Summary: Under current personal auto rules and forms, privately owned snowmobiles may be insured for liability, medical payments, uninsured motorists, and physical damage coverages by endorsement to the personal auto policy. From the standpoint of coverage, this method of insuring snowmobiles is in many ways preferable to insuring snowmobiles by a homeowners policy endorsement. Among the advantages of the personal auto endorsement are that it 1) provides uninsured motorists and physical damage coverages (not available under homeowners endorsement HO 24 64 03 22) if desired; 2) does not exclude a snowmobile which is subject to motor vehicle registration; and 3) includes the named insured or any family member under medical payments coverage, unlike the homeowners endorsement, which only provides liability coverage. For more information on the homeowners endorsement, see Standard Homeowners Endorsements.

Topics covered:

Snowmobile endorsement

Definitions

Liability Coverage

Exclusions, Other Insurance

Rating

Snowmobile Endorsement

The snowmobile endorsement to the personal auto policy is like the miscellaneous type vehicle endorsement discussed elsewhere in this section. It has a schedule of vehicles, premiums, and limits of liability, and consists of provisions that alter the personal auto policy to make it suitable for insuring snowmobiles. These pages describe the snowmobile endorsement's (PP 03 20) alterations of the personal auto policy.

Definitions

"Snowmobile" is defined as a land motor vehicle designed for use mainly off public roads on snow or ice, and propelled solely by wheels, crawler-type treads, or belts. The endorsement specifies that a vehicle powered by airplane type propellers or fans (an ice boat, for example) is not a snowmobile. The definition does, however, include a trailer designed for being towed by a snowmobile. In contrast, a trailer used for transporting a snowmobile is not included in the definition. The term "snowmobile," as defined, replaces the terms "auto," "motor vehicle," and "vehicle" in all parts of the personal auto policy, except for uninsured motorists coverage. There, the term "uninsured motor vehicle" is expanded to include a snowmobile, even though other vehicles operated on rails or crawler-treads are specifically stated not to be uninsured motor vehicles.