Cars and commercial trucks are two very difficult types of vehicles. For one thing, all automobiles, when it comes to required insurance, are regulated by the individual states. And each state pretty much sets their own requirements for the required insurance.
With a truck however, while the state may also have special requirements, the Federal Government, under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets the rules. Big rig insurance is a must-have if you’re wanting to operate under federal and state trucking guidelines.
Individual truck drivers need $750,000 worth of liability insurance, but you, as a fleet operator, running several trucks, you not only need liability insurance for your drivers but you also need General Liability Truck Insurance.
General Liability Insurance designed to handle injuries, losses and damages that arise from normal, day-to-day trucking operations. More specifically, it protects the insurer from litigation and lawsuits that may arise due to accidents involving your fleet.
General Liability Insurance does not involve your drivers actually driving the truck, but instead covers thing such as:
- Damages at delivery sites, shipping docks and truck stops
- Falls and injuries
- Losses due to failure to deliver the right cargo
You will also need Motor Truck cargo insurance to cover the freight being hauled against fire, collision, theft, and in many cases also coverage for pollution clean-up in case the truck was carrying toxic chemicals.
As a fleet owner, you’ll want to have sufficient Motor Truck Liability insurance to cover:
- Accidents on your premises
- Personal Injury
- Medical Payments
- Advertising injury in case one of your drivers slander’s a competitor
- Product Completed and Operations coverageIn the case for example, where one of your drivers delivers a load of faulty hearing aids from the manufacturer. This insurance will protect you as the innocent go between in subsequent lawsuits.
As a fleet operator, you’ll need to have all 3 kinds of insurance, primary liability insurance, general liability insurance and motor truck cargo insurance to make sure you are full protected against all possible consequences for your trucking company.
Operating a trucking fleet can be quite profitable, but you’ll want to make sure that you have plenty of the right kinds of trucking insurance, otherwise, a simple accident or a lawsuit, which are indeed possible, can quickly put you out of business.
Insurance for fleet operators is not just a matter of complying with the law, but is a vital component of your business.
