For an owner-operator or small firm offering transportation services, commercial trucking insurance is a crucial form of protection. Depending on the kind of vehicle your drivers are operating, the cargo they are transporting, their level of expertise, and the dangers involved, your insurance on semi-truck choices may change.
The trucking insurance package you choose for your business will probably include a few different types of coverage, so it will be useful to understand each form of coverage and how it functions in order to select the alternatives you need.
What is Insurance for Commercial Trucking?
If one of your vehicles is involved in an accident, commercial truck insurance is a crucial sort of protection to keep you from incurring high costs. You already know that you need vehicle insurance to remain legally permitted to operate a personal truck or automobile on the road.
Transporting goods, animals, people, and materials with a truck are covered by commercial trucking insurance. A business insurance truck coverage will close any gaps left by your auto insurance if you use your car for personal and professional purposes. This isn’t usually the case, though, with bigger commercial trucking firms.
Primary liability is the foundational coverage for trucking insurance plans, which are subsequently supplemented with other coverages. To safeguard people and property from damage your vehicles can cause, you must carry primary liability insurance as part of your trucking license. You should take into account additional corporate transportation insurance, nevertheless.
Commercial Trucking Insurance Types
The following are typical commercial vehicle insurance coverages:
1. Auto Primary Liability
As previously stated, you must obtain this insurance in order to comply with federal rules. All of your trucks, including those you’ve rented, need to be covered by commercial auto insurance. If an accident results in the injury of a third person, liability insurance will cover you.
2. General Liability
General liability insurance is mandated by every state. It safeguards you in the event that one of your drivers causes physical harm or property damage as a result of an accident. It covers a driver’s conduct when operating on someone else’s property, such as at a loading dock or a truck stop. Errors in load delivery are also included. Read this article to know the consequences of sleep-deprived truck drivers.
3. Physical Injury
Physical damage insurance will cover the cost of repairing a commercial vehicle or trailer after being harmed by items like:
- Vandalism
- Collision
- Theft
4. Natural catastrophes
As an alternative, this coverage will replace your truck if it is destroyed beyond repair. The premiums are based on how much the truck and its accessories cost.
5. Bobtail
Bobtail coverage, also known as non-trucking liability, is insurance for situations in which the truck driver is using the vehicle for non-business-related purposes or is not being dispatched. Bobtail coverage will take over in any circumstances where the owner-operator is not protected by the main liability policy. However, truckers who are towing a trailer, utilizing a truck for business, or operating a truck for a trucking firm are not covered by bobtail insurance.
5. Cargo Trucking
If the cargo on one of your commercial vehicles is lost or damaged, this coverage offers you security. The kind of freight will determine the premiums.
6. Rent Reimbursement
Rental reimbursement does exactly what it says on the tin: it pays for you to hire a replacement truck while yours is getting fixed.
7. Trailer Swapping
For trailers being hauled in accordance with a trailer interchange agreement, physical damage protection is provided through trailer interchange insurance. For non-owned trailers, this effectively functions as physical damage insurance. If the trailer is harmed by an accident, fire, theft, explosion, or vandalism, you are covered by this insurance.
8. Medical Costs
Any medical expenses you or a passenger accrue while operating the vehicle or a passenger is covered by the medical payment policy. This coverage will differ between states.
9. Drivers Who Are Under or Uninsured
If someone damages you without carrying liability insurance, this insurance will defend you.
10. Coverage for Reefer Breakdowns
The following expenses would be covered by reefer breakdown insurance if you own refrigerated trucks:
- Refrigerator failure
- Lost goods
- Product damage as a result of a collision
Although less expensive trucker insurance is always welcome, keep in mind that it cannot give you the security you need. Although the majority of fundamental liability insurance coverages are comparable amongst insurance companies, you should carefully consider additional coverages in addition to those included above.
Salman is a prolific environmental writer, and has authored more than 500 articles in reputed journals, magazines and websites. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management, sustainability and conservation all over the world.
Salman can be reached on salman@cleantechloops.com
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