Hauling other peoples mini`s

[punky]

Hi, I was wondering that when you are hauling someone else horses, you get get into accident, what would happen if something goes wrong with the horses you are hauling? Because i`m getting a trailer, and my insurance guy says that the insurance doesn`t cover any living thing i`m hauling in it. But it would cover liked damage to the trailer or other property damage. So my question is how and where do you get the extra coverage in case something would happen?

I just would like to make sure i`m covered so that someone wouldn`t be able to sue me and me loose everything i`ve worked to get so far. I am not saying that this would happen, but how to protect your self though?

Anyone every worry about this when hauling other minis for people?

Thanks,

Tina

 

[kaykay]

after what laura tennill went thru we called our ins agent and had a long talk about trailers lol.

The best way to know you wont get sued? Dont haul anyones horses but your own

Heres what we were told on trailer insurance

if the trailer is hooked to our personal truck it is covered. If it is hooked to someone elses truck its come under their insurance. But even hooked to our own personal truck its not 100 percent coverage.

So we added an addittional policy so that my trailer is covered 100 percent no matter who drives it. This also includes theft insurance which was additional.

Now my trailer is just a miniature horse trailer that hauls 7. Nothing fancy. But it is brand new. So it cost me 50.00 per year to add the addittional ins which i thinik is worth it

To cover horses you have to buy ins policies on the horses. Most of our show horses are insured.

 

[Minimor]

It's my understanding that in order to have insurance coverage for horses which are being hauled by you but are owned by other people you would have to have commercial insurance. Otherwise you must make sure that the owner is insured by the owner for loss during transport.

I have basic loss on all my horses--fire, theft, lightning, predator--but I do not pay the "show horse" premium, which means that if I am hauling or at a show and something happens to them, they are not covered. If a friend was hauling one for me and there was an accident, I would be out of luck.

I know more & more people who won't haul horses for other people, friends or not, just because of a concern that if anything were to go wrong and the horse was killed or injuring during transport, the owner would sue them.

One friend of mine looked into it, and learned that the rules are somewhat different. It's okay for her to haul horses for other people if she is hauling her own horses and just filling in with extra horses on the trip--that is, it's okay for her to haul them without having any extra paperwork/licenses, I'm not sure that she could get any sort of extra insurance for this--but if she were to be hauling only other people's horses, none of her own, she would have to be registered as a commercial hauler. Something to check out if you are planning to hire out as a hauler for your friends.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

The second you charge even a penny (even accepting gas money) for shipping a horse, you become commercial and your insurance drops you like third period french. Your auto insurance might not cover you as well, since most exclude any and all commercial activities.

There are only three types of insurance that WILL cover you.

First is Farm insurance policies. They will cover incidental hauling, ie one of your clients to your farm for training, to a show, etc. They are NOT intended for routine hauling, and frown heavily on trailering for the sake of trailering. They are designed to protect you from normal hauling you do in the normal business you do, with trailering not the primary job. ie you can't just go pick up a horse, move it from one barn to another, and never see that horse again. That animal was only seen for transport, and not a regular client.

Second is commercial cargo insurance. This is what most people SHOULD have, but don't. Its not that expensive, IF you can find someone that offers it. I think when I looked two "slots" (they insure based on trailer capacity) for $7500 per slot was $1000 or so a year. Add commercial liability and that should take care of you.

Third is horse transport insurance, offered by orginizations like the National Horse Transport Association. You have to be a member to get their insurance, and to be a member you have to be voted on and nominated by a current member. So how you get in I don't know.

You also need DOT registration, commercial licensing (in NH that ment having a "Driver Medical Card" and basic safety equipment, but no special CDL unless the trailer weighed over 10,000lbs GVW), special markings, etc. DOT numbers are cheap, as are the rest of the paperwork, but its still something you have to do and register for. I think the total ran around $100.

 

[punky]

Thanks for all your reply`s, I wouldn`t be hauling commerical, just to a few horse shows locally, but never know when someone might need a lift to or from, so that is why i wanted to know more options there was. I checked with my insurance and the only thing it would over is my trailer.

I will check into some others that you have told me about.

Thanks,

Tina

 

[Cathy_H]

We recently bought a 4 horse trailer with LQ & insured it. One of the first questions they asked is if we will be hauling horses for money. We don't so that did not affect us. The insurance does not cover our horses or other peoples horses either.

 

[Sue_C.]

Our Nova Scotia Equestrian Federation, (NSEF) membership gives us several bonuses. One is a 5 million dollar PL&PD, and a $10,000 Insurance coverage for anyone else's horses I haul. (but it won't cover my own) This is for "my pleasure use" only, not a commersial Insurance, so I do not charge, but allow the other horse's owner to chip in for gas and expenses.

Check out your ADS, or your State's, Equestrian Federation...perhaps there is a similar membership.

 

[Nathan Luszcz]

I do have a liability release on my website that may be useful... just remember, if you accept money, you are liable