A crucial part of a career on the road is making sure that you have trucking insurance. There are many type of trucking insurance policies available, but one of the most important out there is liability insurance. Here is a look at some of the different types of insurance options and what you need to look for.
Primary Liability Insurance
To stay legal while on the road, you will need primary trucking liability insurance as a minimum. This type of trucking insurance covers the injuries and damage that would occur to the other driver and their vehicle in an accident. As a truck driver, your primary liability insurance must be at least $750,000 worth of coverage. What that means is if you are in an accident, your insurance will cover up to $750,000 of damage or injury to the other person and their vehicle if it is found that you were at fault.
Keep in mind that if you are found at fault for more than this amount, the other party’s lawyer may go after your personal wages and savings. Because of this, when you are shopping for trucking insurance, you might want to consider more than primary trucking liability insurance. Also trucking liability insurance will not cover you or your vehicle in an accident.
General liability insurance
This type of trucking insurance covers your truck when you are not on the road. General trucking liability insurance covers accidents in parking lots, rest stops, and while loading or unloading. It can also cover risks like theft and vandalism.
The type of trucking insurance may come as one general package or several smaller ones. Talk to your trucking insurance company about the types of general trucking liability insurance that they offer to see what will cover you and your truck the best.
Non-trucking liability insurance
While you are on the road, your truck is covered by the company that you are working for. However, during your off times when your truck is parked in your driveway, you are responsible for the trucking insurance. This type of trucking liability insurance protects your truck whenever you are not working.
The law and trucking liability insurance
When shopping for trucking liability insurance, it is important to keep in mind what your legal requirements are. Trucking insurance is mandatory in all 50 states, and not having proper insurance could cost you pricey fines or your license. It is a way for the state to protect drivers when they are in an accident, and also protects the driver of the at-fault vehicle from having to use personal property to cover the damages that they are responsible for.
When you are shopping for truck liability insurance, you will want to make sure that you meet the legal insurance requirements put out by the ICC/MC Authority. If you are confused, you should talk to your insurance agent or your local DOT representative to make sure that you have enough liability coverage for your vehicle.
what is the responsibility of a motor carrier as to liability insurance for a tractor that is owned by another party and the motor carrier leases the tractor/owner-op to haul for the motor carrier on a full time basis. does the motor carrier have to specifically list the leased tractor on the liability insurance policy or is the “HIRED” coverage enough?
Richard,
If you are an independent owner operator in a lease agreement with a company, it is the companie’s or “authority holder’s” responsibility to provide your primary liability and cargo coverages. “However” “their” liability will cover you only when you are under their dispatch, therefore most Trucking Companies will require their owner operators to carry “non trucking use liability” (commonly referred to as bobtail which is technically different) This coverages provides liability coverage when you are not under your companie’s dispatch (driving on the weekends etc), and it protects you so you don’t need to worry about not having coverage if you were to be in an accident, and evidence of dispatch is questionable. Sooo, in a nutshell, there is no “requirement” that says you legally have to have Non Trucking Use Liability “bobtail” but it can be required by a company in order for you to lease to them. Frankly, it’s more in your best interest to have it than even theirs. Bad time to find out you don’t have liability coverage when you have an accident and your employer’s insurance company denies the claim 🙁
in a lease contract am I required to pay for primary liability insurance?
Some do, some don’t — a leasing deal can be arranged in any number of ways, and the only way to tell what you’ll be responsible for is by reading the lease contract. If your lease contract doesn’t specify that the company will provide primary liability insurance, you need to assume that you’ll be responsible for it. If the company tells you that they’re responsible for it, they need to put it in writing in the lease contract.
FMCSA requires 750,000 for freight – but 1 million or more will offer you better protection.
My husband was in an accident and he went off the road no one else was hurt. He is having neck and back pain. I called to get the insurance company name and his company is refusing to disclose the insurance company. How would I obtain the information