How to Shop for the Best Motor Cargo Insurance for Your Business

Truck insurance is your first step after you buy your first truck. Whether you just started your business or are looking for better, affordable commercial truck insurance, you must always take the first step to getting insured. This isn’t always everyone’s favorite part of the business, but it is necessary to keep you on the road. 

Motor Truck Cargo Insurance 

The freight that your business is transporting is valuable, and an accident can lead to significant losses and delays. Motor truck cargo insurance protects the freight and covers your business’ liability for lost or damaged items under many different circumstances from collisions to fires. 

Here’s how to shop for the best motor cargo insurance for your business. 

Don’t Leave it to Someone Else

Most people hope that they can leave this task up to their broker. While a broker certainly is a valuable resource, it’s important for you to understand the types of coverage that you need. You know everything about your business while a broker may not. It is up to the owner/operator to take control of the insurance search so that you don’t find out when it’s too late that your insurance doesn’t cover something you thought it would. 

Your broker will be able to match you with the right insurer, but it’s ultimately up to you to ask the right questions and provide them with the right information about your business. Only then can a broker do what they’re supposed to do to get you the best truck insurance. 

Learn What it Covers

For any insurance, it’s important to know what is covered. Motor truck cargo insurance will cover you on these liabilities:

• Loss or damage of cargo due to accident
• Loss or damage of cargo due to fire
• Loss or damage of cargo due to theft

This type of commercial trucking insurance will also cover the person transporting the cargo or the company transporting. Motor cargo insurance also provides protection on the damage or loss that may have occurred from the time of departure of the cargo until the shipment process has ended. 

You may also find that some insurance will cover the cost of legal expenses that result from a client or customer taking legal action. 

Contract Carriers and Common Carriers

Cargo insurance often covers contracts and common carriers. The common carriers are the trucker who delivers the cargo shipment, and the contract carrier is the specific shipper who is under contract on the motor truck cargo insurance. 

When common carriers are not covered by insurance, they will themselves become liable for damages caused during shipments. Contract carriers will become liable only under the specified guidelines laid out in the contract between the trucker and the shipper. 

It’s important to note that common carriers are not liable when an “act of God” occurs. These events typically become an exception on both the contract carrier and common carrier because there are accidents in which no one had an influence, and they were caused by nature. These damages and losses can be caused by:

• Wildfires
• Earthquakes
• Hurricanes
• Tsunamis
• Public enemy
• Improper cargo loading

Learn How Trucking Insurance Works

Before you even begin looking for insurance, you should know how it works. Buying cheap commercial truck insurance is easy. 

Purchase liability insurance. Motor truck cargo insurance has a requirement from state governments that the trucker also purchases primary liability insurance. This insurance is necessary to cover damages and injuries done to other people and property if an accident were to occur. 

You will buy a policy from a trucking insurance company that will cover the cargo up to a specific monetary limit. The policies in force at the time of damage or loss of the cargo will provide coverage for the loss incurred, and this will recover as close to the entire amount of damage or loss as possible. 

Compare Policies 

Now that you know all about motor cargo insurance, it’s time to start shopping around. The first step is to find a few insurance companies that you think will work best for your business. Your purchase of insurance will depend on a variety of items which determine the rules of the contract. The policies will differ depending on:

• The types of commodities being transported: Highly perishable goods will contain a different policy compared to cargo with less perishable goods. 
• The value of the cargo: highly valued cargo will contain different policies compared to those with low value.
• Destination of the cargo: Some destinations are sensitive and prone to more risks compared to others. 

Get Quotes and Compare

It’s time to get your quotes. This is not a very time-consuming task but allows you to talk to a real insurance representative to talk about your business and get the best insurance for your business. If you already have a policy, make sure it is in front of you so that you can quickly answer any questions and compare different policies much easier. 

Your insurance broker can also help with this step. They can help get multiple quotes for you, and you can have access to the insurers they do business with. Don’t let you broker be the deciding factor, though. It’s important that you are with them every step of the way. 

Once you get the quotes back, you can start comparing them. Each quote should be based on the same amount of coverage so that you can make a quick comparison. During this time, you should also compare companies. 

You may not want to choose the cheapest option because of a poor customer satisfaction rate. You always want to make sure your insurer will be there for you when you need them. 

Purchase Affordable Commercial Truck Insurance

After you’ve made your comparison, you may have decided on one insurance company that’s both affordable and has happy customers. In some cases, you may still have some questions before making a final decision. 

Your potential insurance provider will be happy to talk to you again and answer any questions you have regarding a policy. Make sure you have all of your questions answered about coverage before making the final decision.