How Do I Get Insurance for My Truck?

If you’re like many other first-time commercial truck buyers, getting commercial truck insurance may be overwhelming at first. Whether you have a flatbed pickup, concrete mixer, or another type of commercial truck, factors like cargo, function make semi truck insurance more complex than personal vehicle insurance.

Below, we’ll take a look at the different types of commercial truck insurance and how to choose your policy — so you leave our lot armed with the best possible policy for your business needs in .

How Does Commercial Truck Insurance Work?

Many commercial vehicle manufacturers will provide Primary Liability insurance, but most truck drivers add additional coverage. Sticking to your commercial truck’s maintenance schedule can reduce the likelihood of accidents and keep repair costs down, issues are inevitable. Primary Liability is a basic coverage that pays for injuries or property damage to others if you’re at fault for an accident. While some automakers may offer coverage options beyond Primary Liability, you can get better additional coverage for your money by shopping the market yourself.

Types of Commercial Truck Insurance

When it comes to choosing additional coverage options that Primary Liability can’t cover, you may want to consider the truck type, the work it’s doing, driving conditions, cargo, and road surfaces around and terrain at your job sites. Types of commercial truck insurance options include:

• Bobtail Insurance — If you will be operating a tractor without a trailer, add Bobtail Insurance.
• Non-Trucking Liability Insurance — If you’re involved in an accident while driving your commercial truck for a non-business purpose, you’ll be covered by this insurance type.
• Limited Depreciation Coverage — If your vehicle is declared a total loss after an accident, limited depreciation coverage can help cover the gap between market value amount you’ll likely receive from insurance, and the actual cost to replace the vehicle.
• Mechanical Breakdown Insurance — Breakdown insurance provides assistance with out-of-pocket repair costs.
• Passenger Accident Insurance — This insurance type covers the commercial truck driver in the event of an accident while an uninsured passenger is in the vehicle.
• Motor Truck Cargo Insurance — This is a great option if you’re a for-hire trucker. You’ll get coverage on freight or commodity and liability for cargo, and it covers a broad scope of losses due to cargo damage — including collisions, fire, debris removal, legal defenses, and lost freight charges.
• Motor Truck General Liability Insurance — Both motor carriers and for-hire truckers benefit from this insurance, and coverage may vary depending on the provider. Generally, It covers bodily injury, personal injury, property damage liability, advertising injury liability, medical payments, product and completed operations, and limited coverage for damage to rented properties.
• Motor Carrier Insurance — Opt for this insurance if you use permanently leased independent contractors for your trucking business.
• On-Hook Coverage — If vehicles not owned by your business incur damage, this insurance provides coverage of repairs, or replacement in the event of a collision, fire, theft, explosion, or vandalism while towing or hauling.
• Physical Damage Coverage — Coverage for physical damage including collision, comprehensive, fire and theft, and more.
• Supplemental Towing and Clean Up — If pollutants or other debris are released in an accident or malfunction, this additional insurance covers towing and cleaning-up services.

Speak with an Insurance Expert About Your Commercial Truck insurance Options

At Rechtien International Trucks, we aim to find the best commercial truck for your business. We’re also here to help you get it covered — call or visit our finance center in to learn more.