Insurance Q's

Decrease your radius to whatever you run 75% of your miles in. 150 or 300, even 500 will be a lot cheaper then a coast to coast policy. My first policy was intrastate 50
Mile radius lol. Went from there. That was nearly 13 yrs ago now.

 

Ask your insurance company.

 

Not really. Not if it is your first time purchase of auto liability..
Driving new trucks may not even help here at all.
Good record helps but if it is your first purchase, it still will cost more than you like.

 

You need to go in with a 3 year plan with your insurance agent. Cameras help because you can spot check and make sure the drivers are safe. The lawyers and insurance companies like the cameras because they can quickly determine fault, that reduces the overall cost of a claim. Ultimately that helps the whole industry. ALSO other drivers lie - you could end up with a split fault claim or an at fault even though you did nothing wrong.

Keeping up with your CSA scores and fighting the BS stuff on there with DataQ's is important. The insurance companies rate or even deny coverage based on DOT violations. They figure if you have maintenance issues or hours of service violations etc that you are more likely to cost them a claim. Your insurance agent should know how to help you with this - if they don't find a new one.

What the other guy said about radius is important. Different insurance carriers are offering new programs all the time. Check out 'Truck Insurance Quotes' page on Facebook.

In insurance we have what's called a "narrative". If you have a good agent they come up with why you are a good company to insure. They essentially need a story to convince underwriters about how great your company is. This could include driver training, cameras, experience. When you have an agent asking these questions it can be frustrating because it is a LOT to go over but keep in mind they are trying to get you the best rate possible. They will also need to explain claims - example: "Yes, they had a $150k claim in 2018 but it was a freak accident because XYZ happened and that is very unlikely to happen again". Getting steady contracts instead of load boards helps you run the same routes and can remove surprises. If you have an actual human underwriter looking at your file they prefer contracts.

Don't lie to your agent - they need the whole story. They can help spin the story but if they don't know the details and the carrier finds out instead - guess what, coverage denied. Agents aren't the carrier, think of them as a partner working with you to get the best rates possible. If you are going direct to the carrier you are paying the same price but missing the expertise and the choices of other carriers.

When you are starting out the carrier options are limited but that is why you need to plan beyond that first year. Ask your agent - what do I need to do in year one and year two so that I can qualify for your better companies in year three and four?

Hope this helps!