Are O/O's interested in training new drivers?

You still didn't answer the question about what company you use

 

currently, it's sentry....

I have posted it several times before...

www.sentry.com

 

My insurance company will not even let me consider a driver unless they have at least two years verifiable OTR experience. I would suggest you hire on with a large carrier such as Schnieder, Swift, etc and get at least one year, if not two. The large carriers are self insured and can take a new driver better than an o/o.

 

As long as there have been no gaps in your CDL, it probably won't be a problem to find a smaller fleet or owner operator who can get you covered under their insurance. It has been rare that I have had my insurance company ask for former employers from any driver applicant. As I recall, that was only to make sure that the driver had the minimum amount of experience. My insurance company requires at least 2 years of experience in the last 3 years with a clean MVR.

 

You're in the bronx, so go to work for a trash hauler. They'll put you on.

 

Sentry isn't a bad company...they came in 2nd to my current (GWC) when we quote each year.
I figured a company like "CANAL" - who insures just about any steering wheel holder would be the company that wouldn't care.

GWC cares and verifies much information...this year they started pulling credit reports but in exchange, if your credit
is good to excellent (real range is a mystery) they are essentially holding the rates from last year.
So, while many people have issues with that, in this case it rewards you with a close to static price renewal.

I inquired about reefer insurance and GWC flipped. Seems there are several large losses of their insured for reefer cargo
lately so they really dont want additional exposure.

We now return you to your regular scheduled program.

 

This was how it was when I hired BigJohn54 (RIP). Long time CDL holder without recent experience. In my case, I chose to fund a bus ticket and week-long refresher course at a CDL school I cut a deal with. About $1000 all-in with a rental car and hotel for the week. The qualifier with my insurance company was the CDL issue date. Adding him actually reduced my rate. The CDL school put him in someone else's truck to brush the rust off his skills and wear out their tires and clutch. The instructors gave me good feedback on his abilities and signed off on the skills assessment form in his driver file.

OP: If you offer to fund a refresher course in this fashion, it may make you more appealing to a small carrier that might be on the fence about you. In any event, don't do it until you're in the short rows with a job offer. Freshness counts.