Trucking Insurance Basics
What insurance types do i need?
This is a question that many people in the trucking industry are asking every day. The truth is that you only need Primary Liability to activate your Permit with the state or FMCSA depending on the type of authority you have registered.
Insurance Types for Truckers
There are many types of insurance policies that you can buy and your needs will depend on a few things such as:
- Type of contracts that you want to get.
- Who you will transport for.
- What state your business is in.
- What commodities you will transport.
Primary Liability
This is a must for every trucking company to have. If you want to activate your permits you need to have Primary Liability under the business name and under the USDOT number you have registered. This coverage protects people and property around you in case you cause damage to people or their property. You don't gain anything and can't get paid on this coverage but it is essential that you have Primary Liability active before your permits will be active.
Cargo Liability
Everything you do will be in or on top of the trailer. The commodity that you are transporting is covered under the Cargo Liability Insurance Policy. This coverage will pay for the damages to the property that belongs to the shipper that is in your possession while you are transporting it. This coverage gives you a peace of mind if you damage the cargo so the money does not come out of your pocket. All you have to do is pay your insurance deductible and you are covered for the rest of the damages.
Physical Damage
This is an optional coverage that you can buy and it is solely to protect your truck and trailer so you don't have to loose everything in case of an accident. You will have a deductible and the insurance policy will pay, in most cases, the actual cash value for your equipment. Our Got Coverage Agents can go over the details with you with ease.
General Liability
This is probably the cheapest most useful insurance coverage type that you have have as it provides coverage for the operation of your company. The policy would provide you coverage against erroneous delivery of products resulting in damages or against actions of a driver on other premises such as loading docs and truck stops. Simply put, it is a great coverage to have.
Workers Compensation Insurance
This coverage is great to have in case your employees get injured while they are on your time clock. Things like medical expenses and lost income/wages are a great benefit for your brand to offer to your truckers. It is not mandatory for Texas to carry this insurance policy.
Occupational Accident Insurance
This is a great alternative to Workers Compensation. This policy is designed to provide coverage for the owner operators that are a part of your company and for employees that do not have Workers Compensation insurance already. This type of policy helps provide great benefits and reassures your drivers making them feel safer working for your company.
Non Trucking Liability a.k.a Bobtail
Many people think that when they drive for someone and they are on their insurance policy that they are covered 100% of the time. Well, this is not the case. Primary Liability covers you while you are under dispatch only. This means on the way to the pickup, while transporting the load to your destination. What happens if you are off duty, don't have a load pending and need to go move your truck from one parking to the next? This is where Non Trucking Liability Insurance will cover you. This coverage is for off duty personal moving of your commercial vehicles. Very important to know.
What's Next...
Now that you know all type of insurance policies that a trucking company needs to have it is time to look at the pricing of these policies. We are able to help you do a quote within 24 hours and give you some serious prices. You see, the insurance company is there to provide coverage for a price but Got Coverage is there to shop these companies and give you the best value for your buck.
Your job is to contact us and our job is to find the best value for your buck.