There are many responsibilities involved with owning or operating a commercial truck and making sure that your truck has enough insurance is one of them.  While there are many coverages out there for commercial vehicles, the minimum requirements are surprisingly low and could leave your business in a sorry state if you only insure your truck with what is required.

Required Coverages

As with auto, the minimum requirements for commercial truck insurance will vary from state to state. However, the one factor that remains the same is the need for liability insurance. Liability coverage pays for the injuries and property damage that a driver is responsible for in the event of an accident.  Since commercial trucks have the propensity to cause a lot more damage, the minimum requirements are typically much higher than the corresponding minimums for automobiles in your state.

Important, but not required, coverages

Liability coverage is usually the only coverage that is mandated by law, but if that is the only coverage that you have on your commercial truck you are severely underinsured.  Here are some coverages that may be essential but not required:

• Uninsured Motorist: Accidents involving a commercial truck can be catastrophic for everyone involved.  If someone who does not have insurance, or does not have enough, to pay for the injuries for those in your vehicle and the damage to the truck itself causes the crash, your uninsured motorist coverage kicks in.
• Physical damage: It is no secret that commercial trucks are an expensive investment. Physical damage coverage pays for the damage done to the truck itself in the event of an accident.  Should there be an accident and you have no physical damage, you will likely have to pay the entire cost to repair or replace the truck out of pocket.

 

• Motor Truck General Liability: This coverage is exclusive to commercial trucks and covers the business that owns the truck for liability concerns while no one is driving the vehicle. Possible examples could include: a customer getting hurt on the business property, slander or libel, as well actions that a driver takes that reflect on the company.  

• Non-trucking liability: Your truck is a vehicle, and you or others may use it for more than just business use from time to time. Non-trucking liability covers liability concerns when someone is driving your truck for non-business purposes such as running to the store or going to a restaurant on your off day– as long as you are not hauling cargo.

• Motor truck cargo:  A truckload full of cargo can sometimes be more costly than the truck itself. Motor truck cargo coverage pays for damage or destroyed cargo that your truck is hauling.

• Non-owned trailer liability: If you own the trailer that your truck is pulling, your commercial truck policy covers liability for the trailer along with the rest of your truck. However, if you are pulling someone else’s trailer, it is typically not covered. Non-owned trailer liability extends liability coverage to trailers that you pull that are owned by others.

 

Commercial truck insurance is not an area that you want to take a gamble.  Contact your agent if you have questions on commercial truck insurance or if you feel that you do not have the right level of coverage on your commercial truck policy.