EVERYTHING you need to know about Commercial Truck Insurance (WITHOUT the CONFUSION)

in this video I'm going to cover some common truck insurance requirements to help you make informed decisions when buying your truck insurance policy also for those that are new to the business make sure you stay tuned till the end because I will be providing some bonus information that'll really help you activate your operating Authority without you having to spend thousands of dollars on insurance let's get into the top four most common insurance coverage requirements starting with auto liability which is also known as primary liability primary liability coverage is required by the Federal Motor Carrier safety administration for all commercial trucks if you're involved in an accident and you're at fault Auto liability will help pay injuries and damage to the other person let's say you have a truck that crashed into a car the auto liability will help pay for medical bills and fix the car the kind of free U-Haul will will determine your minimum coverage requirement for example if You Haul non-hazardous free the minimum coverage requirement is 750 000 but keep in mind that 99 of the time a broker will require that you have one million dollars in coverage if U-Haul hazardous materials for example or you carry over 15 passengers then the minimum requirement is five million dollars number two physical damage so we just went over Auto liability and how it covers what happens to others if we were to injure them or if we were to damage their vehicle but what happens to your truck that's where physical damage comes to play let's use that same example that I use for auto liability let's say your truck was damaged in the accident so physical damage would pay to repair or replace your truck up to the stated value you provided your agent so if you tell your agent that your vehicle is worth thirty thousand dollars then you'll only be covered up to thirty thousand dollars when it comes to physical damage the FMCSA does not require it however it will be required if you're financing your truck regardless I strongly advise that you add it to your policy physical damage coverage provides coverage to repair or replace your equipment in the case of a collision assess a fire or vandalism typically the cost of this coverage it will depend on your truck and then also it could depend on your deductibles number three motor truck cargo coverage cargo coverage is not as simple as it appears on a basic level it provides protection against losses resulting from a fire Collision striking of a load but what happens if the goods are stolen or the goods get wet or your refrigerator malfunctions here's another scenario you're involved in an accident and the back door pops open and all all the cargo spills onto the highway so now you've created major debris on the road a basic cargo policy will not cover the cost of cleaning up this debris and for the very few that do it is very very limited so it is crucial to ensure that you have proper coverage for incidents when it comes to theft when it comes to water damage when it comes to Refrigeration breakdown when it comes to debris removal pollution this is where we enter the discussion about broad form versus specific form policies but I really don't want to dive into that just yet because I don't want to confuse you just know that Brokers are typically going to require that you cover the value of the cargo being hauled and in most cases you're going to be required to have at least one hundred thousand dollars in coverage for the goods that you're hauling there are some instances where less is required but given how rare it is it is best to just carry one hundred thousand dollars to avoid any problems with Brokers down the line it can be a lot to digest so for the purpose of keeping this video short and sweet I did create a separate video about cargo coverage go check it out Number Four trailer interchange coverage so this is for my power unit guys that are hauling non-owned trailers but are subject to a trailer interchange agreement trailer interchange is essentially physical damage Insurance to the trailer you don't own this insurance protects you if the trailer is down by Collision fire theft explosion or vandalism you must have a trailer interchange agreement in place if you are hauling a trailer that you do not own without a trailer interchange agreement you are not covered you will need to secure a regular non-owned trailer policy if you aren't subject to a trailer interchange agreement so here's an example of trailer interchange your hauling an exchange trailer and you pull off the highway to refuel while you're inside grabbing a bite to eat your truck is stolen since you don't own the trailer you are hauling your regular comprehensive coverage or your physical damage coverage will not pay for the stolen trailer instead your trailer interchange coverage would protect you if you selected a limit of 20 000 and your deductible is a thousand you would pay the first one thousand dollars towards paying the stolen trailer and then your insurance would pay up to 19 000 towards the replacement let's say the trailer was worth more than twenty thousand then you would be responsible for paying the difference so make sure that you're adding the right amount of coverage all right so I just covered four basic requirements for most Trucking operations each type of trucking operation has its your own unique requirements and I will be creating additional videos to address each kind of operation and its specific insurance coverage requirement along with that there are four other insurance coverages that are not mandatory but you shouldn't really ignore them not having them could actually potentially ruin a trucker financially so I have produced a video about this so please follow the link below as you definitely don't want to be put out of business for lack of knowledge so now for the bonus this is for my new owner operators if you're looking to activate your operating Authority but you don't have everything in place yet or you're wanting to build up to six months before starting a company like Amazon there are ways to get this done this would involve obtaining bare minimum insurance policy often called Aging your motor carrier or your MC you can age your MC by purchasing a minimum policy and this policy would require you to place your vehicle whether it's a car or truck on a bare minimum policy the fee varies depending on your state but it can range anywhere between three hundred dollars to seven hundred dollars feel free to click here for more information on how to Aid your MC as I have a whole video that dives deeper into it okay guys I hope this information was useful let this be a basic guide to help you make smart decisions and protect your trucking business remember to review your policy regularly and adjust your coverages as needed if you need additional help with getting your insurance click the link in the description and book a free consultation with me or my team and last but not least if you want more helpful tips please follow And subscribe bye