Dubbya

This is tough to say, but I feel the driver is responsible. If I were in the group, I may pitch... maybe. I wasn't there for the occurrence so I can't say for sure. It's kind of like something that happened to me a couple of years ago.

We had 10 people in 2 SUV's to go to Florida for Spring Break. On the way back 2 drivers (not myselft) got pulled over and were issued speeding tickets. The drivers wanted everyone to pitch in for the ticket. I refused, saying that they are the only person controlling the speed and that I didn't get a speeding ticket because I chose not to speed and that was my decision.

I'm sorry for your unfortunate accident and good luck figuring it out.

kevin1

The driver is solely responsible unless your group agreed in writing to share ALL costs with reservation .

Straightarrow

The driver should check his homeowner's insurance policy. Many will cover damage on borrowed items. I once lent a beat up carpet cleaner to a friend who was an insurance agent. It died while he was using it, and his homeowner's policy bought me a new one (to my pleasant surprise). It may even pay to have everyone in the group check their homeowner's policy. It may be that one has such coverage.

Deleted User

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Greg / MO

So you guys decided anything yet, Black Frog?

c j

I'm a claims adjuster for a property/casualty insurance company.

There seems to be some varying opinions on whether or not the trailer is 'covered' or not. Well, 'covered' is a relative term. Covered for liability? Covered for collision damage?Unfortunately, it's not a quick yes/no answer, but hopefullyI can maybe clear up a few things:

[ul][*]Legally, only the driver has ANY responsiblility. Nobody else's insurance (whether auto or homeowners) will have anything whatsoever to do with the trailer. (Even in the scenario of Driver hitting a construction worker; passengers are not liable)[*]Morally and ethically, though? Tough call. Yes, it was Driver's fault, no doubt, but as someone said, everyone benefitted from the trailer. That being said, I would tend to bristle at Driver telling me Ihave to kick in 1/6. You don't HAVE to do anything of the sort. I would be inclined to chip in, though, unless Driver was being a jerk about it.[/ul]
As for the insurance policies:

[ul][*]Driver's homeowners insuranceWILL NOT cover damage to the trailer. If driver has homeowners insurance, it would likely cover a trailer he owns (but doesn't insure under a separate auto policy) up to $1000. But only for certain perils. (e.g. fire, theft, vandalism) This type of situation wouldn't be a covered peril.--- Also; Driver's homeowners policy woulddeny liability coverage to the borrowed trailer because it was in Driver's care, custody, and control.[*]Driver's auto insurance would definitely provide liability coveragefor thetrailer (actually, ANY trailer, owned or not)attached to Driver's vehicle. But that only extends to property the TRAILER should happen to damage. (i.e. if the trailer comes unhitched and hits an oncoming vehicle, Driver's auto insurance pays for theoncoming vehicle under the liability coverage. But NOT the damage to the trailer itself. Liability would exclude damage TO the trailer, due to the care, custody & control issue.)[*]If Driver has 'full coverage' (i.e. Collision, Comprehensive, Rental, etc.) his auto policy would provide nominal Collision coverage to a non-owned (borrowed) trailer attached to his vehicle. Usually this is only $500 or so, though. Definitely not enough to really help. [*]If you have a nice trailer, it needs to be covered separately on your policy if you want any money for it in the event it gets damaged. [/ul]