You finally decided to take your backyard BBQ skills on the road. You bought a massive, $15,000 custom-built offset smoker mounted on a dual-axle trailer. You hitch it to your truck and head two states over to compete in a regional BBQ competition with a $10,000 prize pool.
While driving down the highway, the trailer hitch fails. The 3,000-pound smoker detaches, veers into the next lane, and totals a Toyota Camry before rolling into a ditch and sparking a massive brush fire. You are facing a destroyed $15,000 rig, a totaled car, and the state fire department billing you for the brush fire. You frantically call your personal auto and homeowners insurance to save you.
The Brutal Truth: Why Standard Policies Deny This Claim
You are caught in a massive liability gap between auto, home, and commercial insurance.
First, your Personal Auto Policy generally extends liability to a towed trailer, meaning it might pay for the Camry. But it will absolutely not pay to replace your $15,000 custom smoker unless you explicitly added physical damage coverage for the trailer itself.
The catastrophic denial, however, comes from the Business Pursuits Exclusion. The moment you mention you were traveling to a competition to win a $10,000 prize pool, the insurance adjuster will reclassify your hobby as a commercial enterprise. Because you were operating commercial equipment in pursuit of profit, your personal auto liability and your homeowners liability will void the coverage entirely. You are personally on the hook for the Camry and the brush fire.
How to Actually Protect Yourself (The Fix)
If you are competing for cash, your backyard hobby is a mobile business. You must insure the rig commercially.
- Buy a Commercial Auto Policy: If you are towing a massive rig to paid competitions or catering gigs, you must upgrade your truck’s insurance to a Commercial Auto policy. This ensures liability coverage remains intact even when business is being conducted.
- Insure the Smoker via Inland Marine: A standard auto policy doesn’t know how to value a custom offset smoker. You need an Equipment Floater (Inland Marine) policy to cover the physical replacement cost of the rig against collision, theft, or fire.
- Secure Commercial General Liability (CGL): If your smoker sparks a fire at the competition venue, or if someone gets food poisoning from your brisket, your homeowners policy won’t help. A CGL policy protects you from third-party bodily injury and property damage at events.
The Claims Adjuster’s Secret
We know how to spot a “hobbyist” who is actually running an illegal catering business. During the investigation of the highway crash, the adjuster will search your name on Facebook and Instagram. If we find a business page offering “Brisket Catering for Weddings” or posts bragging about your competition winnings, we have concrete proof of commercial intent, giving us airtight grounds to deny the personal claim.
The Verdict (TL;DR)
The Risk Level: Extremely High (Towing heavy, fire-prone equipment for profit creates massive liability). The Solution: Purchase a Commercial Auto policy for the truck and an Equipment Floater for the smoker. Estimated Cost: $500 to $1,500+ annually for commercial coverage.
Don’t let a sheared trailer pin ruin your life; if you cook for cash, buy commercial insurance.