Insurance Requirements for Owner Operators Wharton, Pennsylvania

Auto Liability Insurance

• Your auto liability or primary liability will be the major cost for your trucking insurance policy.  Although the FMCAS can only require $750,000 in most cases shippers will require $1,000,000 in primary liability insurance coverage before they will allow you to pick up loads.
• Primary liability insurance covers damages to third parties for bodily injury and physical damage to others property in the event of an accident.

Medical Pay

• In most cases this is a low cost add on to your primary liability insurance to cover medical expenses.

PIP – Personal Injury Protection

• Some states require this coverage and, in many cases, can reduce the need for Medical Pay.
• Personal injury protection (PIP), also known as no-fault insurance, covers medical expenses and lost wages of you and your passengers if you’re injured in an accident. PIP coverage protects you regardless of who is at fault.

Uninsured Motorist

• If you’re hit by a driver with no insurance…
  • Uninsured motorist bodily injury (UMBI) may pay medical bills for both you and your passengers.
  • Uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) may pay for damage to your vehicle.

Underinsured Motorist

• If you’re hit by a driver with not enough insurance…
  • Underinsured motorist bodily injury (UIMBI) may pay medical bills for both you and your passengers
  • Underinsured motorist property damage (UIMPD) may pay for damage to your vehicle

Motor Truck Cargo

• MTC or Cargo insurance provides insurance on the freight or commodity hauled by a for-hire trucker. It covers your liability for cargo that is lost or damaged due to causes like fire, collision or striking of a load.
• If your load is accidentally dumped on a roadway or waterway, some cargo forms offer Removal Expenses coverage pays for removing debris or extracting pollutants caused by the debris. And can also pay for costs related to preventing further loss to damaged cargo through Sue and Labor Coverage and legal expenses in the defense or settlement of claims. Another option is Earned Freight Coverage to cover freight charges the customer loses because of an undelivered load.
• Cargo insurance deductibles can be set at $1,000, $2,500, $5,000 or even higher if you are self-insured.
• Cargo coverage limits are normally set at $100,00 but some shippers may have higher requirements depending on the cargo you are hauling.
• Cargo policies can have exclusions stating what cargo it will or will not cover.

Trucking Physical Damage Insurance (PD)

• Physical damage insurance coverages are designed to pay for losses to your equipment and damages to others equipment. (Others equipment must be listed on your policy).
• If you own or lease equipment. You may be required to have PD by bank or leasing company to carry a set amount of physical damage insurance and name them as a Loss Payee.
• PD can also cover damage to others equipment you are in possession of if the coverage is listed on your policy. An example would be non-owned trailer insurance coverage.
• Deductibles for physical damage range from $1,000 to $5,000.
• Required deductibles. If you have a loan on your equipment or it is leased. They bank or leasing company may have a minimum deductible you can have on your physical damage policy.

Excess Liability Insurance

• Excess liability can sometimes be called umbrella insurance.
• The excess liability policy sits on top of your primary liability policy.
• For example, if you have $1,000,000 in primary lability coverage and you have a claim which exceeds the policy limit of $1,000,000. In most cases that is all the insurance carriers will try to pay out for a claim.
• Excess policy coverage starts at $1,000,000 and go up.
• So, let’s say you say you purchased a $1,000,000 excess policy. Now if you have a claim that is $1,500,000. Your primary would pay the first $1,000,000 and your excess would pay the remaining.

General Liability Insurance for Truckers

• General liability insurance for truckers should not be confused with primary liability for truckers.
• Similar to primary liability. General liability offers coverages to pay for physical damage to other and/or bodily injury to others. BUT there is a difference between the two.
• For example, if you are loading or unloading and you cause injury to someone or their property this is when the general liability policy would respond.
• The actions of a driver while representing the insured and on the premises of others, such as loading docks and truck stops
• General Liability is normally offered $1,000,00 per occurrence and $2,000,00 aggregate. What does this mean?
• It the insurance company will pay up to $1,000,000 for any one claim and no more than $2,000,000 per year for the total of all claims.
• General liability can be required by shippers and other companies such as the UIIA and flatbed operations.
• If there is any chance you might be involved in loading or unloading. General Liability is relatively inexpensive and is an advised coverage.

Non-Owned Trailer Insurance vs Trailer Interchange (TI)

• Both are insurance coverages are designed to cover damage to others trailers.
• Deductibles for either can range from $1,000 to $5,000.
• Coverage limits for either can range from $25,000 and up depending on the requirements of the company and/or shipper freight you are hauling for.

The difference between Non-Owned Trailer coverage and Trail Interchange coverage

• Non-owned trailer insurance covers physical damage to the trailer only when attached to a truck. And no written agreement is place.
• Trailer Interchange requires a written trailer interchange agreement to be in place. It can provide protection when you have care, custody and control of one, or many, trailers. Whether the trailer is attached to your truck or not.