6 Factors to Consider When Insuring Your Truck

6 Factors to Consider When Insuring Your Truck

If you’re a trucker, then you probably already know that you must obtain insurance, even though you may find it to be too pricey. Unfortunately, a vast majority of truckers are not familiar with this whole process.

They do not have a very definite idea of what needs to be done in order to acquire the right insurance, and that’s sad because precisely this type of information can make a major impact during your purchase.

That’s one of the reasons why we decided to create some form of a guide that is going to help you figure out what factors must be taken into consideration when insuring your truck in order to get exactly what you need. So let’s check them out together!

Essential Things to Take into Account When Buying Trucking Insurance

Specialization

Bear in mind that companies that insure motor carriers, trucks, and drivers can vary. Now, you want to pick a company that is familiar with everything that’s related to trucking insurance. Why does this matter?

Well, that’s because only a specialized firm is going to be capable of offering you all the useful info regarding the motor-carrier requirements of numerous state agencies. Additionally, a specialist is someone who understands that when your vehicle is out of service, you are in big trouble and will do everything that’s in their power to get a seasoned adjuster to the scene of the crash at any moment if necessary.

Expenses Vs. Value

When selecting the right insurance company, you need to thoroughly assess all of your basics, along with the optional coverage to see what is the overall expense per one trucking unit. This is the information that is going to tell you whether you can afford it or not.

Make sure to see if you’ll be getting any discounts, such as the latest equipment discounts, fleet discounts, etc. The whole point of this entire process is to get exactly what you look for and not to be under-insured or over-insured.

Now, a lot of truckers these days decide to purchase hot shot insurance. What does it represent? Namely, hot shot insurance can be defined as commercial auto insurance made particularly for people or companies transporting cargo utilizing a trailer or pickup truck. This type of insurance is especially important for those who are trying to enter the hotshot trucking business.

If that’s the case with you, then you must obtain it, otherwise, no shipper or broker is going to work with you. Fortunately, nowadays, you may discover firms that provide cheap tow truck insurance and other types of insurance at a lower price.

trucker researching truck insurance

Anything Else that’s Worth Mentioning?

Take into Account the Truck Type You Own

Another aspect that’s crucial when it comes to this is the type of truck you are owning. Namely, you need to figure out whether your vehicle can be defined as heavy-duty, medium-duty, or light-duty.

Precisely this type of categorization is going to help you decide which truck insurance is most suitable for you. Besides that, it will also help you figure out if any specialized coverage is necessary because some trucks do need it.

So as soon as you figure out what truck type you possess, you can focus on selecting the best truck insurance.

Experience & Knowledge

Just like with any other thing that you’ll be buying, you need to find a place that’s exactly what you need in terms of knowledge and experience. Are you a local services provider, or a short-haul provider?

Do you maybe offer OTR hauling services? And also don’t forget to ask yourself if a particular insurance company has a plethora of experience with what you are doing, or if their goal is just to take your money?

Keep in mind that one size simply doesn’t fit all. Make sure to check how many years of experience does this insurance company have and whether commercial trucking insurance is just a small sideline or not?

What About the Products Which the Company Offers?

The insurance products can drastically vary between trucking insurance companies. When it comes to the insurance companies, you get exactly what you pay for. Now, if you notice that a policy is way cheaper in comparison to the others, then be sure to think everything through.

Namely, you will see that there are some exclusions from coverage that make it inferior to pricier policies. If that’s the case, then you must read the language thoroughly just to make sure that you are completely fine with the level of protection that is being offered.

Do not act hastily and be careless and just get carried away by the low rates, otherwise, you will be left with low-quality protection.

Make Sure that the Company Is Trustworthy

Don’t forget that the right insurance can never be obtained from an insurance company that’s not reputable. After you are done with all the steps that were anteriorly mentioned, the next thing that you must do is to hunt down the right insurance company.

These days, it seems like rules and regulations are getting stricter day by day, hence, it’s of huge importance to pick the most suitable company. So what are you supposed to do then? First, start by creating a list of the nearby companies that are relatively popular.

Once you’ve written everything down, then be sure to check out all their plans and policies. The goal is to choose a company that offers coverage plans that currently meet your needs and demands. 

If you are puzzled by something, then do not hesitate to call them and ask them all the relevant questions regarding the policies. Additionally, it would be recommendable to conduct research about their dealing processes and services before you sign anything.

Another amazing way to get yourself familiar with a particular insurance company is through customer reviews. So be sure to go to their official website to see what others have said about them.

insuring your truck for accidents and repairs

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It’s no secret that trucking insurance is a must if you want to protect yourself, your vehicles, and your company. However, in order to acquire something valuable when insuring your truck, you first must go through the steps that we described above.

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