Flatbed insurance purpose and its need:
Seven purposes of flatbed insurance:
Flatbed insurance is a group of insurance policies that protect yourself, your truck, your employees, 3rd parties from unfortunate events, bad scenarios, and dangerous incidents.
Flatbed insurance forms an umbrella of legal and financial protection around your trucking operation.
Firstly the insurance protects from property damage. Secondly, it protects from bodily injury.
Thirdly it helps you to recover when your trailer or 3rd party trailer is damaged.
Fourthly insurance helps to protect you from cargo or freight loss.
Sixthly, Serious accidents causing bodily harm and injury to you, your drivers, and 3rd parties are covered by insurance.
Seventhly, there is insurance for occupational accident insurance coverage and workers' compensation.
Occupational accident insurance coverage and workers' compensation kick in when
a work-related incident or accident happens.
These 2 insurance types pay your workers for bodily injury. It also pays for the loss of wages or salaries. It even pays for medical expenses and death benefits within the policy limit.
Flatbed insurance workings:
How does flatbed insurance work?
Flatbed insurance provides a group of insurance policies within an insurance limit to protect the owner, cargo, people affected, or the equipment from collision, damage, injury, theft, vandalism, fire, cargo damage, natural calamities, etc.
When an accident or occurrence which deserves coverage happens, the Flatbed insurance company pays out insurance within the coverage limits.
Insurance requirements for Flatbed business owners and owner operators:
What are the requirements for good flatbed insurance?
Business operating flatbeds are subject to federal insurance laws. FMCSA sets a minimum coverage limit for flatbeds based on the weight, distance operated, cargo type carried. Usually heavier the truck and the more dangerous the cargo, the higher the insurance requirements.
The below list summarises the federal minimum insurance requirements based on the type of cargo being transported
- General liability’s coverage limit is $1 million annual premium paid is $700 to $7000.
- Trucking liability is 750,000 for interstate trucks and the annual premium is $2,500 to $4,000 per tractor.
- Non-trucking Liability has a coverage limit of 250,000, the annual premium estimate is about $450 to $5,000 per tractor.
- Bobtail insurance has a coverage limit of $1000,000, the annual premium estimate is about $350 to $450 per tractor.
- Physical Damage this coverage depends on the actual and stated value of the equipment, and the premium would range from 2% to 5% of the value of the truck
- Motor Truck Cargo coverage limit ranges from $20,000 and $100,000 in different US states, the annual premium estimate is $500 to $1000.
- Workers' Compensation depends on the cargo you are transporting, the premium would be about $2500
- Occupational Accident insurance, depends on the load being carried premium estimates range from $1600 to $2200.
Flatbed insurance cost:
What decides the cost of flatbed insurance?
Flatbed insurance policy premiums range from $3000 to $10000, a year. The premium depends on various factors :
- Driving records of your driver
- Types of loads you are carrying
- Value of tractor and flatbed trailer
- Your radius of operation
- Your coverages, limits, and deductibles
- Your credit history
- Your payment plan
If low premiums are very important for you, you can shop around for a low limit, high deductible and minimum coverage policy. But a word of caution, when a problem occurs or accident or bad event happens you will have to pay out of your pocket to cover the losses that occurred to you and others.
There are many factors that influence your insurance premium, You need to also have an insurance provider who works hard to deliver you the best coverage at a low premium. Insurance usually is a large part of your monthly overhead.
Factors that affect the cost of flatbed Insurance policies:
What factors affect the cost of flatbed insurance?
Cheap insurance is not always apt insurance, a combination of elements results in the premium being low or high. The total insurance cost of an owner operator or trucker depends on various factors, and how these factors are weighed in by the insurer.
Factors that affect the insurance premiums:
- Ownership status
- Cargo types
- Freight weights
- The distance the load is hauled
- Truck value
- Type of physical damage
- Driver or owner’s credit history
- Loss history
- CDL and trucking experience
- Deductible amount
- Coverage limits
Find cheap insurance for your flatbed business:
How to find cheap flatbed Insurance?
There are a few techniques that you as an owner operator or fleet owner can use to find affordable insurance. If you are carrying high-value goods as cargo you will have to pay more insurance premiums. If you carry weighty cargo then you will have to pay more premiums.
Also if you are transporting hazardous chemicals or goods you would have to pay more as premiums.
Your clean driving records and your driver’s CDL experience also help you to get affordable flatbed insurance.
Factors that help you to get affordable flatbed insurance:
- Compare and contrast quotes from several insurance agencies
- Ask for discounts
- Pay your whole premium upfront
- Get the right coverage
- Increase your deductibles
- Always be on the hunt for new Insurance
Flatbed insurance protects your business:
How does flatbed insurance protect you and your business?
The insurance you pick is based on your operating status, which is leased, owner operator, or independent owner operator. Some insurance requirements of a leased owner operator are fulfilled by the truck owners who they work for.
Most Common Types of truck insurance, what it covers, who need it:
- First type of insurance we are talking about is General liability insurance, which covers third-party property damage and bodily harm, it is for drivers with authority and motor carriers.
- The second type of insurance we are talking about is Primary tracking liability. It covers property damage and physical injury due to a trucking accident. This insurance is for drivers with authority and motor carriers.
- The third type of insurance we are talking about is non trucking liability insurance, this covers third party damages when the truck is being used for non-business purposes. This insurance is for drivers under the lease.
- The fourth insurance type is Bobtail insurance, which covers damages to your truck due to collision, theft, natural disaster, and vandalism. This insurance is for drivers under lease
- The fifth insurance type is Physical damage coverage, which covers damage to items/cargo you are moving. All owner operators or fleet owners should take this insurance
- Sixth, the insurance type we are talking about is motor truck cargo insurance. Cargo insurance provides insurance for freight, commodity, or cargo hauled by the carrier. This insurance covers liability for cargo that is lost or damaged due to causes such as fire, collision, or striking of a load.
- The seventh insurance we are listing is workers' compensation coverage. This coverage helps employees to recoup lost wages, medical expenses after a work-related injury or illness. All trucking companies with employees have to have this insurance.
Other very important insurance coverages owner operators or fleet business owners should consider for extended coverage and protection:
What are the important flatbed coverages you need?
Occupational Accident Insurance Coverage (OAIC):
Occupational Accident Insurance Coverage provides a certain amount of protection to employers and employees in case of an injury occurring on the job. OAIC covers lost wages, medical expenses, and death benefit up to the policy limit. Also, the trucking business can choose the deductible limit and disability coverage they want to buy.
Trailer Interchange Endorsement
Trailer interchange endorsement provides physical damage protection for 3rd party trailers pulled by your equipment under a trailer interchange agreement. This insurance protects you if the trailer is damaged by fire, theft, vandalism, collision or explosion, etc.
Hazmat Truck Insurance
On the basis of the class of hazardous materials hauled, hazmat trucks are mandated by law to provide insurance liability from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 per accident.
Trucking Umbrella Insurance:
As a flatbed company, you may have uncovered exposures. Umbrella insurance is an affordable you to cover these uninsured gaps and increase your liability coverage.
Read the fine print to understand what it covers, some policies may exclude key risks in flatbed operations.
Uninsured & Underinsured Coverage:
Uninsured motorist coverage insures the affected 3rd party when a flatbed driver (who is at fault) does not carry liability insurance makes an accident.
Underinsured motorist insurance kicks in when an at-fault driver makes an accident whose liability limits are too low to cover the medical expenses of any injured person.
