Insurance question concerning fire damaged trailer

dheinz · 10-01-2007, 06:49 PM

OK. Here we go again.

I park my 20 ft enclosed trailer on a friend's commercial lot for no cost. Right beside me another mutual friend parks his 18 wheeler at no cost.

Tonight I received a call that the 18 wheeler was on fire and I should get there pronto. By the time I arrived, the apparent intense fire had been brought under control with the cab being a complete meltdown. My trailer was less than two feet away and the left side outside alumimun panels by the side door melted off exposing the wooden inside sheeting. The side roof melted completely thru a hole about 6 x18 inches.
The fire department had cut the locks off the trailer to make sure there wasn't anything that would explode inside. They found my 911 with water and ash on it from the melted hole in the roof of the trailer.

I pulled the 911 out of the trailer and it did not seem to suffer any real damage other than water and ash. The 911 was put in the lot owners garaage for the night. We will take a better look at it in the morning. Photos should be available soon.

The police gave me some kind of an incident report and told me to call my insurance company. I asked why my insurance company was needed and the reply was " to force the 18 wheeler owner's insurance company to pay for the damages to the trailer".

This brings me to this point. I never had a separate insurance policy for the trailer. Do I need one? By the way, I bought the Haulmark trailer new in 2002. It has less than a thousand miles on it.

I have a commercial policy on my business truck and a separate company and policy for my private vehicles.

Any thoughts or comments will be appreciated.

Dueller · 07:19 PM

Depends on the policies...generally speaking a trailer is only insured on your auto policy when it is attached to the tow vehicle unless you took out a separate rider. If the trailer is listed as part of your commercial property it may be covered but it doesn't sound like that's the case. Your homeowner's insurance likely doesn't cover it unless it was parked at your home.

You may have a bailment relationship with the owner of the lot, but since it was for your benefit rather than his, he's only liable for gross negligence or mis-delivery, if that.

From the limited facts it sounds like you may be SOL when it comes to any insurance coverage of your own.

But all is not lost. Look on the accident report and determine if the insurer for the truck owner is listed. I would contact them directly to see if they have coverage for your casualty loss.

The laW varies from state to state. I'm not licensed in your jurisdiction.

Good luck.

Joeaksa · 10-01-2007, 08:00 PM

Hope that the truck's insurance pays for the damage.

dheinz · 10-02-2007, 05:03 AM

Photos as promised...

The 911 is in the garage in the background. The lot owner had not arrived to open the garage.

dheinz · 10-02-2007, 05:16 AM

More Photos of the carnage...

I have known the tractor owner for thirty years. He has three semis and has insurance with an independent owner/operator firm in Missouri and sys he has never filed a claim in the 12 years he has been with them.

Now we will see how well they handle this claim.

Dueller, Thanks for your response. It was very helpful.