Are you insured? It’s a question often asked of car and truck drivers, but what about your snowmobile? You’ve never even thought twice about sled insurance until a friend of yours mentioned how they got a great deal on their insurance. How much would you pay for snowmobile insurance?
The annual cost of snowmobile insurance varies based on your sled and your level of coverage, but the average is $80 to $100 a year on the lower end and $300 to $400 on the higher end.
If this will be your first time getting snowmobile insurance, then we suggest you keep reading. Ahead, we’ll discuss the companies that offer sled insurance, what’s part of your policy and what isn’t, as well as which factors influence insurance price.
Let’s get started!
Which Companies Offer Snowmobile Insurance and What Kind of Coverage Can You Get?
Your first order of business is selecting a snowmobile insurer. You don’t have to go as specialized as you might have thought. Many well-known insurance companies that you might already use to protect your home and auto can extend coverage to your sled as well.
Here’s an overview to get you started.
Allstate
Allstate is one such option you have. Their insurance includes comprehensive coverage, collision coverage, property damage liability, and bodily injury liability. Under Allstate’s comprehensive coverage, you’re protected for any damage that occurs to your snowmobile that’s unrelated to collisions. This includes theft, vandalism, and wind or flooding damage.
Their collision coverage kicks in after collisions with other snowmobilers as well as obstacles and objects. If you have to repair buildings or vehicles because you caused an accident, Allstate’s property damage liability insurance can help. Lastly, their bodily injury liability insurance pays for medical expenses if your snowmobile accident hurts someone else.
Progressive
You may already rely on Progressive for condo or renter’s insurance, home insurance, car insurance, and even boat insurance. Your snowmobile is also safe with Progressive. You can get $3,000 towards snowmobile upgrades that aren’t factory-installed under their insurance plan.
Financial help with medical payments in the event of an accident is also part of your insurance with Progressive, as is collision and comprehensive coverage. From incidents caused by weather, wild animals, or vandalism, you’re covered. Progressive’s uninsured motorist bodily injury and property damage safeguards you if you’re in an accident with someone who has no insurance.
Nationwide
With Nationwide’s snowmobile insurance, you also get uninsured motorist coverage. Their comprehensive plan protects against animal-involved accidents, weather, theft, and/or vandalism as well. You can also get liability insurance, collision protection up to $2,000, bodily injury liability insurance, and property damage liability insurance through Nationwide.
Their OEM endorsement plan is an add-on that gives you peace of mind if your snowmobile needs repairs. Nationwide’s add-on ensures your sled gets repaired with original manufacturer parts only or those that are fair market value.
Geico
If you already have Geico insurance, then it makes sense to bundle on their snowmobile insurance coverage. Their coverage is year-round according to their website. You can even boost the limits on your liability if needed.
Such coverage you get from Geico includes collision coverage, transport trailer coverage, after-market accessories and parts coverage, towed trailer coverage, and safety apparel coverage. They do restrict those in Washington, D.C., Texas, North Carolina, and Hawaii from getting snowmobile insurance, so you’ll need another option if you live in one of those states.
Esurance
Allstate’s branch insurance company Esurance is yet another choice for snowmobile insurance. They offer labor and towing coverage, medical payments coverage, comprehensive collision coverage (with a deductible of upwards of $1,000), bodily liability coverage, and property damage.
Foremost Financial Group
Although they don’t have the instant name recognition, Foremost Financial Group is still a viable choice for all your snowmobile insurance needs. You have lots of protections under Foremost, including other than collision coverage for vandalism, flood damage, theft, and fire. Collision coverage, liability coverage, and medical payments coverage all come standard.
With trailer coverage, you can protect a snowmobile trailer worth $7,500. Optional equipment coverage is for your extras, such as towable sleds up to $500. The safety apparel coverage extends $1,500 for clothing damage to gear like goggles and helmets.
Markel Specialty
If you’re still mulling over your options, consider Markel Specialty as well. They offer lots of deductible options on their comprehensive snowmobile insurance ranging from $500 to $2,000. Collision coverage is deductible at the same price range.
If you’re looking for accessory coverage, you’ve got it, with packages available for $500 on the low end and $30,000 for heavy-duty protection.
Sled Insure Agency
We also wanted to talk about Sled Insure Agency, a company known for its snowmobile insurance especially. You can choose between three types of insurance, collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, or liability insurance. The liability insurance provides $100,000 deductibles for property damage liability, $500,000 deductibles for accidents, and $250,000 deductibles for bodily injury.
