The truck toppled while attempting to enter onto a ramp onto southbound on Interstate 69 in Fort Wayne, Ind. at 4 p.m. on Friday the 23^rd of December. The semitrailer was carrying cartons of ice cream, including vanilla, caramel, and others.

Luckily, the truck driver sustained only minor injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital for further examinations.

While a road made of ice cream may seem like the fantasy of a seven-year-old or Willy Wonka fanatic, the reality was that I-69 experienced delays and lane closures while the mess was cleaned up. But considering that no one was badly injured, it makes for quite the amusing story!

Cargo Insurance

This story shows that you can never know what will happen when you are on the road, making cargo insurance an important component of commercial truck insurance. You don’t want to find yourself in a compromising position where your freight has spilled and you don’t have the proper coverage, so be sure to purchase cargo insurance from your truck insurance agent. Here are more tips for safe driving in the winter. Happy Holidays!

Read more about this story here.

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Commercial Truck Insurance in Texas

Texas is the second largest state in the United States (behind Alaska), which makes it a huge area of transportation. Whenever there is a delivery that must be made across the Southern part of America, it is likely to pass through Texas at some point. And any international shipping to or from Mexico is also liable to swing through the Lone Star State, as well.

This is why commercial truck insurance is so crucial to Texas truck drivers and why regulations must be observed.

Truck Insurance Filings

Every state has specific minimum government filings that must be filled out for sufficient commercial truck insurance coverage. Here are the Texas truck insurance paperwork filings that Royalty Truck Insurance can help you complete:

•ICC
•MCS90
•BMC34
•Form E
•Form H
•Form T
•SR22
•SR22A

General Liability Insurance

The basic commercial truck insurance that is required in Texas is General Liability Insurance, which covers other drivers in case the truck driver causes an accident. After that, there are a bunch of other options available.

If you want to protect your freight, it is important to purchase freight or cargo insurance. Worker’s Comp protects employees while on shift. Comprehensive insurance will cover every aspect of the truck itself, regardless of who is at fault.

Find the perfect Texas truck insurance policy to fit your needs. Contact Royalty Truck Insurance today.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announces updates to law and to protect other motorists, truck drivers, commercial businesses, the environment, and the road, itself. The US Department of Transportation advertises CSA as their motto; Compliance, Safety and Accountability. For more information form this important government entity, visit the FMCSA website.

Truck Insurance Blogs

If you found this helpful and would like to read more Truck Insurance Blogs, try this one on Dump Truck
Insurance

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Cargo Insurance

The basic commercial truck insurance policies only cover the actual truck and driver in the event of an accident. In order to fully protect yourself, you must also realize that other parts of your business need coverage. The most obvious piece of coverage is cargo insurance.

Cargo insurance protects not only the freight that is being shipped in case of a spill, but also the damage that this could cause to other drivers. Sometimes, the cargo is actually the most dangerous element of the truck to fellow motorist on the road.

Purchase cargo insurance if you want extra protection for your freight or if you carry particularly dangerous materials that could be a hazard to other drivers.

Aggregate Insurance

Aggregate is a special blend of rock, dirt, concrete, gravel and asphalt used in construction. This haul tends to be relatively cheap and very durable, so it is not as difficult to insure. Aggregate insurance, or aggregate haulers’ insurance, is designed to be less expensive due to the nature of the cargo. It is understood that aggregate must be properly transported in a closed container, but at the same time there is very little potential damage from an accident. Whereas a driver carrying wood, cement or glass could damage their cargo in an accident, aggregate haulers’ can basically just scoop up their lost cargo if an accident were to causer spillage.

General Freight Insurance

General freight insurance typically cover somewhere between $10,000- $100,000 worth of freight in case that an accident cause the cargo to be damaged or destroyed. This prevents the trucking business from being held personally accountable for the amount. This is amongst the most basic of commercial truck insurance policies and is highly recommended for carriers who transport goods, especially long distances.

Truck Insurance Blog

For more information on various commercial truck insurance policies, visit the Royalty Blog where our experts explain the different options. You can also follow us on Twitter for further updates @RoyaltyTruckIns

Commercial trucks are also required to carry liability insurance. In most cases, motor carriers have a primary liability policy in place to cover the drivers who work for them. This coverage also often extends to the independent owner/operators who haul their goods on a contract basis.

Primary Liability Coverage Ends When The Job Is Done

Once the job is done and the trailer is detached, the independent driver will find his or herself without that coverage. Primary liability only covers independents when they are on active dispatch and does not even cover return trips from successful hauls.

Because liability insurance is required by law and having liability insurance is simply common sense, independent drivers need to find a way to keep themselves covered when off the job. This is known as non-trucking liability insurance.

