Truck Driver Liability Insurance Explained
Truck driver liability insurance is just like a normal liability plan, except that it covers your truck instead. This type of insurance is mostly involved with business owners who want to protect their delivery trucks. If you have a truck in your businesses it is required to have this insurance or you can be punished by the law.
Truck liability insurance protects the truck against damage caused by an accident. What would you do if your truck got into an accident and you lost your means of transporting materials? If you didn?t have the money to replace your truck you’d have to delay the rest of your shipments, pay for any of the materials that were damaged, and possibly face losing some of your customers. When you first start your business this could be enough to ruin all of your plans.
Check to see what your insurance plan covers. It may cover your truck, the driver, and even other vehicles involved with an accident. You will also want to check and see if your truck is covered only while you are driving, or while you are out of the truck as well. It may be that you are parked on the side of an on ramp while a car hits you, and you need to be insured for that as well. The good thing about truck insurance is that it is carried from state to state, so you can drive anywhere in the US with your truck.
Keep in mind that if you are making cross-state trips you will have to have a DOT number. All commercial vehicles crossing state lines, even from other countries, must have this number. Passenger, private, and exempt commercial vehicles are all included.
It may also be a good idea for you to get insurance on your cargo loads. A large truck can car tens of thousands of dollars worth of product, and much of it will be destroyed if that truck gets in accident. Insurance usually only covers certain types of loads, so be sure to check with your insurance company before loading anything on the truck.
There are times when a truck is needed by business owners for just a couple of days, like for example simply to drive home their commercial vehicle from the dealer. Under such circumstances, you may need to purchase a short-term insurance plan. Most of the insurers offer a cover of up to four days, with per day rate basis. This offers you a lot of time to make speedy deliveries if need be.
Most often, you will have to replace your drivers who are covered under your truck driver insurance plan. You must ensure that each driver has a valid license and has undergone the training required to drive a commercial truck. Before getting a driver covered under the insurance plan, you will have to get them approved by the insurers. You must take care to not employ any driver with an unclean driving history else they may not be approved and your premiums may shoot up.
Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for Carinsurancesa.co.za. South Arica?s leading car insurance portal.
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Graham McKenzie on May 17th 2010 in Car Insurance