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How Much Will You Pay for Snowmobile Insurance?
Should you decide one of those snowmobile insurance providers is the right fit for you, how much will you pay?
Many factors determine your monthly fees, so we’ll just stick to averages. Most snowmobile owners pay $180 a year for their insurance. If you do the math, that’s about $15 every month. Allstate says their insurance starts at $13 a month if you visit their website per the link above. That’s about in line with the average price then.
Of course, the average is not necessarily what you might pay. Some snowmobile insurance is costlier, between $300 and $500 a year. Why the huge price difference? Like we said, your insurance cost will come down to many factors, such as the following.
The Insurance Plan
If you want accessory insurance and trailer insurance on top of your comprehensive plan, you’re going to pay for that. To save money, you can request the minimum required coverage, but do be aware that you’re getting the least amount of protection. Broader insurance packages will cover more, but your monthly payment will also be higher.
The Deductibles
Higher deductibles tend to lower your insurance costs, but if you need to pay the deductible, your insurance company is going to expect the money sooner than later. Make sure that any deductible you agree to is within your price range.
The Type of Snowmobile You Drive
Is your snowmobile a secondhand used model that’s several years old? Is it a brand-new sled from a big-name brand? The new snowmobile will cost you more at the end of the day, but it does depend. Very old used snowmobiles may also be more costly to insure because of their breakdown potential.
How Much Experience You Have
Are you brand new to snowmobiling? You’re at a higher liability each time you hit the hills on your sled because of your inexperience. Thus, your insurance might be higher than your friend’s, who has three years of sledding experience under their belt.
How Old You Are
Since age and experience often go hand in hand, your younger age can work against you when it comes to getting inexpensive snowmobile insurance.
How Many Claims You Have
It’s always a good idea to try your best to avoid snowmobiling accidents, not only for yourself and your health, but for that of anyone else you meet on your sled. Plus, a history of accidents makes you riskier to insure, and that’s reflected in your higher monthly insurance costs.
Not quite happy with your insurance quote because of a combination of the above factors? The good news is you can always lower your insurance. Many of the insurance companies we discussed in the first section offer discounts as well as other ways to save money.
For instance, you might sign up and complete a snowmobile safety course. You can also possibly shave down your insurance costs by bundling, as we mentioned, such as motorcycle and snowmobile insurance, home and snowmobile insurance, or multiple snowmobiles insured under the same plan.
Is Snowmobile Insurance Mandatory?
A snowmobile itself isn’t cheap, often costing several thousand dollars when bought new. Keeping your sled in operational condition from year to year through maintenance can cost $200 to $600 annually. In other words, your snowmobile is already sucking up a lot of your money. Do you really need to pay for insurance on top of everything else?
If you live in one of several states in the US, then yes you do. In South Dakota, North Dakota, New York, Vermont, and Pennsylvania, snowmobile insurance is mandatory, not optional. Even if you don’t call any of those five states home, having snowmobile insurance is a much better idea than it’s not.
Imagine this scenario: you’re riding on your sled one day and minding your own business when someone slams into your snowmobile from behind. They don’t have insurance and neither do you. Who’s going to pay for the cost of repairing your snowmobile? That’d be you. If you caused any property damage with your sled from the impact of your collision, you’d have to pay for that as well.
Oh, and if you’re injured? Your medical bills are also completely on you to pay for, and these bills can be quite costly.
Here’s another scenario for you. You parked your snowmobile to go grab a bite to eat with friends and warm up some. When you come back to where you parked your sled an hour or two later, it’s gone. Someone must have stolen it.
You can call the police, but if the cops can’t track it down, that’s it. Your snowmobile is gone forever. At least with snowmobile insurance, you could potentially get some money towards the cost of a new sled.
You can see then how valuable snowmobile insurance is. It’s like a safety net you hopefully won’t have to use. If you ever must rely on your insurance though, you’ll be glad you have it.
Final Thoughts
Snowmobile insurance is optional unless you live in New York, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, or Pennsylvania. Even still, many of the major insurance brands you probably already use to protect your car and home offer protection on your sled as well.
Snowmobile insurance may cost you around $180 a year as an average, or roughly $15 a month. For as much as you might spend on a lunch out, you can protect your snowmobile, yourself, and other sledders if the worst happens. It’s worth doing!