Non-Trucking Liability

Non-trucking liability is a handy form of commercial truck insurance because it works just like a primary liability policy when a driver’s contracted employer’s coverage is invalid. It also saves drivers money because they only pay for it when they are not otherwise covered.

Additional Concerns

For full protection you will want to also purchase a comprehensive coverage policy to cover the cost of damages to your own truck, which liability insurance does not cover.

In addition, cargo insurance might be beneficial to most truck drivers, as many commercial truck insurance policies do not cover the actual cargo, just the truck itself. This will provide coverage if the freight is destroyed, stolen, spoiled, or broken.

This degree of specialization has spilled over into the commercial truck insurance industry. With so many different ways that commercial trucks are used, some special types of insurance are needed. Here’s a comprehensive guide to the most typical types of policies.

Primary Truck Liability Insurance

Primary truck liability insurance is a form of commercial truck insurance that the United States Department of Transportation requires all commercial vehicles to be covered under. It entitles drivers to financial coverage for injuries and damage costs if involved in an accident where a truck driver is at fault.

Motor carriers often provide this coverage to their employees. Even independent owner/operators are eligible for coverage while under contract. Unfortunately for them, they may need additional coverage to protect their personal assets and for when they are off the job.

Physical Damage Insurance

An independent trucker’s most valuable asset is his or her truck. It is of the utmost importance that that truck be well maintained and that it can be repaired if something unfortunate happens.

Physical damage insurance will cover the cost of damage in an accident whether or not the truck driver is at fault.

Non-Trucking Liability Insurance

Because liability coverage is required by law at all times a truck is on the road and because motor carriers cease to provide coverage for their independently contracted drivers once the job is done, additional liability insurance must be purchased. Thankfully, non-trucking liability insurance provides this coverage without forcing drivers to pay when they are otherwise covered.

Comprehensive Truck Insurance

Comprehensive truck insurance is sort of a continuation of physical damage insurance. Think of a comprehensive coverage policy as including primary truck liability, physical damage and other insurance clauses that prevent against disasters like fire, theft or vandalism. If you want total coverage of your own personal assets, comprehensive insurance is usually the best way to go.

Trailer Insurance

It’s less usual for independent owner/operators to actually own and operate with their own trailers—typically, trailers are either owned by the trucking company or actual shippers, so trailer insurance usually becomes a commodity that’s better included within a motor carrier insurance policy. Still, it’s important to differentiate trailer insurance so all truckers are aware that trailers typically aren’t included in basic truck insurance without specific additional provisions.

Cargo Insurance

The same is true for cargo insurance—typically it’s something that’s more beneficial for motor carriers or fleets to carry as blanket coverage for their business. Independent truckers aren’t usually going to benefit from cargo insurance since they will usually fall under the truck insurance of their hiring fleets if any issues with cargo damage arise.

Motor Carrier Insurance

Motor carrier insurance usually incorporates the same policies for regular trucks, though motor carriers will need to cover all the vehicles they employ. Bundling general liability policies, truck, cargo and trailer insurance, and policies like workers compensation within one company can save trucking companies or motor carriers a significant annual premium in most cases.

Royalty Truck Insurance is an award-winning truck insurance agency recognized by winning the Insurance Agency of the Year from the Consumer Business Review 9 times in a row.  Trust Royalty Truck Insurance for all your commercial truck insurance needs, and browse our site for more helpful resources like this article on diverse commercial truck insurance policy options. 

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.

The ruling was in favor of the commercial truck insurance company, who defendant and Los Angeles resident Roland Polanco accused of negligence that resulted in his arrest that allegedly triggered a seizure and cost him further medical bills.  The commercial truck insurance agent allegedly failed to call Polanco’s bank to verify his identification after receiving call from Polanco’s girlfriend and learning the bank had authenticity concerns regarding a check they had issued to him.

Polanco suffered a neurological disorder and is currently receiving checks from a workers compensation insurance policy the truck insurance company covered him under.  Only later, after Polanco was arrested and suffered a seizure, did the insurance agent call Los Angeles police to verify the authenticity of the check.

According to the published reports of the court, the justices ruled in favor of the commercial truck insurance company, stating the agent had no specific legal obligation to place the call to the bank.  Though the case was dismissed in favor of the insurance company, it seems the entire incident could have been avoided with better customer service regarding the claim.

If there is always an open line of communication between insurance agents, claimants and insurance providers, situations like these can be completely avoided.  All it takes is a little personal service—in this case, one simple phone call in real time to the bank would have prevented the Polanco’s unnecessary arrest and possibly even his seizure.  It certainly would have prevented a four-year court case that was ultimately dismissed by the Court of Appeals.

When choosing a commercial truck insurance company, always make sure you trust your agent to provide you with expedient and detailed service in the case of a claim.  Without reasonable customer service, truck insurance claims can be a lot more difficult on both insurance companies and customers alike than they really need to be.