Trucking Insurance Companies: What’s the Best Coverage?

With over 700,000 trucks across Canada, 420,000 of which carry commercial freight, it’s more essential than ever to have the best insurance coverage possible for your trucking operation. 

But it begs the question: What is the best insurance coverage for you?

Coverage needs are best fitted to your situation. Trucking insurance companies, especially us at Blue Capital, have consultants to further understand your operation’s unique needs.

In a previous blog, we highlight the necessity of trucking insurance. In this blog, we’ll go over some common coverage options that trucking insurance companies offer.

Questions to Consider When Choosing Your Insurance Options

No matter what, you’ll opt-in for basic coverage. Trucking insurance companies in Canada offer optional coverage for certain industries and certain situations. Before selecting insurance options, consider the following list: 

• Has your truck been a victim of theft before? Do you want your tools/equipment covered just in case of theft?
• How many trucks do you own/operate? 
• When your truck is being repaired, do you want to be compensated for any loss of income during repair downtime?
• If your truck is in an accident, do you worry about not collecting income while your vehicle is off the road?
• Do you often haul a lot of attached equipment? If so, do you want it covered in case something happens? 
• Do you haul lots of commercial goods or produce? Do you want them covered in case of an accident?
• Do you think your truck is older and at a higher risk of being written off in an accident?

A consultant at Blue Capital will ask some of these questions and more to further understand what coverage options you may need. 

Comprehensive Coverage Options 

Now that you’ve answered a few of the above questions, you should have a clearer picture of how much insurance you may need. There are plenty of options that trucking insurance companies offer, but we’ll break them down for you. 

• Mechanical Downtime Protection: We know repairs are common. If your truck is out of commission for any mechanical fault or an unavailable part, mechanical downtime insurance helps you receive up to $1,000/wk in lost revenue (Note this is for vehicles under 5 years old).
• Crime Coverages: This covers your vehicle and your business in case of truck break-ins, vehicle or equipment theft, and even fraud. This is wise to include in your comprehensive coverage, especially if your truck isn’t secure or watched at all times. 
• Truck Cargo Insurance: Your cargo is valuable if it’s your main source of income. Adding truck cargo insurance to your comprehensive plan grants blanket coverage to protect your business. 
• Extended Third Party Liability: It’s studied that crashes involving commercial trucks cost more in conjunction with the vehicle’s size. A semi-crash pulling two or three trailers cost an average of $511,582 in the United States. It’s required to have a minimum of $200,000 in third-party liability, but many truck owners don’t hesitate to extend it to $500,000 or $ 1 million for this reason alone. 
• Commercial General Liability: This coverage is regarding property damages and driver negligence by yourself or one of your employees. Some construction sites may not be included in this coverage so they may need another area of coverage. 
• Write-Off Protection: Having a vehicle written off can be painstaking and costly. Trucking insurance companies will pay you to assist your business in the unfortunate event of a vehicle write-off. At Blue Captial, we pay up to $30,000. 

Here are just a few of our coverage options offered by us. If you’re curious to view more, please see our protection products. 

Conclusion 

To answer the question: What’s the best coverage that trucking insurance companies offer, it completely depends on your trucking business. As a rule of thumb, it never hurts to obtain more third-party liability than the minimum. Criminal insurance coverages are very useful in most insurance plans as well. 

As for other additional coverages, it’s best to inquire and discuss your options with a professional consultant like ours at Blue Captial.