Cash Traylor
Well-Known Member
Greetings, any folks with towing and insurance experience in the US?
I agree with @Landshark , however I wanted to ask from a different perspective. Even if someone was convinced the car can do it, and the hitch was engineered for the required loads, and one was experienced enough to tow correctly - can you legally do it? If legal, are your insurable?
I have scanned through this thread and am not going to weigh in on any of the mechanical issues/limitations. I have one question for anyone that has modded a vehicle (not just the Clarity) for towing that was not OEM intended for towing (not an option from the factory or dealer) and lives in the USA. I am planning to install the Clarity hitch for carrying a bike rack. However, I called my insurance agent, who actually checked with the underwriter to confirm and called me back. I cannot purchase an insurance rider for a trailer or a towed item for my car policy. If I was in an accident, I would be covered up to my liability limit as far as an injured party. However, at least in Texas with the way the highway code is written, if you are doing something unauthorized by vehicle rating and are in an accident that has a proximate cause related to that unauthorized activity (ticket-able) you will be assigned fault. Now, the police do not assign insurance fault - but the insurance company will take your factors from the report and weight it that way. I am not talking about a minor accident, I am thinking the towed item breaks free from the hitch or similar. So, what I was told is that although others parties would be covered for damages, I would be out, as the claim would be denied as a limit of the policy. That denial could end me up in court if the other party sued, and I would be hard pressed to prove I was not acting with "negligence" and maybe worse "gross negligence."
Anyone ever have to deal with this, ask their agent, or similar? Seems I would be on my own if I was pulling a trailer and lost control or had a failure that resulted in an accident that would likely have not occurred if the trailer was not present.
Based on the above, I am obviously not going to tow anything with my Clarity. May be a limit of my underwriter, as we have no problem with that insurance coverage on my wife's Toyota 4 Runner.
Curious,
Cash
I agree with @Landshark , however I wanted to ask from a different perspective. Even if someone was convinced the car can do it, and the hitch was engineered for the required loads, and one was experienced enough to tow correctly - can you legally do it? If legal, are your insurable?
I have scanned through this thread and am not going to weigh in on any of the mechanical issues/limitations. I have one question for anyone that has modded a vehicle (not just the Clarity) for towing that was not OEM intended for towing (not an option from the factory or dealer) and lives in the USA. I am planning to install the Clarity hitch for carrying a bike rack. However, I called my insurance agent, who actually checked with the underwriter to confirm and called me back. I cannot purchase an insurance rider for a trailer or a towed item for my car policy. If I was in an accident, I would be covered up to my liability limit as far as an injured party. However, at least in Texas with the way the highway code is written, if you are doing something unauthorized by vehicle rating and are in an accident that has a proximate cause related to that unauthorized activity (ticket-able) you will be assigned fault. Now, the police do not assign insurance fault - but the insurance company will take your factors from the report and weight it that way. I am not talking about a minor accident, I am thinking the towed item breaks free from the hitch or similar. So, what I was told is that although others parties would be covered for damages, I would be out, as the claim would be denied as a limit of the policy. That denial could end me up in court if the other party sued, and I would be hard pressed to prove I was not acting with "negligence" and maybe worse "gross negligence."
Anyone ever have to deal with this, ask their agent, or similar? Seems I would be on my own if I was pulling a trailer and lost control or had a failure that resulted in an accident that would likely have not occurred if the trailer was not present.
Based on the above, I am obviously not going to tow anything with my Clarity. May be a limit of my underwriter, as we have no problem with that insurance coverage on my wife's Toyota 4 Runner.
Curious,
Cash
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