A few pointers to get the right Insurance for your trucking company

There are a number of things that can go wrong in the trucking transportation business. Accidents, acts of nature, weather conditions ,damage to goods and injuries to the persons travelling in these trucks are all very strong possibilities. Unless you have a strong insurance plan protecting you against these events, you could stand exposed.

It is therefore best to leave it to a reputed truck insurance service provider to handle any of these potential liabilities and that would help you concentrate on your core business to make it profitable.

So how do you go about finding the right insurance company for your business?

First, shortlist some insurance companies operating around your area. This information can be found on the internet or your  local yellow pages. Once you do that, there are some basic questions that you would require these shortlisted companies to satisfy before you can go ahead and call them for negotiation. They are:

*The number of years the company has been in existence with specific emphasis on heavy trucking insurance.

*What is the level of underwriting or financial backing enjoyed by the company so that it is in a position to pay liabilities as and when they come up? You will find this in their brochure normally.

*What is the rating of the company? This is again something you can find out from the company literature. If you wish to find on your own, then you can contact the Department of Insurance for all details on insurance companies shortlisted.

*Ask what other local trucking companies are using them? Call those companies and ask about their experiences good or bad with the ones on your short list. This way you will find out about shortfalls before it’s too late.

Now comes the decision on whether you should go for a company that specialises in commercial trucking insurance, or for the one that offers general insurance. The popular opinion is that specialists should always be preferred due to their ability to deal with specific needs of truckers with precision.

Moreover, such companies are also put under the scanner of independent rating bodies and a high rating from them would be a comfort factor that would help you make the decision. General insurance service providers on the other hand are thought to be not up to the mark when it comes to taking care of the truck driver and other personnel travelling in the vehicle at that point in time.

All said and done, the most important considerations that you should keep in view are the type of coverage offered, the customer support helpline and the commitment towards settling claims. If you can get plausible responses from the company on these points, you should go ahead with one of the shortlisted companies based on the competitive rates they can give you.

Now make your educated decision regarding the one that is right for you and your business needs.