If you own a golf cart, you may associate it with leisure activities — driving around the golf range, traveling around a gated or retirement community, or even just rolling around your property. Though golf carts aren’t made for speed, they’re still moving vehicles, which means they can still be damaged, and they can cause damage to property or even injure someone.
When Golf Cart Insurance Can Protect You
Let’s say you take your golf cart from the garage to the golf course that backs up to your house. You’re driving around and the grass is mildly slick from morning dew, which causes you to skid and run into another cart. Not only did you dent both carts, the passenger of the other cart fell out and broke his arm. If you don’t have golf cart insurance, you may be responsible for paying for the damage caused out of pocket.
Consider a situation in which you’re driving around a gated community in your golf cart on your way to visit a friend. A squirrel runs in front of your cart, and you swerve to miss it, causing you to jump the curb and hit a light post. The front of your cart is badly damaged, and you can’t drive it away from the scene. Without golf cart insurance, the damage may not be covered.
Finally, what if your golf cart is safely locked in your garage, but your teenager decides to take it for a spin while you’re at work. Before he even gets it out of the garage, he accidentally bumps his friend, knocking him to the ground. His friend needs stitches and has a sprained ankle and wrist. Without golf cart insurance, you may be responsible for paying the medical bills.
Who Provides Golf Cart Insurance?
In some cases, your homeowners insurance might cover your golf cart, though coverage may include driving around on your property only. You may want to check your homeowners policy or contact your home insurance company to find out if golf carts are covered by your policy. If so, make sure you understand what kind of coverage your golf cart has, as it may be limited.
Types of Golf Cart Insurance Coverage
With golf cart insurance, you can choose from a variety of coverages that offer extensive protection for your golf cart.
- Bodily Injury and Property Damage Liability – Protects your passengers as well as anyone you might injure who’s not riding in the golf cart by covering medical bills and other injury-related expenses, up to the limits that you choose.
- Comprehensive – Covers your golf cart if it’s damaged by circumstances other than a collision. For instance, if your house is flooded and your golf cart is submerged, damage to it is covered by Comprehensive coverage.
- Collision – Covers your golf cart if it’s damaged in a collision with another vehicle or object. In all of the examples given at the beginning of this article, Collision coverage would pay for the damage to your golf cart.
- Medical Payments – Pays for specific medical bills or expenses for you or anyone in your golf cart or household who’s hurt in a covered accident.
- Transport Trailer – Covers damage to the nonmotorized trailer used to transport your golf cart.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury – Covers you if someone else is at fault for an accident but they don’t have insurance, or they don’t have enough insurance to cover your injuries.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Property Damage – Covers damage to your golf cart if someone else is at fault for the accident but they don’t have insurance or they don’t have enough insurance to cover your damages.
