The many forms of commercial truck insurance provide motor carriers and independent owner/operators with all the coverage they need to protect themselves and their assets.

The following are several examples of coverage options for both large companies and independent haulers.

General Liability

This coverage protects company employees and vehicles with liability coverage.  Damage and injury costs are covered for employees and employers are given protection against lawsuits from accident victims.

Primary Liability

This type of coverage is required by federal regulations and covers damage and injury costs incurred by third party motorists involved in accidents caused by commercial truck drivers.

Physical Damage

Independent drivers are encouraged to purchase these policies in order to protect their own assets, such as their trucks.  Damages caused by fires, theft, vandalism, and accidents will be covered up to a pre-determined amount. Considered the minimum policy coverage a driver should purchase to feel protected from the various situations that occur.

Non-Trucking Insurance

This form of liability insurance is a more cost-effective form of coverage for independent drivers.  It covers drivers when not on active dispatch and therefore not covered by their contracted employer’s policy.

Trailer Interchange Insurance

This coverage is for instances in which trailers are being exchanged between two different companies.  Trailer interchange coverage will cover the cost of any damages to the trailer or its cargo while being hauled by an outside party.

Cargo Insurance

Many commercial truck insurance policies do not cover the actual cargo, just the truck itself. Cargo insurance protects the goods that are being transported, as well as protects if those goods fall out or cause harm to another driver.

Freight Insurance

General freight insurance protects companies that haul dried goods ranging in value from $10,000- $100,000. Freight valued higher than $100,000 typically needs additional coverage.

Dump Truck Insurance

The defining quality of Dump Truck Insurance is the mechanical moving parts of the truck. Because the back of the dump truck is a machine itself, it requires special a policy for those that could be injured by operating it.

Commercial Truck Insurance Blogs

If you would like to learn more about commercial truck insurance policies, read these following blogs from industry experts: http://royaltytruckinsurance.com/blog/2011/08/commercial-truck-insurance-guide-to-getting-the-right-coverage/ and http://royaltytruckinsurance.com/blog/2011/07/commercial-truck-insurance-protecting-personal-assets/

Trucking businesses may handle only one specific type of cargo (refrigerated produce, liquid chemicals, or building materials for instance) or may haul several different types of standard general freight. There are also quite a few different types of specialized trucks, such as the dump truck, tow truck or construction vehicles that don’t necessarily haul cargo at all.

Every one of these subcategories of commercial trucking requires their own set of coverage amounts to meet with regulations or be able to hold financial responsibility in case of an accident. Laws, regulations, and the cost of damage in turn, may make separate and specialized insurance a must. A few examples of these specialized coverage options are detailed below:

Building Materials Hauler Insurance

Construction vehicles that haul building materials to and from work sites may need this type of truck liability and cargo insurance combination. Typically, motor carriers that work largely in construction may need building materials haulers insurance as well as policies for their non-cargo specialty vehicles.

Produce Haulers Insurance

This coverage is tailored directly to refrigerated trucks that haul perishable foods.
The food industry represents a vast amount of the number of commercial trucks that are on the road every day. Spoilage, damage and damage to refrigeration equipment can be accounted for in this blend of liability and physical damage commercial insurance.

Tow Truck Insurance

Tow truck insurance covers liability for damages to other vehicles while being towed, as well as liability and other selectable coverage clauses should the tow truck itself be involved in an accident. Coverage amounts will vary based on frequency of use and at what capacity the tow truck is used.

It is also important to note that the coverage needs of individuals will very greatly from those of large motor carriers with fleets of trucks and dozens of employees.

Motor carriers need to provide their drivers with adequate liability, injury, and physical damage coverage. They also need to make sure that their assets (such as trucks, trailers, and cargo) are protected against damage, theft, or vandalism.

General Freight Insurance and General Liability

These two forms of commercial truck insurance are basic coverage options for motor carriers. General freight is a blanket form of insurance that covers entire lines of cargo. General liability insurance can cover your actual business in the event damage or harm occurs during day-to-day operations.

Independent haulers’ needs mostly involve protecting their trucks with physical damage insurance and maintaining some form of liability coverage when not actively employed by a large company. Typically, motor carriers bear the burden of financial responsibility when independent drivers are under commission by them. Bobtail insurance is a good option to stay covered while off the job.

Royalty Truck Insurance is an award-winning truck insurance agency that’s won Insurance Agency of the Year from the Consumer Business Review 9 consecutive years.  Trust Royalty Truck Insurance as your premier commercial truck insurance agency, and browse our site for more resources like this article on primary trucking liability coverage. 

With a similar reverence, Overdrive Magazine is reporting that truckers surveyed across the country have voted Petro Truck Stops their “favorite truck stop” of 2010.

The magazine has run their independent study of truck drivers across the U.S. for the past four years and Petro has been ringing up top rankings for the entire span.

The survey includes 17 different categories ranging from “quickest fueling” to “best buffets.” Petro incinerated the competition by taking the No. 1 spot in 15 of the 17 categories.

