What Most New Truckers Get Wrong About Insurance (and How to Avoid It)

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Regardless of the industry, insurance is important to get right so that you’re protecting yourself or the safety and financial wellbeing of your workers and your business.

A lot of US truckers will underestimate the needs that come from having insurance, often only carrying the minimum in coverage, which might not be enough.

To avoid these mistakes, truckers should increase their coverage and thoroughly understand policy exclusions that help protect them effectively.

Let’s take a look at the most common problems and mistakes made when acquiring insurance.

Underestimating liability needs

Many new owner-operators will only carry the mandatory minimum liability coverage. This is usually around $750,000 or $1 million.

Not having enough liability coverage can prove detrimental, and so it’s important to look at higher umbrella policies that provide greater protection.

Serious accidents, for eaxample can be something that easily exceeds minimum coverage and jeopardizes personal assets too if you’re unfortunate.

Poor timing on claims

Another common mistake made by truckers happens when they delay claiming, especially for cargo damage or accidents.

Waiting to report the accidents, it can often lead to denials due to their being a period of time having passed that nullifies and voids the claim.

You should report any incidents almost immediately after they happen.

Even if it seems like a minor incident that doesn’t warrant claiming on insurance, it might transpire into something more serious and complex than first thought.

Make sure to document everything to avoid missing any policy deadlines, and brush up on all the small print on those insurance contracts you agree to.

Ignoring the radius of operations

When looking at insurance for truckers, you must check or update the operating radius, as this can also result in denied claims.

The policy you take out should accurately reflect your typical routine distance.

If you expand upon your territory of operation, then this is something you should notify your agent immediately.

It’s often the case that a problem/accident happens, and then you realize your policy doesn’t cover the radius of operations required.

Neglecting specialized coverage 

You must dive into the policies you take out when it comes to insurance to make sure it has all the possible coverage you need to protect yourself.

Assuming all the risks are covered by one policy is not something you want to avoid doing. A prime example is not having specialized cargo coverage for high-value items on your policy.

It’s good to therefore understand the difference between what is covered and what isn’t. If in doubt, you can always phone up your insurance provider to check it’s covered.

Ignoring policy exclusions and deductibles

Failing to review the exclusions on a policy or selecting a deductible that is too high to pay-out-of-pocket can be more of a headache than you might at first realize.

To avoid this, read the policy thoroughly to understand both the exclusions and deductibles, ensuring you have enough liquidity available to be able to handle a claim.