The tow truck itself
Damage to the vehicle, tilt deck, winch and recovery equipment.
Tow Truck Insurance
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Tow Truck Insurance
Cover for tilt tray and towing operators carrying other people's vehicles.
Towing carries an exposure most transport work does not: the vehicle on your deck belongs to someone else, and standard motor cover generally will not respond to damage to it. That single point is usually where a towing conversation starts.
What is it?
Tow trucks range from single-car tilt trays through to multi-vehicle carriers and heavy recovery units. Operators may run accident towing, trade and dealer movements, roadside assistance contracts or heavy salvage, and each attracts different insurer appetite and licensing requirements by state.
What does tow truck insurance cover?
Vehicles in your custody
Damage to customer vehicles being towed, carried or stored, which sits outside standard liability wording.
Liability during recovery
Third-party injury or damage arising during a recovery, including on roadside and at accident scenes.
What affects the cost?
- Type of towing - accident, trade, roadside or heavy recovery
- Whether vehicles are stored on your premises
- Number of vehicles carried at once
- Operating hours, including night and highway work
- Driver licensing and experience
Worth raising on the call
- Damage to the towed vehicle is the exposure to confirm first, and it is not automatic.
- If you store vehicles, storage is usually addressed separately from towing.
- Accident towing and holding-yard work often carry conditions worth reading.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Customer vehicle damaged during loading
A car is winched onto the deck with the transmission locked or the ride height misjudged, and the front bar, sills or underbody are torn. Because the damage is to a vehicle in your custody rather than to your truck, it usually falls outside the motor section entirely.
Break-in at the holding yard
Accident-damaged vehicles awaiting assessment are broken into overnight and wheels, airbags or stereos are taken. Owners and their insurers commonly look to the operator holding the vehicles, which is why storage is usually treated as its own exposure.
Struck while recovering on a highway shoulder
During a night recovery on a highway shoulder a passing vehicle clips the truck or the operator working beside it. Vehicle damage is the smaller part; the injury claim and the road authority's costs are typically what makes it serious.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming whether cover for vehicles in your care extends to the time they sit in your yard or storage compound, not only while they are on the deck or under tow.
- Worth confirming whether condition reports or photographs at pick-up are expected by the wording, since pre-existing damage disputes are a common reason a claim stalls.
- Worth confirming whether difficult recoveries, such as vehicles retrieved from water, an embankment or a fire scene, are treated on the same terms as ordinary towing.
Common questions
Does my tow truck policy cover the car I am towing?
Not automatically. Standard motor cover generally responds to your own vehicle, and standard public liability commonly excludes property in your care, custody and control, which is exactly what a towed vehicle is. Cover for vehicles you carry, tow or store is normally arranged as a specific extension with its own limit, subject to the policy terms.
Is accident towing insured differently to trade or dealer towing?
Generally yes. Accident towing, roadside contract work and heavy recovery attract different insurer appetite to moving dealer stock between yards, because the hours, the locations and the vehicle values differ. Tow truck licensing and accreditation rules also vary between states, and insurers often make those a condition of cover.
Do I need separate cover if I store vehicles at my premises?
Usually the storage exposure is addressed separately from the towing exposure, with its own limit for the total value of vehicles on site at any one time. Insurers commonly ask about fencing, lighting, cameras and how many vehicles are held. It is worth basing the limit on your busiest week rather than a typical one.
What does tow truck insurance cost?
It varies too much to quote a figure. The usual drivers are the type of towing, the number and value of vehicles carried at once, whether you store vehicles, operating hours including night and highway work, driver licensing and experience, the excess and your claims history. Accident towing generally prices differently to trade movements.
General information only. Cover, limits and exclusions depend on the PDS, TMD, eligibility, underwriting and the policy terms. See truck insurance for the wider picture.
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