Making sure your trucking company is properly insured is one of the most important steps in making sure your business can withstand bumps in the road.
Whether you are thinking of starting a trucking company or have an established trucking company, making sure you have the right insurance partner for your business is important. Trucking Insurance requires a lot of attention to detail and if an agent is not familiar with the coverages or amount of service is required to manage your trucking insurance then you could run into problems. Below I have provided some tips on how to find the right trucking insurance agent and agency to work with.
Has the potential trucking insurance agent had experience insuring trucking companies?
If the agent has not had experience insuring trucking companies then they may not understand the commitment they may be making. The interaction and requests that a trucking company has with their trucking insurance agent will likely be more than a normal business account. Service requests may include:
Adding/Removing Truck Drivers
Requesting Certificates of Insurance for Freight Brokers
Requesting Proof of Truck Liability Insurance at the loading/unloading dock.
Adding/Removing a Commercial Trucks
Raising/Reducing Motor Truck Cargo Limits
Insurance Renewals, Pricing new truck insurance carriers
Does the trucking insurance agent know what coverage a trucking company needs?
Trucking Companies are required to purchase auto liability insurance which is also referred as truck liability insurance because of their use, ownership, and maintenance of any insured truck. This coverage protects trucking companies for their legal liability of operating a motor carrier. Usually, the minimum trucking liability limit is $750,000 that is mandated by state and federal (BMC-91 or BMC-91X) regulation. Although the state and federal mandate a $750,000 minimum trucking liability limit, most freight brokerages require $1 million in coverage. If your trucking agent is not familiar with these mandates, your trucking company will run into insurance issues.
Is your trucking insurance agent an insurance professional?
Great insurance professionals are students of their craft. They are always looking into emerging risks and ways to help your organization mitigate it's risk. Your trucking insurance agent's role within your trucking company should not only be to broker your trucking insurance. They should have an active role in your trucking risk management. They should be providing you with risk and insurance updates in the trucking industry. They should be adding value.