Non Trucking Liability Insurance Coverage

Drivers who are under a permanent lease to a motor carrier that offers primary liability coverage can benefit from non trucking liability insurance. Non-trucking liability coverage kicks in when you use your truck for non-business purposes. Any personal use of your truck before, after, or between jobs will be covered under this non-trucking coverage.

Many motor carriers require some kind of non trucking liability policy in the lease agreement. This coverage helps fill in any coverage gaps while the truck is in use. General commercial truck liability insurance covers times when the truck is being used for business purposes, so any other use of the vehicle needs additional insurance.

Non-Trucking Liability Insurance vs. Bobtailing Insurance

A Non Trucking  insurance policy is not the same as bobtail coverage, even if these two terms are closely related. These two types of coverage are similar, but they come into play in different ways.

Bobtail insurance is when you drive a truck without the trailer attached to it. A truck that drops off a trailer full of cargo may have to drive to another location to pick up a new load. The drive-in between these two locations is known as bobtailing. If there is an accident resulting in physical damage or injury during this bobtailing time, your commercial trucking liability insurance won’t help. Bobtail insurance covers the truck’s journey when owner-operators are driving without their trailer.

A Non-trucking liability insurance is completely different than bobtail insurance. Non-truck liability coverage covers instances when a driver causes damage to a third party while they are driving their vehicle for non-business or personal use, whether the trailer is attached or not. Non trucking liability does not cover your vehicle while you’re hauling cargo for business purposes like getting to/from the terminal, driving with an empty trailer, and washing your big rig, or running a delivery route.

Large trucking companies who use leased drivers typically need bobtail insurance, as they often need to drive their trucks from one location to another without the trailer. Non trucking liability insurance is crucial for leased operators.

What is Unladen Liability Insurance?

Another possible trucking liability scenario that truckers may have to deal with is called driving unladen. Unladen driving is when a trucker is operating their truck with either an empty trailer, known as deadheading, or without a trailer, either on dispatch or not.

People often interchange unladen liability with bobtail coverage. It’s also easy to confuse these terms with dispatch non trucking liability. Unladen coverage has a broader scope than bobtailing as it also includes coverage for deadheading. Non trucking liability coverage only applies to when the truck is being used outside of dispatch.

Physical Damage Coverage

Owner-operators who are on lease to a motor carrier should also consider physical damage coverage. Often times, your motor carrier will provide primary liability trucking insurance, but may not include a physical damage policy.

Physical damage insurance covers a variety of things that can happen to your vehicle if it’s involved in an accident if it collides with another object or overturns/rolls. Check with your motor carrier to determine if you are covered in instances of physical damage or if you need your own policy.

The Non-Trucking Liability Coverage

When exploring options for additional insurance, make sure you have a copy of your motor carrier’s insurance policy and your lease agreement. These documents will help identify what kinds of insurance plans you may need to obtain to be fully protected.

To better understand your needs, make a list of every possible scenario that could occur while driving your semi-truck. By doing this, you can explore how you use your tractor-trailer and what kinds of gaps may exist under your company’s policy.

If you anticipate ever driving your truck for personal use, without a trailer, or with an empty trailer, it’s worth exploring your options for the right kind of coverage.

Get the non-trucking liability coverage you need! Call now!