Truck Insurance - Learn How To Protect Your Big, Commercial, Cargo and Tow Trucks With Trucking Insurance, and Ways To Get Cheap Truck Driver Insurance Quotes
Buckling up is not Enough - Secure a Big Truck Insurance
The license to drive affords you to go to different places where your vehicle can take you, to Florida, Illinois, NJ, Maryland, Georgia, even to Australia, but you may need to have your vehicle flown there. Driving a vehicle is not just about mobility, but is also a big responsibility. Failure to observe reasonable care while driving could lead to damage to property or injury to the driver or to another person. The bigger the vehicle you are operating, the bigger the risk for more massive damage and injuries. Driving a truck and other mammoth vehicles is such a huge responsibility, hence driving skills must always be convoyed with extra care and discipline. Sometimes, however, no matter the great care you take, accidents can still unexpectedly happen, where you may just be the victim. Even if your truck is just parked somewhere, it could still get damaged due to vandalism and accidents in the parking lot, or worse it could get stolen. Hence the need for a truck insurance to insure lives, property, the vehicle and its cargo.
Is Paying For A Big Truck Insurance Worth It?
Your heavy truck isn't just big; it is also a big-ticket item, whether purchased brand new or second hand. You must also be familiar with how expensive it is to repair such mammoths. If you figure in an accident, the premium you paid for the truck insurance would be worth every penny, provided that you got a reliable truck insurance provider and the right truck insurance. Depending on the type of insurance you get, it can cover your truck, the trailer of your semi-truck, the cargo you are moving, the property of others, and your medical expenses if you get injured or if another persons(s) get injured during the accident. But who wants to get into an accident? Even if you are completely covered, always drive safely.
Getting Ample Protection From the Right Commercial Truck Insurance
Do not think that once you have a truck insurance, everything is covered. Not all forms of insurances can cover all types of incidents. Get to know some of these types of truck insurances to help you pick the right policy for you.
Primary Liability Truck Insurance. This most basic type of truck insurance covers the cost of damages suffered by the driver who is proven to be the victim and is not responsible for the accident. This means that if you are the one at fault, your insurance provider will not shoulder all the damages to your truck.
Physical Damage Truck Insurance. You can add this form of coverage to your primary liability insurance to cover for damages that you may have or may not have caused. The amount of coverage will be stated in your policy. You will feel awful for being accidentally responsible for a crash, but you will feel more awful if you would have to pony up for the cost of repair, which can be as colossal as your truck.
Non Trucking Liability Coverage. Most employers provide primary liability coverage that does not cover incidents that may occur while you are off-duty. So if you are not officially transporting a load, you are not protected. You may want to augment your plan with a non trucking liability plan especially if you sideline as an independent owner/operator during your days off at work.
Sometimes, even if an incident happens while on duty, you may still not be able to get your compensation. Learn from the sad fate of Michling, a truck driver who died of a brain hemorrhage after he came back early from work and after telling his wife that he bumped his head while at work. The wife filed against the insurance provider for the insurance claims, but his utterance about what happened to him at work was not honored since it was not considered as excited utterance but just hearsay. In short, the couple did not have evidence that the physical injury happened while at work. So if you figured in an accident and you are not covered for non trucking liability, make sure that you have evidence that it happened while at work.
Freight Night May Turn Into Fright Night If You Don't Get a Tow Truck Insurance
There are a number of daredevils who dare to drive even without insurance. You must know that it is illegal, and a freaky accident could be your eye-opener to the dumbest thing you have ever done. What will you do if the car you were towing suddenly slides down from your truck bed, then collides with the vehicle behind you? It will cost you the earth to pay for the damaged car you dropped, and the vehicle it crashed into. Even if you can still salvage them, the repairs would sill be expensive. What more if they are totally wrecked? Compare this cost to the cheap rates that insurance brokers have offered you. You may even have to spend to repair damages that your own truck may have also sustained. And since driving a truck without insurance is illegal, you may also end up in jail. Wake up from this nightmare, contact your agent and get a tow truck insurance at once.
