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Commercial Truck Insurance – Everything You Need To Know

(Last Updated On: March 16, 2024)

Each year almost 500,000 trucking accidents happen just in the U.S. Its is your ultimate duty as a fleet business owner to get truck insurance for your fleet of trucks. State and federal law also made it mandatory for every truck to have a minimum insurance policy.

But there are several kinds of truck insurance policies, and their cost and availability are also varying. It gets hard to decide which policy best suits the business. Even if an ideal policy is selected, the prices are quite high. 

And for this very reason understanding the policies of different truck insurance companies is essential. This will help you choose a better option at an affordable price, discounts, and many more benefits. You can learn all about truck insurance, the cost of insurance for semi trucks, and how to lessen the price of the policy.

Understanding Truck Insurance

Semi truck insurance covers truck companies for bodily injuries and damages caused by the accident. The main feature of this insurance is general liability, and then different policies and specific risk coverages add to it.

There are several kinds of truck insurance that come at different prices. But according to experts, the general liability plan is the most feasible. This is because general liability will cover all the general risks and offer protection from many legal attacks or lawsuits against your business.

Normally truck insurance policies provide the following services, medical bills for bodily injuries caused by an accident (during or after), property damaged by the truck plus the cost of replacement, cost of damages at any delivery location caused by a carrier or truck, Slander, legal claims, and false advertising.

Semi truck insurance will not cover the protection of non-truck vehicles, for instance, cars. Also, it is not designed for individual truck drivers because their insurance is covered by their employer or business. Misplaced cargo or materials will not be compensated by this insurance policy. Loss of income after the accident is also not provided in these policies.

In order to assess and choose the insurance for semi trucks at the right price, you can also hire a legal manager or legal advising team. Their expertise and knowledge will protect your company from many legal battles. And they will also be able to select the policy which has an affordable cost of insurance for semi trucks.

Benefits of Truck Insurance

  • The policy provides total risk coverage for trucks.
  • It will assist in minimizing financial plus product losses.
  • It ensures the continuity of fleet business.
  • It provides a strong business image to the trucking businesses. 
  • Commercial truck insurance will protect your business and its integrity.

What is Commercial Truck Insurance?

Commercial truck insurance refers to a vehicle insurance policy prepared specifically for the needs of trucks and freight businesses. Usually, these insurance policies will cover any damages to the trucks in case an accident happens. Comprehensive insurance coverage will cover most damages and a wide range of risks.

Commercial truck insurance provides customized options for your business need, including coverage for general and specific risks caused by accidents. Your policy can have supplementary coverage of the cargo. Even if commercial truck insurance does not cover these cargo costs, there are also some affordable options in the same insurance company. 

After you have gained general and specialized risk coverage, you can add the non-trucking options to your insurance policy. Non-trucking insurance will protect against accidents when a truck is at rest or not transporting cargo. To steer clear of occupational hazards, businesses can add occupational accident insurance options to protect their drivers in case of bodily injuries or death.

A thorough understanding and comparison between different commercial truck insurance companies are essential to making the right decision. 

Cost of Commercial Truck Insurance

The primary cost of commercial truck insurance will change depending on several factors. These factors include the risk coverage limits, truck size, and type, exact location, travel area, cargo material, business record, and sometimes the driver’s age and history. According to a leading insurance company named Progressive, the average monthly cost for commercial truck insurance set nationally in 2020 ranges between $640 to $982 every month.

Leading Commercial Truck Insurance Companies

We have compiled some of the leading names to help you choose the best commercial truck insurance company. The availability, price, user satisfaction, and risk coverage options are discussed according to each company. The leading names in insurance companies are Progressive, Coverwallet, and The Hartford. 

Progressive

Progressive is the most popular commercial truck insurance company in the USA. It provides the best policies for all vehicle-related insurances. According to customer reviews, it is the best choice out there. Availability is not a problem because it is accessible in all states. They have a number of discounts and offers for their customers, e.g., free-of-cost federal and state insurance fillings. Progressive insurance provides coverage for a large number of trucks.

As per the report by the Insurance Information Institute, Progressive commercial truck insurance is the largest commercial auto insurer in the USA, offering coverage to more than 12 percent of the general market. They provide commercial truck insurance packages in all 50 states, and coverage is obtainable to a wide range of vehicles like box trucks, dumping trucks, trailers, tow trucks, cement trucks, delivery carriers, garbage trucks, and in some cases, ice cream trucks.

This insurance company gives discounts based on business experience, certification, CDL drivers, electronic logging devices (ELDs), full payments, signing up for autopay, taking bundling insurance coverage with personal car insurance, and getting a customized package. They also allow quotes online, but you will have to consult with an agent eventually to choose the right insurance policy for your business. Agents are available 24/7 for online filing of claims and to solve other issues.

The progressive insurance company was founded in 1937 and still holds superior financial strength in the industry. But in  2018, 2019, and 2020 Progressive has received an above the average number of user complaints, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

CoverWallet

CoverWallet provides basic insurance coverage from as low as $125 per month. It is primarily not an individual insurance company but an aggregate. But still, this company helps drivers and businesses to get commercial truck insurance online in just a few minutes. CoverWalet provides insurance policies to dump trucks, food trucks, hot-shutters trucks, car carriers, box trucks, and log carriers.

