, that is the car being towed is covered third party by motorhome insurance, i.e. if you took a corner too sharply and knocked a wall down with the car being towed the motorhome insurance would pay for the wall but not the damage to the car,
the damage to the car would be claimed on the cars own insurance, all you need to do is tell your car insurers you will be towing the car.
Our insurers were ok with this and the premium did not change.

 

[PaulR]

Thanks for that, Wesaaron
I'm onsite just now (still with the caravan) chatting with a guy who also pulls a car, he insured the car and motorhome with the same company again without issues.

 

[Okta]

The third party risks are covered but I have my doubts that either car or motorhome insurer would pay for damage to the toad. I just live with the possible risk and don’t tow something too valuable.

 

[wildebus]

When I made enquiries it is as was said, that is the car being towed is covered third party by motorhome insurance, i.e. if you took a corner too sharply and knocked a wall down with the car being towed the motorhome insurance would pay for the wall but not the damage to the car,
the damage to the car would be claimed on the cars own insurance, all you need to do is tell your car insurers you will be towing the car.
Our insurers were ok with this and the premium did not change.

What I am going to say is for a difference scenario but it illustrates how insurance can be strange to work out ....
I used to have a business policy that covered my vehicles, workshop and contents.
One day my workshop got broken into, and various things were stolen, including my car which was parked inside the workshop at the time.
The insurer - AXA - paid out for all the losses without any issues (excellent company), but because the car was parked INSIDE the workshop, they paid for the car loss not with the car section of the policy but with the contents section - made no difference to the payout but come the next year, I got another years no claim discount recorded when it came to renewal time. ( I didn't expect it and thought it was a mistake but they confirmed it was correct).