I think insurance covers offroading, right?

I have done some research, and even called my insurance company, but im still unsure. From what i understand it seems like as long as im not racing in it, trespassing, doing something illegal, etc, it should be covered. does anyone have any experience with filing a claim after an offroad incident?

i had to get winched for the first time this weekend after getting stuck in some really nsaty mud. the kind folks that helped us mentioned needing a separate policy for offroading and it got me wondering and wanting to verify.

Well depends on the road type. If its a public road, or classified as a road its 100% covered. Most policies will cover “trails” so things that you here in Michigan you need an ORV sticker on. The caveat is it has to be a “car trail”. Now things like ORV parks, and private land are gray area that you need to consult the exclusions on your policy just like a track day. Some policies cover Autocross for example, others don’t.

got it, i think i need to call progressive direct. the local office we went through didnt seem to know for sure either.

i would 100% just pay progressive some extra money to cover sammy without having to guess about it, ya know? like, just charge me for it up front and dont make me guess at it.

im not planning to do anything crazy, im still new, and terrified of breaking something at this point, so like, no jumps at silver lake or anything. but if i do something accidentally, im hoping im not paying out of pocket.

Well insurance likely regardless of type won’t cover you for any damage you cause unless you have what qualifies as an accident. Mostly it would cover if you hit a tree or someone else hits you (the last one in my mind is most important). It would be the same if you slid off the road and ran into a ditch. That’s covered, but if you ruin the car getting stuck and blow an axle or diff it isn’t.

I am pretty sure off-roading activities are not covered under a standard policy - this is why the Club is looking into options to cover members for Club events. Since driving through mud and water and driving up/down boulders, etc. aren’t general driving use, I’m sure your insurance exclusions would come into play with most every scenario and create an out-of-pocket experience for you.

Progressive in Michigan has a pretty wide policy the only exclusions which apply to “off road” would be these:

…sustained during practice or preparation for:
a.
any pre-arranged or organized racing, stunting, speed or demolition contest or activity; or
b.
any driving activity conducted on a permanent or temporary racetrack or race- course;

Where were you able to find that? I scoured through my docs just now wondering if i asked a dumb question that i missed in the manual…

also, it would be gnarly to get to be in a demolition derby. not in my bronco of course, but still.

It’s the Policy Contract it hasn’t been updated since 2019 so you have to go to Documents and select Policy Contracts from the drop down.

oh wow, that was really buried. i did find it though. the thing that concerns me in the text is that ORVs are not considered motor vehicles. i could see progressive making the argument that once you put an ORV sticker on it its not a motor vehicle. which i think wouldnt hold up in litigation. but if i wrecked the bronco and had the money for litigation i would probably have the money to fix it and not worry about it.

An ORV is actually a vehicle type (like a side by side). The Bronco is covered as its defined as a Road Vehicle. And ORV is not a Road Vehicle. That section actually is about what can be covered by the policy. So if the Bronco was an ORV it wouldn’t be covered at all even on the road!

ok. that makes sense. hopefully none of this is knowledge we ever actually need.:slight_smile:

So I am a licensed agent and have been working in insurance since I started in claims in the 90s. There is no blanket answer, you have to read your policy. In many cases what is not covered is towing if you are not on a road where street licensed vehicles can access the area. Think Holly Oaks off road park. Most tow truck operators won’t go into the park and it is not a road, street, highway etc. even that is often case by case and often not specifically detailed in the contract. In most cases losses would be covered for things like colliding with a rock or vehicle. I have seen policies that exclude off road use, but typically you will get the restrictions on timed or speed events, racing or illegal acts. Bottom line, read your policy and look for conditions and exclusions. Put those together and you can get a pretty good idea if you are covered.

I read the entire Progressive policy.

Yea, to your point, the roadside assistance section has MUCH more restrictions. The liability coverage has some too. If an ORV hits you not on a public road, and you are at fault the policy doesn’t cover your liability.

In terms of getting your rig fixed assuming you can get it out of there and to a shop the terms are actually quite favorable.

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Honestly, this all sounds more promising than i thought it may be. Now I just to make sure anywhere i go wheeling i have the number of an offroad wrecker service, just in case.

Thanks for all of the input yall. this is a good thread. super informative.

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It’s funny, I think the information and topics on the forum are much more interesting than “who bucked who” on Facebook, but we all have our own ways to “Bronco” :wink: