crash course on insurance coverage for accidents

On a bright sunny day you are rounding a corner on the trail and hit a patch of ice, sliding off into the trees and tearing up your sled. After making sure YOU are OK you’ll think “is this covered by my insurance?”

While insurance isn’t the sexiest topic, it is important. So AmSnow spoke to Kevin Byrne from Allstate Insurance regarding some of the common questions that come up during a season.

Byrne recommends full coverage especially on new sleds. This protects the owner from added expenses if damage occurs to another party’s property or to that person.

A snowmobiler’s insurance rate will be determined mostly by credit score and geographical location. Riders closer to open water will have higher rates too. A typical rate is $13 a month, according to Byrne. For the best complete protection. He recommends an umbrella policy that combines auto, home and snowmobile insurance.
To answer the unlucky snowmobiler’s question above, yes the sled would be covered in the event of hitting a tree. Other covered incidents include theft, hail damage and hitting an animal. In most cases, if a sled sinks in a lake it will not be covered. Most policies say that open water riding is not covered, said Byrne.

However, the most common claim is collision. So watch for those sneaky trees out there!

In addition, when you tuck your sled in the garage for the summer, Allstate recommends continuing to insure because some types of damage may not be covered by homeowners insurance. In addition, if a rider cancels coverage in March and there is late season snowfall any rides at that time won’t be covered.