Even with bad credit history and track records, most people successfully get this commercial truck insurance coverage. But in this case, monthly premiums will be higher than usual. $125 is the primary risk coverage per month. However, it varies depending on location, mileage, and truck type.

The Hartford

Hartford insurance company provides commercial truck insurance security to individual vehicles and fleets in all fifty states. Its main area of expertise is the mitigation of risk for commercial trucks. Hartford will let you purchase a policy covering general risks, property, umbrella, and specific liability coverage for commercial trucks. The trucks covered by Hartford policy are dry freight, refrigerated trailers, garbage trucks, ambulances, dumping trucks, trailers, fire trucks, and snowplow attachments.

They have a special program called the FleetAhead management program, which helps to combine risk management and technology, allowing their customers to receive less loss. It also ensures safety and improvement in the performance of drivers. In addition, Hartford offers a number of user-friendly telematics products. Customers can also qualify for extra discounts just for buying and testing these programs. 

Hartford provides several discounts based on fleet-specific programs. In addition to it, you can get many additional coverages with your main policy. They will also design a unique risk mitigating program for your fleet. But with all the benefits, they still do not offer online quotes and have limited policy options for some vehicles. It means you will have to call their agents to get details on offers and policies and discuss different programs.

The Hartford insurance company offers accessible coverages to their customers, e.g., glass repair, one free with two deductibles, subrogation waiver, insurance coverage for loaned or leased trucks, and many more.

How Much Commercial Truck Insurance Does a Business Need?

As per the rules of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA, all commercially used trucks are mandated to at least have the minimum amounts of insurance coverage depending on their vehicle type, location and cargo. For instance, if the cargo is delicate or temperature sensitive, more coverage is needed because the cargo can spoil readily even if a small problem happens. Federal commercial truck insurance minimum may change from state to state. So you may need to get an additional insurance policy depending on the type of cargo.

Presently, the minimum amounts are: 

  • Under 1001 pounds: $300,000 for trucks carrying non-hazardous cargo 
  • 10,001 pounds or more: $750,000 for non-dangerous cargo by trucks.
  • $1 million for oil being hauled by /private carriers.
  • $5 million for more hazardous materials being hauled by private carriers.
  • For transportation of household goods: an Extra $5000 per truck.

Lowering the Cost of Insurance for Semi Truck

There are some practical ways by which you can lower the cost of insurance for semi trucks. 

Annual payments: With the high cost of insurance for semi-truck, yearly payments are not so easy. Annual payment is a large amount, and not everyone can manage to pay it at once. But in case your business can afford to do so, then you will see a considerable reduction in your monthly premiums. The reduction can be 10 to 20% overall. So your business will save a good amount of money in the long run.

Choose lower limits or higher deductibles: The deductibles for semi truck insurance and limitations depend largely on premiums. Low premiums mean bigger responsibility for the freight business. But in some cases, large deductibles can cost your business more money, so you need to assess all of your options carefully.

Safe driving: Most insurance policy companies would like to work with drivers who have a history of being careful which means they won’t cost them any money. As motivation, insurance companies propose monthly premiums at low prices to the freight companies that have a track record for safely driving and minimum accidents.

Cost of Insurance for Semi Truck

The average cost of insurance for semi trucks ranges between $3,000 to $5,000 per year for moderate-size fleet companies that get associated with large carrier businesses. For large carrier businesses that have their own authority, the standard cost of insurance for semi-truck is $9,000 to $12,000 per truck.eld key benefits

Similarly, for new authorities, semi-truck insurance policies have surged in recent years, and now their normal cost is between $12000 to $17000. You need to take into account the following factors in order to understand what will be the cost of insurance for a semi-truck business.

  • What materials are transported
  • How far does the vehicle normally drive
  • Cost of the semi-truck
  • CDL experience of the driver and their age
  • Company’s credit history
  • Payment plan for the policy

All of the factors mentioned above will change the cost of insurance for semi trucks. Whether it gets higher or lower depends on each company’s policy and how they count every factor. It benefits a lot to understand insurance companies because you may find big cost differences with changes in policy or company. The cost is bearable if it gives useful benefits in return. If not, then it is just a waste of money that’s deducted every month from your fleet business’ assets. 

All in All

Everyone who owns a car or a whole fleet knows that once your vehicles are out on the road you cannot guarantee their safety. Accidents and unfortunate events are common and unavoidable. But what you can do to ensure their safety is to choose the best insurance policy for your vehicles. You can compare different vehicle insurance companies to select the one that suits your business. Some of the leading names in commercial truck insurance are Progressive, The Hartford, and CoverWallet. They cover commercial truck insurance and have waivers, discounts, risk management programs, and complementary offers for single vehicles.

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About the author

Laraib Shah

Laraib Shah

With a keen interest in the trucking industry, Laraib has dedicated years to understanding and writing about fleet management solutions. As a freelance writer, her insights are backed by hands-on experiences and meticulous industry research. She loves sharing her knowledge with the readers of Elddevices.net. When she's not writing about trucking, she enjoys connecting with her fellow fleet managers and truckers.

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Share what you learned!

About the author

Laraib Shah

Laraib Shah

With a keen interest in the trucking industry, Laraib has dedicated years to understanding and writing about fleet management solutions. As a freelance writer, her insights are backed by hands-on experiences and meticulous industry research. She loves sharing her knowledge with the readers of Elddevices.net. When she's not writing about trucking, she enjoys connecting with her fellow fleet managers and truckers.

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