5 Types of Commercial Truck Insurance you Need

Need to know the different types of commercial truck insurance?

This blog caters to your needs! Getting the correct type of commercial truck insurance for your company can save you effort and a lot of money. No matter if you own a single truck or a fleet of trucks to use for your own or to give them at lease, protecting your trucks with suitable truck insurance is vital for your medical and financial security even by law. 

The particular type of truck insurance depends upon so many factors, like the types of goods to be transported, the model and type of truck, the nature of your commercial business, and the liabilities. We have taken all these factors into consideration to list the 5 main types of truck insurance you need. These policies can protect you from any financial loss, workers’ compensation, medical expenses, or any legal action in case of any sort of accident. You can select any of these types as per your business requirements.

Let’s have a detailed look at Truck Insurance types!

Types of Commercial Truck Insurances

General Liability Insurance

This type of insurance is required for your commercial vehicle by State law to protect your business from unforeseen off-road incidents. General Liability policy generally covers the given:

• Loading delivery mistakes.
• Any incident due to slipping or falling.
• Day-to-day operations’ mistakes.

The coverage fully protects you in cases where the driver causes property damage or any bodily damage due to some crash or collision. The driver’s actions are noted especially when he is loading or unloading at other premises like truck shops or loading docks. 

However, you should know general liability insurance doesn’t give you coverage for truck or cargo damage. In such cases, commercial trucking companies should opt for physical damage insurance or cargo insurance. 

Primary Liability Insurance

The basic truck insurance policies start with the Primary Liability insurance policy and then you can add other insurance coverages as per business needs. You are required to have this policy even by Federal government law to protect the driver and the companies and third-party losses from any accident. 

You can even say, this is the minimum sort of insurance plan, you will need for your commercial vehicles to operate on roads. Avoiding this insurance can even lead you to pay severe penalties. The two major portions covered by this insurance type are:

• Any sort of physical injury.
• Any property damage in an accident. 

If you are responsible for any truck accident, then this policy assists you to bear the financial crunch for the third party too. Even the leased trucks should have this basic kind of insurance to operate the business. 

Physical Damage Cover

This is a generalized type of damage cover to fully protect your truck or commercial vehicle including repairs even when there is no accident occurred. Driving a truck on the road not only includes road accidents, but they also have to get protected even from natural collisions or disasters. 

Physical damage insurance is not required by the Law of State and even doesn’t cover goods, but it is very useful to save your pocket in the long run from any damage due to truck collisions. Basically, it is a combination of two coverages: Collision and Comprehensive. Collision covers colliding of the truck with any pothole or fencing etc. and the comprehensive cover provides you financial protection against the truck losses due to:

• Theft
• Collisions
• Natural Disasters
• Fire Incidents
• Vandalism etc.

Additionally, you can get coverage for any trailer damages. If any of the truck parts are irreparable in any case, this policy bears the cost of replacements. The premium of this policy is basically decided by the cost of the truck and its equipment. 

Cargo Insurance

In any event of cargo damage or loss, Motor Truck Cargo cover can help. The cargo insurance provides protection to the goods to be transported including any kind of loss to them. Out of all the truck insurance types, motor truck cargo is the best for for-hire truckers. 

Any kind of loss or damage occurred due to flood, fire, accident, theft, or even the malfunctioning of machinery covers under this. Another important aspect of taking this policy is the types of cargo inside the truck. There are many exclusions of the goods from this policy that are not covered, some of them are:

• Explosives
• Live Animals
• Antiquities
• Liquors
• Pharmaceuticals
• Jewelry and money etc. 

You can select the maximum coverage and decide the deductibles while purchasing such policies. The premium amount will also depend upon the freight you are carrying in the truck.

Bobtail or Non-Trucking Liability Insurance

Bobtail or Non-trucking liability insurance is used to cover the trucks that are operated by the driver for his personal use or off-duty or for any other purpose other than the transportation of actual goods. Bobtail cover is specifically important when the individual trucker is not protected by Primary Liability Coverage. 

There are certain situations where you can find the worth of having bobtail insurance for your commercial vehicles:

• An accident occurs while picking up a fresh load.
• On the way home after delivering goods.
• When using the truck for any personal use rather than the business. 

When you are operating a truck that too without attaching a trailer or bobtail with it, this sort of insurance assists you in protection coverage if any accident occurs. 

Bottom Line

That’s all for this blog!

These all given are some basic commercial truck insurance you need to operate your trucking business hassle-freely. There are some additional insurance premiums available in the market like trailer exchange, worker’s compensation, insurance for mechanical breakdown, etc. You should opt for any of the insurance policies for your business as per the requirements of the business.

In order to find out more about insurance types, you can check the official sites of commercial insurance providers. I hope you find the correct information you were searching for in this blog. 

If you still have questions regarding insurance type, cost, or the risk associated with them, you can connect with us... We will serve you happily!