Commercial General Liability Insurance? – (Coverage Options)

Are you shopping for cheap Commercial Truck Insurance in California, regardless if you reside in Los Angeles CA, or San Diego CA?

If so, you may fall into a classification labeled For-Hire Truckers, who are more than just drivers, but also business owners who need specialized trucking insurance for their specific industry.

Commercial Trucking Insurance has many coverage layers, such as Non- Trucking Liability to Physical Damage protection, regardless if your customers are owner operators, drivers operating company owned vehicles, or an other trucker for hire.

Commercial Insurance Coverage Options

These key coverage options are designed to protect truckers regardless if you run, local to long haul or anything in between.

Before looking at the different components of your commercial truck policy, let’s review what the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) classifies For-Hire carriers.

This information will help when “comparing online Trucking Insurance in California” to ensure you are not being mis-classified when receiving online quotes.

Commercial Truck Insurance For Hire?

By statue, the ICC classifies for-hire carriers into one of the following four categories, which will be discussed in-depth below.

Common Carriers — These truckers serve the general public for any and all commodities, with regard for a few exceptions. Legally, they cannot refuse service to anyone except for good cause.

They also must charge reasonable rates that are fair to everyone.

However, they may specialize in certain types of shipments such as refrigerated goods or bulk cargo.

The most common used carriers are those with irregular routes, radial service or regular route, and scheduled service authority.

Common Carriers?

A carrier with an irregular route provides hauling services on an “on call” basis, usually from a centralized office or terminal. At this point, shipments are hauled from one specified location to another destination.

Regular route common carriers only operate over specified highway routes on a regular basis, utilizing terminals that are strategically located to consolidate and distribute freight into the surrounding areas.

Contract Carriers — Contract Carriers are companies that enter into a contractual agreement with a business establishment in order to ship materials or products for them.

By law, a contract carrier is not allowed to hold itself out to the general public and must negotiate only long-term contracts with limited number of customers. As an example, a trucker who has a contract to make deliveries for a specific manufacturer or wholesale operation would fit under the label as a “contract carrier”.

Even thought the ICC does not set an absolute limit, the general rule that is usually applied is that contract carriers should maintain fewer than 10 customers at any one time.

From a legal stance, the essential difference between a common carrier and a contract carrier is that the latter is liable only for the obligations assumed under contract and for losses due to negligence.

Contract carriers do not share the responsibility of a common carrier unless they have agreed in advance to accept such a liability and would be stated within the contract.

Hauling Business

Specialized hauler — Specialized haulers are companies that are a form of a contract carrier that specialize in transporting heavy machinery and equipment, hazardous material, or oversized loads.

Usually, these hauling operations are done by flatbed trailers or specialized container units, such as refrigerated tanker trucks, which are transported on our American highways.

In addition to commodity hauling, many of these companies also provide warehousing and crane and rigging services.

Specialized carriers will often transport by rail or barge, and can use the services of freight forwards to arrange the necessary connections.

Some of these haulers may also act as consultants for other companies who are transporting their own equipment on a one time basis. best cheapest car insurance companies

Exempt Carriers

Exempt Carriers — Under this classification, companies that are not subject to ICC regulations because they haul one or more types of unregulated commodities are included the exempt carrier category.

What this basically means, is that these truckers can begin or end operations without ICC permission and negotiate any rate or contract provisions the customer will accept.

The following freight that are excluded from regulation are:

• unprocessed agricultural products,
• fish,
• livestock,
• wood
• and newspaper.

Some of these carriers that haul in either commercial or terminal zones are also considered that as “exempt carriers”.

Commercial zones are defined as hose territories within a specified radius of a certain metropolitan area that crosses two or more state lines. However, terminal zones are areas within a specified radius of certain airports.

The ICC determines what commodities or zones are “exempt” from regulation and this information can be found under the rule of 119 with the ICC.

How to Find Affordable Commercial Auto Insurance Coverage?
We work with Truck Insurance companies who offer primary liability up to $2 million and transmit state and federal fillings promptly in order to get you back to your business.

Motor Truck Cargo is another commercial trucking feature that helps you cover the value of the cargo hauled as well as additional costs, such as debris removal, earned freight charges and more with separate limits and no additional deductible.

Another great feature is Motor Trucking General Liability which helps professional truckers meet contractual requirements with GL and pays for damages caused by customers when the vehicle is not being driven.

Rental with Downtime is another coverage option that helps truckers get a temporary rental if their truck is down due to a covered loss.

If a replacement vehicle can not be found, than your commercial policy would pay up to the daily maximum limit to help cover any expenses incurred, even if you can’t work.

Hired auto coverage is available and is purchased by many business partners of for hire risks that require them to carry insurance for all vehicles in service to their business, regardless if the business owns them or not.

This coverage will help you meet this contractual requirement with excess liability coverage.

