The Basics of Commercial Truck Insurance
Insiders Guide: How much should I expect to pay for commercial trucking insurance?
How much should I pay for commercial trucking insurance?
Primary Liability insurance for your semi-truck will cost in the range of $6,000 - $20,000; rarely less and sometimes more. This is a per-truck.estimated premium. But there are many key variables including: where you hold your CDL, where the vehicle is plated, how your MVR looks, if you’ve had past accidents. There will also be additional premiums for all the other coverages. In addition to Trucker’s Liability, most every motor carrier will need Cargo and Physical Damage.
It will be important to sometimes comparison shop the best of trucking insurance to be sure what your being offered is in the range of the competition. However, your goal should not be the cheapest possible price you’re your commercial truck insurance. Your goal should be the best coverage at the fairest price. Sadly, there are lots of stories about truckers who chose unwisely on their insurance and paid a heavy cost when the insurance company didn’t step up to pay a claim or dropped the trucker at renewal time leaving him in a tough spot with few options.
How to get your commercial truck service quote?
When you are looking for a trucking insurance quote, the dollars you save in the short term may cost you down the road. Of course, your over the road truck insurance program must be affordable. So, how to get the solid value you need with a price that won’t break the bank? You need an insurance agent who truly gets it when it comes to the insurance requirements of a motor carrier or owner operator that’s looking to insure their 18-wheeler. In addition to a knowledgeable truck insurance agent, we need to be sure that you are with the best insurance companies that offer fair rates on their trucking insurance quotes for over the road truckers.
If you are with the wrong company, you may wind up with very costly problems that can imperil the very existence of a small trucking company – of any size trucking fleet for that matter. When accidents occur, and the company lacks expertise; the claims may not be adjusted and paid properly. Eventually, you can end up with claims pay outs that are higher than they should be. Naturally, this often produces increased insurance premiums and you can also wind up with some very angry customers. As a result, you may ultimately lose business while incurring higher insurance rates. That’s the nightmare scenario no business ever wishes to confront: higher costs and lower revenues. This is where the trucking insurance experts come in.
If the commercial trucking policy works, wear it!
Additional factors to be considered include appropriate deductible levels as well as the proper limits of insurance. It is wise to self-insure a portion of your risk by accepting a reasonable deductible. But how much is reasonable? And you need sufficient commercial trucking insurance, but you don’t want to pay for more than you need. How much insurance is enough? With nuclear verdicts becoming normal, ever higher limits are being purchased by prudent truckers who need to cover their risk for the long haul.
These are questions and considerations you must be able to discuss with your agent – and get straight answers.