"Off-Road" Auto Insurance?

[C.Sco]

There's a huge misunderstanding here though. Most of the west, where there are thousands upon thousands of miles of trails, off roading is illegal. Nearly every publicly accessible off road trail is in fact a forest road, county road, or fire road. You aren't off roading at all if you stay on the trail. Your policy doesn't specify paved road. The rubicon trail for instance is still a country "road". Even if you roll your Jeep off a mountain on the side of a forest road you're covered just the same as if you roll off the side of a highway, an overpass, etc. It's accident insurance and it covers accidents even if they involve you leaving the road unintentionally. If you're an asshole cutting new trails illegally, well you deserve your totaled and Un insured situation.

This is great information, thank you. And it makes a lot of sense. Indeed, ALL of the "off-road" driving I do is really done on official forest service roads, county roads, etc.

Hell, the Rubicon Trail is even patrolled by the sheriff department the same as any other road (albeit, not with a normal patrol vehicle haha)

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[Deleted User 38384]

...off-road policy? ...

Here's your off-road policy:

Don't attempt anything that you don't think you're capable of doing it as a driver, nor you think your vehicle is capable of achieving without breaking something.

 

[Zandcwhite]

Here's your off-road policy:

Don't attempt anything that you don't think you're capable of doing it as a driver, nor you think your vehicle is capable of achieving without breaking something.

Sometimes you overestimate what you're capable of as a driver, or what your vehicle is capable of without breaking something though.

 

[Deleted User 38384]

Sometimes you overestimate what you're capable of as a driver, or what your vehicle is capable of without breaking something though.

I agree, I actually like your answer the most. I learned something new. I was just making jokes.

 

[Mocopo]

There's a huge misunderstanding here though. Most of the west, where there are thousands upon thousands of miles of trails, off roading is illegal. Nearly every publicly accessible off road trail is in fact a forest road, county road, or fire road. You aren't off roading at all if you stay on the trail. Your policy doesn't specify paved road. The rubicon trail for instance is still a country "road". Even if you roll your Jeep off a mountain on the side of a forest road you're covered just the same as if you roll off the side of a highway, an overpass, etc. It's accident insurance and it covers accidents even if they involve you leaving the road unintentionally. If you're an asshole cutting new trails illegally, well you deserve your totaled and Un insured situation.

Just want to 2nd all of this, but also to mention it can differ by state. I talked with my insurance company, multiple different agents, to verify this, and they all said the same thing. "Off road" does not mean "off pavement." I was actually told that not just forest service roads, but any road that's on a map (and that includes any road on OnX hunt, which has almost every road and 2-track in the country). If you actually travel off road, meaning off trail, that's illegal in 99% of instances, and insurance might not have to payout if you were doing something illegal when the damage occurs. If you're on private property and damage the vehicle while wheeling around the property but not on actual roads, that's covered, as long as you had permission to be there, because it's not illegal to drive wherever you want on private property (this probably depends on the state).

 

[Ratbert]

There's a huge misunderstanding here though. Most of the west, where there are thousands upon thousands of miles of trails, off roading is illegal. Nearly every publicly accessible off road trail is in fact a forest road, county road, or fire road. You aren't off roading at all if you stay on the trail. Your policy doesn't specify paved road. The rubicon trail for instance is still a country "road". Even if you roll your Jeep off a mountain on the side of a forest road you're covered just the same as if you roll off the side of a highway, an overpass, etc. It's accident insurance and it covers accidents even if they involve you leaving the road unintentionally. If you're an asshole cutting new trails illegally, well you deserve your totaled and Un insured situation.

From a technical / legal / insurance perspective we're not off roading? That's so bizarre.

 

[Reinen]

There's a huge misunderstanding here though. Most of the west, where there are thousands upon thousands of miles of trails, off roading is illegal. Nearly every publicly accessible off road trail is in fact a forest road, county road, or fire road. You aren't off roading at all if you stay on the trail. Your policy doesn't specify paved road. The rubicon trail for instance is still a country "road". Even if you roll your Jeep off a mountain on the side of a forest road you're covered just the same as if you roll off the side of a highway, an overpass, etc. It's accident insurance and it covers accidents even if they involve you leaving the road unintentionally. If you're an asshole cutting new trails illegally, well you deserve your totaled and Un insured situation.

That said, out west the term "road" is used very broadly. It includes designated routes through rugged wilderness that don't resemble a "road" in any way, shape or form, other than someone else has taken that route before and put it on a map. Possibly months, years or decades before.

But as far as insurance is concerned as long as you're traveling on one of the squiggly lines on the map, you're covered regardless of how rough the terrain is. Just as much as the thicker (and paved) squiggly lines on the map.

 

[C.Sco]

I guess we all need to keep in mind that anything you report to insurance while "off-roading" is almost certainly going to be an at-fault claim. Aside from maybe the rare instance where someone's vehicle rolls off a cliff and lands on yours or something. But most of the time it's going to be a single-vehicle accident caused by something the driver did.

I'm not sure if the insurance company will buy our excuse that it wasn't our fault because the county did such a terrible job at maintaining the "road"

That said, if you totalled your $40k+ JL I don't think any of us would cry too much over a little insurance hike if it meant our wrecked jeep got paid for.

