Being in quarantine has left many yearning for the outdoors. As a result, people are taking advantage of these warm summer months to hit the golf course or explore the wilderness. While these activities can be fun on their own, having the assistance of a sporting vehicle – such as a golf cart or ATV – can enhance the experience. However, if you’re thinking of investing in one of these machines, it’s important to first learn about the insurance to have for your recreational sporting vehicle.
Insurance to Protect Your Sporting Vehicle
ATVs, utility vehicles, and golf carts can be expensive investments and given their ability to travel off-road, they’re more susceptible to accidents. To protect your investment and ensure you’re covered from any lost property, it’s important to look into the following policies:
- Collision Insurance: With collision insurance, you’ll be able to cover the damages to your machine resulting from an accident – such as hitting a tree or colliding with another sporting vehicle. This policy is required for people financing or leasing their sporting vehicles.
- Comprehensive Insurance: This policy covers damages to your machine not caused by a collision, such as theft, vandalism, hitting an animal, and acts of nature.
- Accessory Coverage: This policy is beneficial if you’ve modified or added accessories to your sporting vehicle. This includes custom paint, seat covers, and other accessories. Oftentimes, you’ll receive limited accessory coverage when bundling collision and comprehensive insurance.
Many insurance providers create policies specifically for sporting vehicles, and some will even allow you to add a slow-traveling vehicle, such as a golf cart, to your homeowners insurance as an endorsement – though, the coverage is not extensive. It’s best to contact your independent insurance agent to find the best option for you.
Insurance to Cover Medical Expenses and Liability
It’s crucial you’re covered for any damages incurred yourself or done to others or their property. The policies to best protect you from medical expenses and liability include:
- Bodily Injury Liability Insurance: If you cause an accident that injures someone else, this will cover their medical expenses, pain, suffering, and lost income, as well as any legal fees for an ensuing lawsuit.
- Property Damage Liability Insurance: This policy covers the damages caused to another person’s property as a result of your accident.
- Medical Payments Insurance: As the name implies, this coverage will pay for you or your passenger’s medical expenses, including the ambulance, surgeries, and hospital stay.
- Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Insurance: If you are involved in an accident with another sporting vehicle and the other driver doesn’t have insurance or not enough to cover your expenses, this insurance will cover the remaining damages.
These policies are typically included in comprehensive auto insurance, but sporting vehicles are not typically covered by auto insurance. However, some insurance carriers will include these coverages under a separate policy geared toward the type of vehicle.
Despite the excitement a sporting vehicle brings, there comes with it a high level of risk. For this reason, it’s crucial you understand the insurance to have for your recreational sporting vehicle. At TJ Woods Insurance, we will be able to ensure you and your recreational vehicles are covered by pairing you with the right insurance policy. We can also determine whether you can cover these properties endorsements to your homeowners insurance or an umbrella policy. To learn more about keeping you and your vehicles protected, contact us today.