Petro, owned by parent company TravelCenters of America LLC, is headquartered in Westlake, OH—a town also famous for hosting the 2006 USA Broomball National Championships.

Petro hosts Iron Skillet diners, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Blimpie Subs, DOT screening services, clean restrooms and showers, an assortment of cheesy bumper stickers and beer koozies and a legendary assortment of generic cell phone chargers on revolving racks.

Just about the only things they don’t provide for truckers are licensing and commercial truck insurance.

Some of the categories Petro cleaned up in throughout Overdrive Magazine’s survey included “best food, best breakfast, best buffets, healthiest menu, best travel stores, cleanest restrooms, best parking, easy to maneuver fueling lanes, best employees, best restaurant coffee and best truck stop experience.

Let us Know What You Think in the Comments Below:

Do you agree with the Overdrive Magazine survey? Would you vote Royalty Truck Insurance the best truck insurance provider of 2010?  Tell us below in the comments field!

As a commercial truck insurance company, we know better than anyone just how regulated the industry is. In the midst of a recession where paying truck insurance premiums are the least of most truckers problems, a lot of drivers are worried these new ratings regulations couldn’t have come at a worse time.

The Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 is a new federal program that’s being rolled out by the FMCSA.  The program assigns a score to motor carriers that aims to demonstrate their risk to shipping agencies based on their past safety violations.

Things like driver fatigue, behavioral analysis, driver fitness, alcohol or controlled substance violations and accidents caused are all measured to formulate a final score—kind of like a quarterback rating in the NFL

Some drivers are concerned many shippers will read too much into the numbers, choosing to avoid carriers with lower scores that are still above acceptable standards.  They’re worried this could cost smaller business jobs based on unfair comparisons.

Trucking companies with excellent track records and safety advocates for the FMCSA think otherwise, calling the ratings system a “new nationwide system that will make the roads safer for motor carriers and the public alike.”

Stories have surfaced of freight companies that have suffered lower scores because of violations taken into consideration from the distant past—sometimes even before the violations were even considered safety related at all.  In some cases, these companies have lost major accounts.

Let us Know What You Think in the Comments Below:

Is the new CSA rating system really a bonus for the safest drivers, sort of like lower commercial truck insurance premiums are offered to the safest companies? Or is this an unfair system that divulges too much unnecessary information for shippers to discriminate against the trucking industry?

Should a license in good standing, a qualified driver and proof of commercial truck insurance be all a company should need to be hired?  Will these safety regulations really cost truckers more jobs in the end?

Dump truck insurance is one of the largest categories of commercial truck insurance specialization, probably due to the very different capacities dump trucks are used, the very specific types of cargo dump trucks carry and the different variations of dump trucks themselves.

There is probably not a commercial truck cooler than a dump truck—kids play with dump truck toys and there’s something about a dump truck amidst a construction scene that commands a certain degree of reverence. The dump truck is huge, made of heavy metal and has tons of moving parts—all things that are very cool for any commercial truck enthusiast.

If you know the difference between a standard dump truck, articulated dump truck, side dump truck and superdump truck, than you definitely understand why dump truck insurance is one of the most highly specialized (and important) securities in the world of commercial truck insurance. Dump trucks are big, mean and can cause some serious damage if not used properly, and their commercial truck insurance coverages reflect that.

A typical dump truck is used for transporting earthy or aggregate materials, such as dirt, sand and gravel for construction. Many garbage trucks are dump trucks as well. The dump truck is used off road in many capacities as well, such as in the mining industry, logging industry and in any other tasks that require hefty earth moving.

Usually equipped with a hydraulic lift, the dump truck’s trailer is used to deposit its haul contents safely behind the truck wherever it’s transported.

Generally, if you’re a fleet owner that commissions 1 or multiple dump trucks, you likely need a special dump truck insurance policy and other forms of commercial truck insurance such as specialized cargo insurance.

Finding the right truck insurance can be difficult because there are so many specializations in the world of commercial truck insurance.  The specialties exist for a few reasons.  Largely because commercial trucks are used in such varying capacities, and largely because the federal and state governments dictate coverage amounts to protect people from the capacities commercial trucks are used.

In simpler terms, a state like California will require you have a much higher coverage amount for hazardous materials haulers than they will for household goods haulers.

Household goods don’t tend to explode and shoot flames 60 feet in the air when they’re involved in a heavy accident—gasoline does. Hence the different cargo insurance amounts.

Specializations among commercial truck insurance exist for styles of trucks and their functions, as well as the cargo they carry.  Big truck insurance for large rigs will have fairly standard coverage amounts compared to regular semi truck insurance, but they’ll account for their capacity to carry oversize loads.

Additionally, tow truck insurance and dump truck insurance have their own special coverage amounts and characteristics because the capacities of the trucks are different than typical semi tricks—tow trucks obviously haul other vehicles and dump trucks unload in a unique fashion.

