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Usually when someone refers to commercial trucking insurance, they are referring to insurance that will cover a truck driver while they are doing business or hauling a load for hire (hauling for compensation). There are three different parts that make up what is called trucking insurance. We will explain each on of these in details below.
The three main parts to a commercial truck insurance policy:
However, depending on what type of business you are operating under or what type of commodities you will be hauling, there maybe me additional coverages you require in order to fully protect your business from taking the financial brunt of the cost of damages in the event of a lawsuit. Understanding these coverages is key in making sure your business is fully covered. Finding a knowledgeable Commercial Auto Insurance Agent may be the difference between protecting your business and your wallet and risking your business by having to pay out of pocket for uncovered damages.
Additional coverage you can add to your trucking insurance policy are:
Commercial Truck Insurance will cover you while you are driving your truck for business purposes, such as when you are hauling a load from one destination to another. This will cover you in the event of a lawsuit arising from bodily injury or property damage to others only.
Commercial truck Insurance is essentially Primary Commercial Auto Liability which will not cover any damage that ISN’T done to other. So, if you were to get into an accident and your vehicle needs to be repaired or replaced, you would NOT be covered.
For instance, If someone were to be injured or have their property damaged by your commodities coming loose and falling onto their property, you would not be covered.
The only thing that will be covered by this coverage alone, is bodily injury and property damage done to other while the vehicle is being operated for business purposes by someone who is covered on the policy.
It’s typically thought that a business with a company vehicle needs commercial auto insurance and typically that is correct, unless you have a trucking business. A commercial auto policy covers you while you are using a company vehicle for work errands and will not cover your semi or heavy truck while you are transporting a large weight load from one place to another. In order to maintain coverage while on the road and while hauling a large amount of commodities, you’ll need to make sure you have a Commercial Truck Insurance policy in place.
While both policies cover you in the event of an accident resulting in bodily injury or property damage to others and while both policies are similar, their coverages are intended for a very different type of business.
Anyone that owns and/or operates a commercial vehicle, used to transport commodities for-hire, will need to obtain a commercial trucking policy. Having at least Primary Liability Coverage on your commercial truck insurance policy is the bare minimum required in order to operate any commercial vehicle used to transport commodities for hire.
Estimating the cost of commercial truck insurance can be pretty difficult, if not impossible, without knowing a motor carrier’s basic business information. The price for commercial truck insurance can vary greatly depending on a number of factors.
Here are the factors insurance companies look at when giving you a rate for trucking insurance:
When you have a trucking company you need to get those wheels rolling. Spending time going back and forth with your insurance agent trying to make sure they have all the correct information to quote your business is the difference between you being on the road and making money and you waiting at home wasting money.
A good agent will do their due diligence and make sure to follow up with you to get the information the insurance companies require. However, sometimes they have a hard time reaching you if you have other appointments, you have a busy schedule, or even if you just forgot to charge your cell phone. Either way, if the agent doesn’t have all the required information, they can’t do much but wait until then next time you speak. To avoid wasting time on a game of phone tag, having the required information up front will allow the agent to get you the best rate as fast as possible.
Here are the basic information your insurance agent will require.
Make sure to have this information ready when shopping around for insurance.
You’ll also want to make sure you have the correct documents to make things go as smoothly and as quickly as possible.
Here are some documents you’ll want to have available if you can acquire these ahead of time:
Insurance companies look forward to providing coverage for motor carriers. With that being said, some motor carriers are more preferred than others. As a motor carrier looking to have success in the trucking industry, you’ll want to make sure you’re considered one of these preferred motor carriers.
Not only will this make getting the best quote as easy and fast as possible, but some insurance companies will even give you discounts and credit toward your premium. Here are some of the things insurance companies consider when insuring their truckers.
1. How long you’ve had insurance for.
– Insurance companies will want to know how long you’ve had previous insurance for and if you’ve had any lapse (gap/pause) in coverage. If you’ve had at least 1 year of prior insurance coverage without any lapse in coverage, some insurance companies will give you a discount of up to _____.
2. Having a clean driving record.
– Being a safe driver won’t only pay off for your well being but can also help to keep your insurance rates down. Insurance carriers love to cover motor carriers that hire drivers without bad driving records. If your drivers have a clean driving record you can really save on insurance as even one accident on a driver’s record can make prices soar. It may not seem like that big of a deal but once the insurance company sees an accident on a driver’s motor vehicle report, which they will obtain, they consider that driver a higher risk which in the company’s eyes raises the chance of an accident occurring and a claim being filed.
3. How much experience a driver has with a commercial driver’s license.
– Another factor in keeping your insurance rates own is how long your company’s driver has held a CDL(Commercial Driver’s License). The insurance companies want to know this because this helps to determine whether or not your driver is likely to be involved in an accident or drive recklessly or unsafely.
Insurance rates are always changing and will often fluctuate depending on a number of reasons depending on the insurance company. Some insurance companies will change rates primarily based on your driving record and some will change rates because of an increase in accidents and claims from other motor carriers in your particular operation type.
It can be pretty frustrating having your rates increase out of nowhere, but just as rates can increase, they can also lower. Just as there are a different reasons your rates can go up, there are different reason for why your insurance rates can go down. Most insurance companies will look at your driving record for any violations or accidents that have occurred within 3 years. If you have an accident on your record from 2 years ago that is effecting your insurance rates, in one year, it will not be counted as an accident by your insurance company once it passes the three year mark and your rates will go down as if you never had the accident on your record. Being safe on the road will not only keep you from harm, but it will also keep your rates down.
For your business to be compliant and legal, once you obtain insurance, your agent will send over the necessary information to your state and/or FMCSA.
The items that are sent over to your state could be:
– State Insurance filing or Form E. Form E check with your local dmv if you need one. Only a handful do.
– Cargo Form H Filing – depending on the state you could need these for because you are a household goods mover or its part of your state’s cargo filing.
– PUC Filings – Some state requires you to file over to your public utilities commission. You can search online your state plus state filings of PUC filings for more information on which one you will need.
– MCS90 Endorsement – This is an endorsement with FMCSA stating that your insurance is filed
Gold River Insurance Brokerage is a commercial insurance specialist helping small business owners nation wide.
60 Rutledge Street
Brooklyn, New York,
11249.
4348 W Cheyenne Ave, N Las Vegas, NV 89032
support@goldriverinsurance.com
212-493-3322
718-298-2045