Get Truck Cargo Insurance Before Your Cargo Could Become a Heavy Financial Load
The Carrier Act of 1935 requires truck cargo insurance for motor truck carriers that are legally liable for the damage, destruction and other loss of the property of their clients that are being hauled. So that when there are broken contents, missing packages, ruined articles or stolen items, the policy can take care of the responsibility of paying for these. The amount of responsibility that the transporter carries must clearly be determined by the shipper and transporter prior to hauling. This amount is usually specified in a contract, published tariffs or through the bill of lading. However, this important detail is often forgotten by the two parties. You can buy this policy with a maximum load limit per vehicle. Do not attempt under-insuring your shipment because in case you need to make a claim, your protection becomes limited and may not be enough to cover for the damages. The Western Truck Insurance Services, Inc. offers this type of policy, called the Motor Truck Cargo policy. It operates in many states in the west and southwest, such states as Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Nevada, , Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, as well as in other parts of the country, like in New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
To help you secure this type of policy, seek for good insurance agents who can customize your policy according to your operations and risks by obtaining pertinent details from you. You can also tailor your policy to include provisions to protect the shipment while it is in your warehouse as you consolidate it with other cargoes or when it cannot be delivered the same day.
Trucking Insurance For The Food Service Vehicle
Food is another item that a trucking company may be hired to haul, or perhaps the food company itself maintain its own fleet of food service vehicles. Talk about truck to transport food catering for a wedding, bustaurants, trailer kitchens and other hot trucks, that are common in New York, where food can be prepared as customers order, or a refrigerated truck to haul delicate food items such as ice cream. There are insurance agencies and companies that provide coverage for trucks transporting these comestibles. One such company is Progressive Commercial which insures not just dump trucks, tow trucks, bus, delivery van, pickup, but as well as ice cream trucks, catering truck, and many other types of vehicles. When choosing a food truck insurance, make sure that it is tailored according to your needs. Do not accept a policy that can also be used by a plumbing or electrical contractor and make sure that you do not pay for premium that exceeds your profit for that particular event that you are catering for.
Understanding Short Term Truck Insurance
As the name suggests, short term truck insurance is a type of insurance that provides coverage for your truck for a short period, usually 30 days. This temporary insurance comes in handy during instances when you have not gotten a more permanent insurance. Examples of this are when you have just recently bought your truck from a dealer or from someone else and you have not decided on your permanent insurance yet; and while you are still looking around for work as an independent operator that is why you have not gotten a permanent coverage yet. During these intervening times, accidents could still happen, and it is best to always be covered. Insurance for the truck that you rent may also be, in a sense, considered as short term truck insurance since the policy is effective only within the duration of the rental period.
Get a Truck Driver Insurance - You Need Protection Too!
Your life is more important than your truck. You yourself must also be insured. Think about the cost your family may have to shoulder for your hospitalization, medications, rehabilitation and recovery, if you figured in an accident. Worse, who will support your family financially if you lose your life in an accident. Therefore you must secure insurance for yourself. Besides, insurance for truck drivers is also required by law. Your rate is contingent on factors like your driving skill level, driving history and where you operate your haul business.
How To Get Cheap Truck Insurance Quote
If you search online for info, you will find a host of truck insurance agencies, such as the Truck Insurance Mart, Inc., that can singly provide you with quotes from different truck insurance carriers. Their services eliminate the need for you to visit or phone multiple insurance agents. Some sites can give you a quote if you simply type in some details that can affect the rate. A truck insurance quote can be swayed by several factors including your age, driving history, other health related issues such as if you are alcoholic, your area of operation and others. One way to get a discounted quote is by completing a driving program which trains you to steer clear of common kinds of semi-truck accidents, such as rear-end collision, roll under accidents and accidents that happen while changing lanes. Shop around before you buy a truck insurance as the rates could substantially differ among different companies. Examples of these companies are the Associated Truck Insurance Services in San Antonio Texas, the American Truck Insurance Services LLC, and the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies in Los Angeles, CA. Pick the one which fits not just your budget, but your specific requirements as well.
Antique, Farm and Fire Truck Insurance Quotes
You cannot get truck insurance from all insurance companies since it is a specialty insurance product. It is even harder to get insurance for a fire truck and other vehicles that have special use, such as ambulances, and police cars. If you can find a company that covers them, don't be surprised with the ridiculous quotes they give you. Computing for an accurate valuation of an old fire truck proves difficult for insurers because of the absence of established book values for such type of vehicles.
You may also be facing the same problem when getting insurance for your antique truck. However, there are companies that offer affordable insurance for classic vehicles especially if their use is only for exhibition is not driven for long mileage. This means to say that your truck gets lesser exposure to risks.
Securing an insurance for a farm truck is another story as they are only optional in many states. However, many farmers opt to get insurance to protect such valuable assets to their livelihood.