Non Trucking Liability coverage helps truckers when they are off the clock.

What this means is, that under permanent lease to a motor carrier and driving under dispatch is the time this coverage become effective with no radius restrictions.

Physical Damage Coverage:

We will look at some physical damage coverage options offered on most policies, starting with Permanently Attached Equipment.

This protection provides additional coverage for equipment such as loaders and taping systems.

The second physical damage coverage available is Comprehensive Only protection. This helps to simplify the process for customers to continue coverage when storing a vehicle during the off-season.

The last common known physical damage coverage found on your policy is Trailer Interchange.

This coverage provides physical damage coverage to any non owned trailer a trucker is using during the course of the operation.

This policy is an indispensable requirement for the successful operation of any motor carrier, owner operator or other trucking company.

It is specifically underwritten by large carriers to offer coverage for heavy vehicles.

This coverage applies not only to a company’s trucks, but can also extend coverage to other businesses vehicles, such as light duty pickup trucks, vans, cars and SUVs.

The calculation of policy rates is a critical aspect of any policy, which can take up a large chunk of a company’s budget.

So, comparing commercial truck quotes that fits your industry and need of coverage is paramount.

Let’s look at a few coverage options you can find on your policy.
This is a blueprint when deciding what you will need to get back to work.

Hired Car Coverage

This coverage will extend to bodily injury and property damage coverage.

This will protect any vehicle hired, loaned, leased or furnished to you the insured, for a period not exceed 30 days.

Coverage is excess over any primary insurance in force on the vehicle.

The coverage is only available on polices covering owned vehicles and the limits of liability must be the same as on the owned vehicles.

The premium for this coverage is calculated on a cost of hire basis.

This calculation is subject to a minimum cost of hire of industry level $5,000.

Employer’s Non Ownership Liability?

This coverage extends bodily injury and property damage coverage.

This protection covers the insured’s liability for any vehicle owned by an employee or employee’s spouse, when used in your business.

Coverage is excess over any primary coverage you may have in force on the vehicle.

The coverage is only available if the owned vehicles and limits of liability are the same as the owned vehicles.

The rate for this coverage is calculated using the total number of employees.

Keep in mind that if your business has more than 25 employees may need underwriting approval before obtaining a quote.

If you use your employee’s vehicles for business use regularly, then most polices under this program option will accept.

Some industries are also unacceptable and you may want to refer to the company’s underwriting policies before you eve begin your online quote.

Reduction in Coverage / Coverage Buyback

Some polices may include a reduction in coverage provision. This condition can apply to certain operators and users listed on your policy.

If the limits show on your declaration page exceed the minimum limits required by the State of California, or in the state which the accident occurs.

The amounts that are above the minimum threshold will not apply to a loss where the operation, maintenance or use of your insured vehicles is by a person other than:

a. you
b. driver listed on your policy declaration page.
c. a relative or if you are an individual
d. agent or domestic employee of you or a relative.

Application of Coverage

This coverage selection also applies to the operation, maintenance, or use of a covered vehicle in a crime or racing.

This coverage option is not available when the policy contains a filling or, if it contains more than 2 power units or if the purchased liability limits is the minimum limits.

You can purchase a buy back endorsement in order to remove the reduction in coverage for certain users and operators.

This coverage is sometimes a default coverage selection, so always make sure to review your policy coverage.

Drive Other Car Coverage

Bodily injury, property damage and medical payments coverage can be purchased for an owner or named individual on the policy.

This person can not have a vehicle registered in his or her individual name.

This transaction should have not out-of-pocket fees or additional charges.

General Liability and Business Owners Policy Discount?

If you are a business owner, have a general insurance policy or business owners policy in-force at the time you are comparing quotes for your commercial truck / auto, then you can save up to 15%.

This discount will require proof of coverage and if you have a current in force declarations page of either your GL, or BOP policy, then you will be fine.

Companies look at these types of polices as ones that have experience.

Usually, if you are a new venture you may not have a business to insure, your just trying get your truck insured to get new job prospects or to start work.

Prior Auto Insurance Discount?

There are programs that will honor your auto insurance policy as proof of coverage. This will be applied in the form of a discount towards your truck policy.

Usually, intervals of 6 months are acceptable. Anything less than 6 months of coverage will not be acceptable.

Again, proof will be required and can be submitted in the form of your current active automobile policy declaration page.

How to find Low Cost truck Insurance Quotes?

If you need help comparing cheap commercial truck insurance or trucking insurance regardless if you reside in Fresno, CA or Victorville CA, we can help.

We have specialized commercial trucking programs for both operations and transportation.

Even if you are a new venture, had multiple tickets or are
just tired of seeing your premiums skyrocket for being a loyal insured.

With over 30 Years helping CA trucking residents and business owners
find cheap quality commercial trucking insurance for their operations
and industry and we know we can do the same for you!

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