If all of this commercial truck insurance specialization confuses you, don’t sweat it.  Just remember, whatever your truck and situation, you really just need primary liability truck insurance and probably some type of trailer and cargo insurance.  If you need help figuring out what coverage amounts you need, just contact one of our agents to help clear it up!

Hail the tow truck, quite possibly the best vehicular metaphor for human existence and the perfect ying-yang in the world of commercial trucks (and commercial truck insurance for that matter).

Allow us to explain this a bit further. Some of us think of tow trucks as the large, metal white knights in shining armor of the road—the saviors of the street and the mountains in snowy conditions that save our helpless cars from the savage perils of dark and stormy roads.

Then again, others don’t exhibit quite the same emotion when they walk out of a place of business to find that their car was towed by the city for being illegally parked.  The knights in shining armor soon become petty extortionists, whose name we curse for charging exorbitant minimums and unreasonable per-day garage fees.

The tow truck, much like human beings and nature in general, is a paradox.  Sometimes good, sometimes evil—even when used in the same capacity.

Deep, huh?  Well, tow truck insurance doesn’t have to be that emotionally confusing. Insuring tow trucks is actually quite simple for us, because we provide tow truck insurance throughout the majority of the United States, for good or ill.  While the tow truck is usually operating in a similar capacity, tow truck insurance is specialized for the fact that the vehicles they tow can vary greatly in value.  Additionally, tow trucks are oftentimes picking up said “cargo” in pretty malicious conditions, whether it’s a snowy mountain road or in the middle of downtown Los Angeles gridlock traffic.

Still confused?  Just contact one of our truck insurance agents to clear it up.  We also cover car carriers insurance for bigger vehicular hauls.

We must say, we learned a lot getting licensed to sell truck insurance in North Dakota—much more than just the ins and outs of commercial truck insurance regulations of the state.

We also learned that Cambridge University thinks that North Dakota is the friendliest state in the Union, based on an official study they conducted. We’re still not sure if the study was based on manners or crime rates, but either way, it’s pretty cool if you ask us!

We also learned that North Dakota set a world French fry-serving record in 2006 at the Potato Bowl USA, firing up over 4,620 pounds of the delicious side (with 113 gallons of ketchup to boot).

We also learned that there is such a thing as the Potato Bowl USA.

While we may not be experts in everything North Dakota, for example the intricacies of the sacred albino white cloud buffalo that calls the state home, we definitely are the experts when it comes to North Dakota truck insurance.

Give us a call for anything commercial truck insurance related, whether it’s tow truck insurance in North Dakota, dump truck insurance in North Dakota, potato haulers insurance, sacred albino white cloud buffalo haulers insurance—whatever you need, chances are we can hook it up!

Let’s hear it for North Dakota!

At Royalty Truck Insurance, we do our best to make sure that all of our carriers are covered in the event of an accident.  But accidents involving large trucks can be extremely serious, and though covering you and your trucks with liability insurance is essential, your insurance should only be your second line of defense against accidents; prevention and safety should be the first.  Truck safety is of the utmost importance in avoiding serious injury or fatalities associated with commercial accidents, and it is imperative for all companies and drivers to ensure they are not putting themselves in compromising positions that can increase the risk of crashes.

If you check out some of the statistics posted by the US Department of Transportation, you’ll notice that it’s shocking how many commercial truck accidents that have occurred in recent years could have been prevented. In 2005 there were over 5,000 deaths and over 90,000 injuries reported as a result of commercial truck-related accidents. In recent years with similar statistics, it has been estimated that over 20% of these accidents occurred while excessive speeding was involved.  It is important for truck drivers to obey traffic laws at all times, but probably more important for them to recognize that many drivers on the road will not.  Always be attentive to the other drivers on the road around you, and if you notice reckless drivers or speeders, drive defensively and avoid them rather than reacting toward them aggressively.

To add to the speeding statistic, roughly 5% of drivers involved in large truck accidents were excessively fatigued, and another 2% were using alcohol or controlled substances.  We always have pressure to hit deadlines and meet demand, but using substances to stay awake or trying to push through fatigue is extremely dangerous to driver awareness.
While you may think you need to make a quick delivery to get another job or handle another account, recognize that safety is much better business than risking accidents.  Of all the accidents in 2005 that resulted in a fatality, the average cost of the truck crash was $3.6 million.  The accidents that resulted in injuries averaged a cost of almost $200,000 per crash. The average cost per crash for all accidents combined was about $90,000. No amount of business able to be gained from rushing or pushing the limits of drivers outweighs the financial risks of a crash—not to mention the priceless loss of life that occurs far too many times per year.

So being up to date with a quality truck insurance policy that covers liability is essential, but don’t let the peace of mind it grants detract from your usual safety measures.  Follow the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration guidelines and standards for safe driving, and always make sure that you’re staying alert and defensive while on the road.  For a truck insurance qute please contact us to visit us online for a quick truck insurance quote.