Strong Tie Insurance - Your Commercial Truck Insurance Partner for Your Trucking Business

As a truck insurer, you must know that there are a variety of factors that impact your commercial trucking insurance cost.

If you are a new commercial trucking company, you can expect to pay between $12,000 and $18,000. In some cases, commercial truck insurance prices could be as high as $30,000.

Suppose you are an owner-operator that is leased onto a motor carrier, the national average commercial truck insurance costs between $2,000 and $4,000. Contact us today!

The term “full coverage” doesn’t necessarily describe a specific type of commercial truck insurance.

Usually, this means a truck insurance policy that has the required liability insurance and contains comprehensive and collision coverage.

The comprehensive commercial truck policy helps repair or replace your commercial truck if it’s stolen or damaged products by acts of nature or vandalism.

Having collision coverage in your commercial truck insurance policy can repair or replace your commercial truck if it’s in an accident with another object. Alternatively, full truck coverage often depends on the kind of vehicles or trucks you are insuring as well and the products involved.

The most common trucking coverage costs for commercial vehicles cost between $75 and $150 per month for cars and between $130 and $400 for commercial trucks.

Of course, full insurance commercial coverage for your truck or vehicle might include additional types of insurance, which also impacts the total price. Contact us today!

Commercial trucking insurance protects heavy automotive and transport businesses. Depending on the type and number of vehicles, type of route frequented, and kind of cargo—a business may need basic and additional trucking insurance coverage:

Basic Coverage

General Liability Insurance

This is also called public liability insurance and is usually required by most states. It covers property damage and physical injuries resulting from day-to-day operational activities, excluding road accidents.

Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Worker’s compensation is also mandated by the states. It covers employees’ medical bills and lost wages in case of work-related injuries. It can be used when an employee gets injured or sick from loading cargo or is exposed to a hazardous chemical.

Trucking Liability Insurance 

Trucking liability insurance covers physical injuries and property damages incurred from truck driving or operation. Each state requires a minimum amount of coverage for trucking businesses:

• Federal law requires those who haul non-hazardous cargo with a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or more to employ a minimum of $750,000 of truck liability insurance coverage.
• A commercial truck carrying hazardous material, excluding explosives, with a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or more is required to have a liability insurance coverage of $1,000,000.
• Those carrying explosives with a gross weight of 10,000 pounds or more needs to have $5,000,000 in trucking liability coverage.
• Trucks loaded with non-hazardous cargo with a gross weight of fewer than 10,000 pounds should have $300,000 of insurance coverage.
• A truck carrying hazardous material with a gross weight of under 10,000 pounds needs to be covered by $5,000,000-worth of insurance.

Motor Truck Cargo Insurance

This type of trucking insurance covers the items loaded on a truck in case they get damaged, lost, or wrongly delivered.

Physical Damage Insurance

This covers damages and repairs to the truck caused by accidents, natural disasters, theft, and vandalism. It has two types:

• Comprehensive coverage – insures damages caused by fire and theft.
• Collision coverage – insures damages resulting from accidents.

Additional Coverage

Non-Trucking Liability Insurance

Non-Trucking Liability Insurance is an extension of trucking liability coverage. It covers bodily injuries and damages, i.e., medical bills, replacements, and repairs, that happen to other people when a truck is out for non-business-related purposes.

This type of trucking insurance applies to drivers leasing from a motor carrier.

Bobtail Insurance

This is a type of liability insurance that covers the driver and the truck when it is out for business but not hauling cargo, as in being outside the fetching and delivering shipment window. Some motor carriers require leased drivers to carry this type of insurance.

Trucking insurance premiums are usually expensive. Here are the most common factors affecting their rates:

Trucks Are Expensive

When a truck is involved in an accident and needs to be replaced, insurance companies often have to pay more than they would for a car. Accidents are just among the many reasons why it is more expensive to insure.

They Are Prone to Damage on the Road

When driving in low-clearance areas, trucks can be wrecked, and because they are more difficult to manage, they are more likely to hit something than a standard passenger car.

Truck Accidents Can Cause Severe Injuries

If a trailer truck hits another motorist in an auto accident, the likelihood that the car driver incurs serious injuries is high.  As a result, insurance companies consider trucks and their drivers at a higher risk.

Trucks Can Cause Serious Property Damage

A regular pickup truck can inflict a lot of damage when in an accident due to its huge size and heavyweight. In an unfortunate incident,  the damage may result in large damage to property claims.

Trucks Can Be Damaged While Driving on a Rough Terrain

Trucks often drive on off-roads. This can cause damage to them that your commercial insurance company will eventually have to cover.

It’s not always easy to lower trucking insurance premiums, but there are ways to maintain a minimum coverage:

Employ Experienced Drivers with Clean Records

Experienced truck drivers can better deal with difficult working conditions and so, insurance providers consider them less risky than newbies. Thus, they are more willing to issue lower premiums.

The same goes for truck drivers with clean driving records or with those two minor moving violations in three years, at most.

Know Your Trucking Routes

The routes on which trucks drive affect trucking insurance premiums. Roads away from high-population cities, not often affected by natural disasters, or that do not have rocky surfaces demand less insurance protection.

Drive New Models

The price, condition, and age of a truck also impact its insurance premium. Older models require more maintenance and/or repair, demanding more coverage as well. Stick to using trucks that are 10 years old at most.

Adjust Your Policy or Terms of Payment

You can opt for a higher deductible to get a lower premium, but it will require larger upfront costs if an accident happens.

Review your insurance policy first before proceeding with this. Not all coverages are created the same, and you can end up paying more in the end with a deductible adjustment.

The simple answer is yes, but the required types of insurance differ based on authority.

Owner-Operators on a Permanent Lease with a Motor Carrier

They are covered under the trucking company’s auto liability insurance. It insures third-party property damages and injuries incurred from an accident caused by the motor carrier.

Leasing owner-operators can also purchase additional coverage to extend what their policies protect. Some of the recommended insurance types are:

• Non-Trucking Liability
• Occupational Accident
• Physical Damage Insurance
• Trailer Interchange Coverage

Owner-Operators with Trucking Authority

Truckers with their own authority need auto liability insurance. The required limit starts at $750,000 but can go as high as $1 million. They should also consider purchasing general liability, physical damage, and cargo coverages.