Own a trucking business, but don’t know much about the most important protection part ‘Truck Insurance? Don’t worry this blog will clear all your confusion from the types of insurance to the most important one to choose!
If you are into a commercial business, the safety of your shipments, vehicles, and carriers is crucial. Choosing the right insurance policy can be tricky to set the security of your fleet. In the US alone, there are over 7 Lac commercial companies in which more than 3.5 million transporters work. With such a heavy volume of vehicles on the road, protecting your truck with the best commercial insurance is necessary. As trucks are huge in size, risks also become huge. So, to sort it out for you we have gathered information on the 5 best types of Truck Insurance to make your business run smoothly without any hole in your pocket.
Let’s get started!
Types of Truck Insurance to make you easily understand the best for your trucks!
Primary Auto Liability
This is basic and must-have insurance as per State laws also. Driving your truck without liability coverage can lead to huge legal penalties. Primary auto liability consists of two parts, one is physical injury and the other is property damage liability. If your truck is responsible for any damage, primary auto liability will cover damage or injury done to third parties.
This policy doesn’t cover your driver’s illness, truck destruction, etc. outside of the third-party coverage. As already told, federal regulations require this insurance too to run your trucks on roads.
General Liability
Every State of the US requires general liability insurance or CGL to run carefreely on roads. It protects you if one of your drivers is responsible for property or bodily damage because of any collision. It is especially helpful when the driver is working on other premises like loading docks or truck shops. Load delivery mistakes are also covered in this. This coverage will help you to cover the following costs:
- If there is a damage or death case related to a third party after the collision of your truck.
- On-loading and off-loading damage cover protection.
- Any damage was done by the driver on the other’s premises.
It will not cover the damage cost done to your truck or cargo. Top trucking companies opt for additional physical cover and cargo coverages to get protection against it.
Physical Damage
Driving the truck is very hard and risky, as there is always a possibility of collision, no matter whether the reason is the truck driver or any natural error. Physical damage insurance is the basic type of insurance coverage to fully protect your truck including general repair even if there is no collision occurred. Operating a truck not only involves road collisions but they are prone to natural disaster damages etc.
Physical damage insurance is not required by the State of law and also it doesn’t cover goods but it is very helpful to save your pocket in the event of operating a commercial business as they are expensive to maintain. You normally get two types of insurance covered under this: one for collision and the other comprehensive.
Collision covers colliding or trucking with any hurdle like potholes, fencing, etc. and you can get comprehensive cover for truck losses due to Theft, Vandalism, Natural Disasters, and Fire Accidents. Etc. Also, you can get cover for any damage done to trailers.
If suppose any of the truck’s parts are irreparable then the company will pay for the replacement of this part. The premium amount is decided as per trucks and equipment costs.
Bobtail Insurance
Bobtail or Non-trucking liability insurance is to cover trucks that are operated by drivers for personal use or off-duty usage. When the individual trucker is not protected by Primary Liability Coverage, bobtail cover is specifically important. Bobtail insurance is beneficial in certain cases such as:
- Suppose you are picking a fresh load and the accident occurs.
- After delivering the goods, you are going home.
- Using your truck for personal usage in place of commercial usage.
This is also helpful in situations where you are operating a truck without attaching a trailer or bobtail with it.
Motor Truck Cargo
Motor truck cargo or cargo insurance cover can help in case of cargo loss or damage. This insurance will provide protection to the goods to be transported if they got damaged in any collision. Among all insurance types, this is good, especially for for-hire truckers. It will cover any type of damage due to fire, flood, accident, theft, or even any malfunction in the machinery.
One of the major bases to have this policy is to know the type of cargo being transported. There are some decided exclusions of the goods from the policy:
- Live animals
- Explosives
- Liquors
- Pharmaceuticals
- Money
- Jewelry
Before opting for this coverage, you can select the maximum coverage and consider the deductibles carefully. The base of deciding the premium factor is the type of cargo being transported in your vehicles.
What’s the Most Important Truck Insurance?
The most important and needed insurance covers for your business are the ones that you require to run your trucks on the roads carefreely. But still, as per rules, there are some basic policies that are necessary for you to have to operate your commercial business.
Primary liability insurance is one of them. It is even required by State laws. If you are driving on roads without it, you will face severe penalties.
General liability insurance is another such coverage that is required by your commercial vehicles. If in any collision, someone brings a claim against you, it is very helpful to save you from financial crunches. This is especially helpful for leased trucks or on-contract trucks.
Also, if your truck carries expensive and important cargo, it is more important to protect it with motor cargo insurance coverage to avoid burning your pocket.
The Rub
That’s all for this blog!
Here we have discussed all the basic types of coverages that assist you to operate your trucking business hassle-freely. Also, there are some add-on premium covers available in the market like worker’s compensation, trailer exchange, mechanical breakdown insurance, etc.
We advise you to choose suitable insurance policies as per your business requirements. You can always consult insurance providers or agents before opting for one. Hope this blog clears your confusion about the different categories of insurance.
Still, have any queries feel free to contact us…We will serve you happily!
Hope you had a good read!
