Businesses that get commercial truck insurance are usually:
- Owner-operators: If you own a vehicle and work independently to transport goods, your insurance requirements are different from those of motor carrier leases.
- Motor carriers: If you move freight for clients using your own trucks or relying on the services of owner-operators to do so. Your insurance requirements depend on your company’s type.
- Private carriers: If you transport your own goods for your firm in your own vehicle, consider private carrier insurance.
If you’re unclear whether you need commercial truck insurance, you can always consult with your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or with a professional insurance agent.
Commercial transportation risks are usually higher than those for personal automobiles. These unique risk exposures and peculiarities of your business determine your commercial vehicle insurance requirements. Experts urge all trucking companies to obtain the following coverage to safeguard their operations:
Commercial auto liability insurance
The minimum requirement for all business vehicles is commercial auto liability insurance. It covers personal injury, property damage, and medical costs in the case of an accident to the other driver and vehicle.
In reality, commercial vehicle liability insurance covers your potential business losses that may result from accidents on the road. Imagine, if you had to pay an expensive claim to the other driver for the losses they encountered.
There are many insurance companies that offer auto liability coverage today; one of the best is STAR Mutual RRG – their coverage includes payments for pain and suffering, repairs, medical expenses of other parties, and legal costs to protect the insured.
Physical damage insurance
Physical damage insurance for your business truck is essential in case of damage. This insurance covers repairs, replacements, and additional expenditures like a rental vehicle while your truck is being repaired. Vehicle theft, vandalism, weather, and wrecks are all covered.
Unexpected incidents may harm your vehicle, whether it’s on the road, in the garage, or in a parking lot. Imagine a July thunderstorm with walnut-sized hail and your pickup in the corporate parking lot. Physical damage insurance may help cover part of the expenses of roof and window damage, which is virtually commercial truck insurance unavoidable.
Motor truck cargo insurance
Motor truck cargo insurance covers commercial truck freight. While commercial auto liability covers injuries and damages to other parties and physical damage coverage helps with repairs, this coverage protects the trucking firm if the transported goods are damaged, lost, or stolen.
It’s important to remember that many clients require the transportation company to possess the cargo coverage. This makes it necessary for truckers when transporting freight.
Truck general liability insurance
General liability insurance protects the trucking firm against negligence-related bodily injuries and property damage. This insurance is required by most states and risk managers for commercial truck companies.
If a client or third-party contractor slips and falls on your property, they may sue you for medical costs and lost income if they can’t work for long. Your general liability insurance covers such claims as well as third-party property damage.
Non-trucking liability insurance
Non-trucking liability insurance pays for bodily injuries or damages, if the truck is driven for non-business purposes. For example, if you use your truck (unloaded) to run several personal errands, you won’t be protected in case of an accident unless you have this type of insurance.
Rental reimbursement with downtime coverage
If you own a trucking business, you know that every single day your truck is off the road, you lose income. Accidents happen, and it could be that your truck is being repaired. For you, it means downtime.
Rental reimbursement with downtime covers hiring a replacement truck and other bills like truck payments, while your own truck is out of service.
