You’ve spent $80,000 on a built drag car and another $25,000 on an enclosed trailer to haul it safely. You tow it 300 miles to an event, and somewhere on the interstate a tyre blows out and the trailer jackknifes. The trailer is totalled. The car inside is damaged.

You call your insurance company and discover that your tow vehicle’s policy covers liability for the trailer while it’s being towed — but provides zero physical damage coverage for the trailer itself, and nothing for the car inside. You’re looking at a $105,000 uninsured loss.

This is one of the most common and most expensive gaps in drag racer insurance coverage. Here’s what you need to know.

What Your Tow Vehicle Policy Actually Covers

When you tow a trailer with an insured vehicle, your auto policy’s liability coverage extends to the trailer — but only for liability. If your trailer causes damage to another vehicle or property, your tow vehicle’s liability insurance responds.

What it does not cover:

• Physical damage to the trailer itself (collision or comprehensive)
• The race car or other contents inside the trailer
• The trailer when it’s unhitched and parked at an event, at storage, or in your driveway
• Tools, spare parts, fuel cans, and equipment stored in the trailer

Some auto policies extend collision and comprehensive to a trailer — but this is relatively rare and usually only applies to utility trailers below a certain value threshold. Race car trailers almost never qualify.

Three Coverage Types You Need

1. Physical Damage to the Trailer

This covers collision damage (accident while towing), rollover, fire, theft, vandalism, and weather damage to the trailer structure itself. Coverage is based on the stated or agreed value of the trailer. For an enclosed trailer, this is your most important coverage.

2. Liability While Towing

In most cases this is already provided by your tow vehicle’s auto policy. However, if your tow vehicle’s limits are low, a serious accident with a loaded race trailer — which can weigh 15,000–30,000 lbs — could exhaust those limits quickly. Consider umbrella coverage if your tow vehicle limits are under $300K/$500K.

3. Contents Coverage

This covers items stored inside the trailer: tools, spare parts, tyres, fuel equipment, safety gear. This is not the same as coverage for the race car itself — the car requires its own policy. Contents coverage typically has sub-limits (e.g. $5,000–$15,000) and may require a separate rider for high-value items.

Does the Race Car Inside Need Its Own Policy?

Yes — always. The race car is a separate insured item from the trailer. A trailer insurance policy covers the trailer structure and its general contents, not a specifically-described vehicle stored inside. Your race car needs a specialist modified car or race car insurance policy with an agreed value, and that policy should extend to cover the car while in transit and while at a track event.

Some specialist insurers — including Traction Insurance and Hagerty — offer policies that cover the race car during transit and at the track. This is distinct from trailer insurance and covers the car itself.

When Does Trailer Insurance Apply?

A standalone trailer policy covers the trailer:

• While being towed on public roads
• While parked at home, in storage, or at a track facility
• During loading and unloading (some policies)
• If stolen from your property or a truck stop

Coverage gaps to watch for: some policies exclude theft while at a track event unless you have a specific event endorsement. Check whether your policy covers the trailer at the strip between rounds.

How Much Does Race Trailer Insurance Cost?

Premium is driven primarily by trailer value. Rough benchmarks:

• Open trailer, $5,000 value: $80–$150/year
• Enclosed trailer, $15,000 value: $200–$350/year
• Enclosed trailer, $30,000 value: $350–$600/year
• Custom enclosed with living quarters, $60,000+: $600–$1,200/year

Adding contents coverage increases premium by 10–25% depending on the declared contents value.