My industry is the only industry that charge you back when they loose money to offset their loss, and get away with it!

A personal automobile policy has a load charge for accidents and violations ranging from 20 – 40 %. This charge can be applied for up to 3 years.  Many times if the accident is a small fender bender the charge back can cost more than the insurance company paid out in your behalf.

Commercial auto is a little different. There is no charge back for accidents or violations. There is no charge for youthful operators of your household that drive your vehicles and work on the farm. Don’t get me wrong; the carrier does review motor vehicle reports. You could get debited or credited based upon your claim activity and motor vehicle violations, or have a driver excluded from your policy until their motor vehicle activity improves.

For the most part I recommend considering the farm commercial auto route for those of you wishing to insure your pick up and horse trailers. In fact some personal auto carriers will not insure your horse trailer on a personal auto policy. (Yes, you do need to insure your horse trailer.) I am not sure who

started the rumor that horse trailers are automatically covered once attached behind your pick up but they are not! They have to be added just like any other vehicle for liability and physical damage.

Trucks are rated based upon the GVW ( Gross Vehicle Weight), their use, what they haul and the radius they normally operate within. Vehicles over 10,001 GVW (must be put on a commercial auto policy) that are used in the farming business and can not go on a personal policy. Commercial vehicles are rated light, medium, heavy and extra heavy. Normally limits of liability can be obtained much higher on a commercial auto policy vs. a personal auto policy; commercial auto going to one million. By having a horse farm and hauling horses you also receive a .50 cent discount in the rating of the vehicle. You don’t need to have farm tags to get this discount.

Farm tags vary from state to state. Some states will not let you get a farm tag if you are just hauling horses to horse shows. Other states have a farm tag or permit for unlicensed farm vehicles. These vehicles are normally that old pick up or dump truck that you use around the farm for moving manure or picking up shavings. Their original purpose was for farmers to move their crops from field to field, but that has broadened over the years. There is normally a mileage restriction and you can not drive it at night, since the vehicle is not subject to inspection. These types of vehicles can be added to your farm owners policy at no charge or a very nominal fee. Check with your agent on this since it varies from state to state, company to company.

There is a draw back if you are a no fault or first party benefit state. Commercial trucks are not normally a part of this program. You’ll have to accept to just having limited medical coverages with no loss of wages or accidental death. Or, you may be subject to only limited medical and loss of wages depending on your state. You could pick this up under your personal auto policy if you had a private passenger vehicle in addition to a farm truck. Or this could be covered on a commercial policy that has a scheduled private passenger vehicle with the proper endorsements. (A whole different subject which I may get into at a later time.)

I mentioned previously rating based on the normal radius of operation. This means what you normally drive. It doesn’t mean if you go to Florida once a year or drive over 250 miles occasionally you do not have to be rated that way. (This also means, if you are rated local and drive out of the radius, you remain covered.)

Once again check with your agent to discuss your particular situation and how it best fits your needs economically, as well as coverage wise.

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