Hazmat insurance question

Tell the guy he is full of it. Your endorsements are not counted, just the driving record.

 

Nonsense!

You specify what types of hazmat you want to be authorized to carry when you apply for your authority. Your insurance company will use that publicly available information to set your rates. It will also affect what level of coverage you need to carry in order to maintain your authority.

 

Good comments on this thread and yeah, the world of insurance can be confusing for sure.

Here are some general points:
1. Insurance for authorized hazmat carriers higher limits which means higher premiums for sure
2. When a operating authority applies for insurance, they disclose all the types of cargo they haul. There are specific questions about hazmat and the insurance company would ask you to list exactly what you carry along with other details
3. If a driver has a hazmat endorsement on a CDL, that doesn't automatically mean the operating authority has the proper endorsements to pull haz...that's done through DOT.
4. If an applicant represents to an insurance company that they don't pull hazmat, and then there's a claim situation and the driver was somehow hauling glue/oil/explosives...there will be hell to pay and most likely lawsuits flying, but you won't see your insurance company waiting in line to pay for it.
5. Always disclose exactly what you do and clarify what you don't do - Each insurance company has its own team of underwriters who dictate what risk they are willing to take on and for what price. One year they may be extremely competitive and another year they could be out of this world.
6. Many other factors can drive up your premiums