A question that comes up a lot in the trucking world is how much insurance is enough. Insurance is expensive. That is why many truckers are tempted to get only the minimum amount of trucking insurance required by law. They want to pay the lowest price possible, and that’s understandable. However, are those minimums really enough?
Imagine if you were driving your truck and you were involved in a bad accident. The costs of that would be astronomical. There are medical expenses for the people injured. There is the cost of a potential lawsuit. Think about how sue-happy our world is. The minimum level of insurance required by law could easily be exhausted.
When you are getting your truck insurance (tow truck insurance, big rig insurance, dump truck insurance, etc.) it is a good idea to look at the difference in cost between those minimum levels of insurance and higher levels of insurance. Compare how much more you would be paying for more insurance against how much more coverage you would have. While of course you have to be able to afford your insurance, you also have to be able to stay in business after something happens. Your insurance is your buffer that can help you keep going after an accident.
The point is that a good trucking agent is going to help you compare the pricing between lower limits of insurance and higher limits of insurance. They can help you look at the difference in price between $300,000 of insurance and $1 million of insurance, for example. Who knows? The cost might not be that much more, and you might find that you actually can afford more insurance.
(Another thing to note: it is okay to tell the trucking agent helping you with insurance quotes what you are currently paying for trucking insurance. This helps them know what markets to go to so they can get you the best quotes. It both makes their job easier and helps you get better quotes.)
As you grow your trucking business, you need to continue to evaluate your insurance needs. The coverage that fit your business a year ago might not be right for you now. Your insurance may need to change as you grow and time goes by. A trucking agent can help you make sure that your insurance suits your current business.
However, insurance isn’t the only thing that a good trucking agent can help you with. There is a lot that goes along with running a tow truck business or a trucking operation. A trucking agent can assist with safety and risk management. They can give you suggestions for contracts that could help you get more jobs. They can also help with the DOT regulations that you need to follow. They should be up-to-date on news and current events in the trucking industry so they can explain how these changes could affect you – for example, legislation that could change the limits of insurance interstate trucking businesses are required to carry.
Basically, a good trucking agent knows the right questions to ask you to make sure that you are up-to-date and that you are getting the right trucking insurance for your business.
Since we live in a world that loves litigation, having enough insurance is essential. Find out how much more it would cost to raise your limits of insurance. Grow your coverage with your business. Again, while you need to be able to afford your insurance, you need to be able to keep going if an accident happens.
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