 

[Trails]

Here's your off-road policy:

Don't attempt anything that you don't think you're capable of doing it as a driver, nor you think your vehicle is capable of achieving without breaking something.

Nobody plans to have an accident, just like when you drive on the highway, .... but "stuff" happens. Someone recently posted about a total loss because of an engine fire. The reason for the fire is unknown. It was certainly not from abnormal use, exceeding the Jeeps ability, or exceeding personal abilities. That fire happened ON road. .... A paved road. It certainly can happen off road, no matter how "careful" you are to not exceed your abilities or your rig's abilities. Stuff happens. Period. Just want to make sure we are getting (or already have) adequate insurance.

Switching focus here a bit, as several have said, it looks like many of the "trails" (especially out west) are actually fire service roads or primitive county roads ..... so that is technically on-road use.
.DEPENDING ON YOUR PARTICULAR POLICY, it might not cover off-road use in OHV parks that are not "roads." Check your particular policy.

 

[Zandcwhite]

I guess we all need to keep in mind that anything you report to insurance while "off-roading" is almost certainly going to be an at-fault claim. Aside from maybe the rare instance where someone's vehicle rolls off a cliff and lands on yours or something. But most of the time it's going to be a single-vehicle accident caused by something the driver did.

I'm not sure if the insurance company will buy our excuse that it wasn't our fault because the county did such a terrible job at maintaining the "road"

That said, if you totalled your $40k+ JL I don't think any of us would cry too much over a little insurance hike if it meant our wrecked jeep got paid for.

As mentioned earlier, the stationary object/obstacle makes it your fault. If a tree or rock happens to fall on your vehicle it would be an act of nature. I'm guessing way more rare than driver error, but you could have a covered accident off road.

 

[Jeepeto]

Just want to 2nd all of this, but also to mention it can differ by state. I talked with my insurance company, multiple different agents, to verify this, and they all said the same thing. "Off road" does not mean "off pavement." I was actually told that not just forest service roads, but any road that's on a map (and that includes any road on OnX hunt, which has almost every road and 2-track in the country). If you actually travel off road, meaning off trail, that's illegal in 99% of instances, and insurance might not have to payout if you were doing something illegal when the damage occurs. If you're on private property and damage the vehicle while wheeling around the property but not on actual roads, that's covered, as long as you had permission to be there, because it's not illegal to drive wherever you want on private property (this probably depends on the state).

This was the answer I settled on when researching a couple years ago. It’s a huge grey area but the best I can tell if it’s a designated path you’re good, OHV parks seem to be a strange grey area within that as well so use your judgement there or do more research but for most of my travels things like Colorado and Utah trails seem to be covered from what I can tell

 

[NWJeepr]

Lots of misinformation here already.

1. Read your existing policy. If you have questions, email your insurer so you have a documented response. Have them reference policy whenever possible. That is the end-all, be-all document when you experience a loss. "My agent said-" or "I read" means absolutely nothing.

2. Previous experience with an accident while intentionally wheeling, and not on a marked road, proved to me that my insurer did provide full coverage. I'm not sure where folks get the impression they're not covered unless they're on a marked trail or named road or in/out of an OHV park. Sounds like BS, and in my experience, didn't matter.

If you're using your vehicle 100% off road as a toy, your insurer will become upset and probably drop you if you're filing collision claims often for trail damage. You probably don't have the right kind of insurance and if you're looking for specific insurance, call a power sports insurer (SxS, expensive dirt bikes, etc) and see what they'll do for a Jeep or if they can refer you to an insurer. A broker would be another option. Grundy was a company that would write policies (an example of needing extremely specific insurance) for house parties he would throw. Yes, they were that good.

Obviously, and read your policy exclusions, things like contests/competitions, time trials will be called out and excluded, usually as "racing" and that applies off-road as well. Don't enter your rig in King of the Hammers and expect to be covered.

 

[Zandcwhite]

This was the answer I settled on when researching a couple years ago. It’s a huge grey area but the best I can tell if it’s a designated path you’re good, OHV parks seem to be a strange grey area within that as well so use your judgement there or do more research but for most of my travels things like Colorado and Utah trails seem to be covered from what I can tell

Even off road parks should be covered, much like any other private property as long as you aren't in a competition and on a designated trail or obstacle from my research but this could vary state to state. The problem is people will ask their insurance company about "off roading" and they'll assume you are driving up the side of a mountain off trail cutting your own path. A with all things legal or insurance is semantics. "I was on a dirt road and hit a rock, rolled and totaled my vehicle".... covered. "I was off roading and hit a rock, rolled and totaled my vehicle"...maybe not covered. Both describe the exact same situation but one raises red flags and at least the possibility of denying a claim with the insurance company.

 

[Ratbert]

If you're using your vehicle 100% off road as a toy, your insurer will become upset and probably drop you if you're filing collision claims often for trail damage.

If you're filing collision claims often for any reason you're likely to be dropped.

 

[C.Sco]

If you're filing collision claims often for any reason you're likely to be dropped.

I sometimes worry my insurance will drop me because of my absurd amount of windshield claims. I have $50 deductible comprehensive, and in the last 4 years I've gotten 5 new windshields worth about $4000 in glass and labor. I'm scared that if/when I file my next windshield claim they'll finally decide they've had enough of me

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