Motor Truck Cargo Insurance
3 Things to Know Before Shopping
Shopping for Motor Truck Cargo Insurance? Then you’re going to want to read on to ensure you get the best prices with the best coverage. When looking for a commercial motor truck cargo quote or policy, you’ll want to have an understanding of the exact coverage you’ll need.
In order to get an accurate quote from an insurance agent, you’ll also need to have some specific information about your business or operation in mind. Making sure you have the proper information at hand when shopping for quotes, will make the quoting process go much more smoothly.
Motor Truck Cargo Insurance - Key Points
Here are 3 essential things you’ll need to know beforehand to ensure you get the best quote possible in the least amount of time.
Cargo Commodities You're Hauling
If you’re shopping for a motor truck cargo quote, the chances are that you already know which commodities, or at the very least, which type of commodities you’ll be hauling.
One of, if not, the most important question insurance agencies or agents will ask you is, “What type of commodities do you currently haul or plan on hauling in the near future?”. They will usually then ask you to be a bit more specific and ask for examples in order to make sure they’re getting you exactly what you need. For example, if you are hauling vehicles, they’ll want to know which type of vehicles you are hauling, such as cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc. They need to know this because some insurance companies will not provide coverage for commodities that were not specified beforehand.
If you have a USDOT number, please make sure your list of commodities is properly updated and reflects exactly what you will be hauling.
For example, if your authority shows that you are authorized to haul vehicles and general freight, but you only want to haul general freight, you will have to include vehicles in your motor truck cargo policy. In this case, you would make sure to remove vehicles as a commodity before you start a policy as you might end up paying more for a commodity type you don’t even plan on hauling. You can check to see which commodities insurance companies can see you’re authorized to haul through the USDOT SAFER system here.
Some insurance companies may be reluctant to provide cargo coverage for some specific commodities such as garbage trucks, intermodal shipping containers, jewelry, passenger vehicles such as buses, artwork, money, alcohol, tobacco, explosives, animals, etc. so make sure to ask your trucking insurance agent about any exclusions your motor truck cargo may have.
Know Your Load Value
It’s important to know the average value of the loads you’ll be hauling as well as the maximum value you’ll be hauling at any given time.
Some commodities will usually require a larger motor truck cargo coverage amount than the standard $100,000 limit.
A good example would be if you’re trying to haul automobiles. Since vehicles are considered an expensive commodity, you’ll need higher limits to be properly covered. If you have a trailer hauling 3 vehicles and each vehicle is worth $50,000, you’ll need a motor truck cargo policy with a limit of at least $150,000 in order to be fully covered in the case of an accident where all of the vehicles are damaged or completely wrecked.
Keep in mind that most carrier contracts with suppliers will usually require that you carry a minimum of $100,000 in motor truck cargo coverage. Just be sure to check with whichever supplier you’re looking to work with or haul for and you should be just fine.
Number of Vehicles Used to Haul
This is another question that will be asked of you in order to provide an accurate rate that still ensures you have the proper coverage for your operations. This one is fairly straight forward and easy to know right off the top of your head.
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