The Man is Cracking Down, Ask Away.
Posted by Entropy_H@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 19 comments
It's your resident scum insurance broker back again lol. Some people in my office have found my previous post and are hunting for me, so if you have any questions about insurance in any way shape or form feel free to ask them before I'm caught.
If the questions are too specific or personal I will not be able to provide answers unless I am licensed in the state that the business is in, so for questions that apply to you personally or are regarding upcoming renewals/pressing insurance matters please just shoot me a message with the state the insurance in written in and I will answer so long as I'm legally licensed to provide advice for the state.
PlsCheckThisBush@reddit
Say I want to buy an old clapped out 389/W9 to pull an RV/personal trailer and take the kids to school or teach them to drive stick in the yard sometimes for fun. What sort of insurance would I need and how expensive would it run? Truck would never be used for commercial purposes in this respect, just something for fun.
Entropy_H@reddit (OP)
Non trucking liability, it can be around 1.5-3k a year. As I said in a previous comment, take this with a grain of salt because I only work in the commercial space and I'm not sure if there are other things to consider when it isn't ever going to be used commercially. Also this does not include physical damage coverage which will increase the price quite a bit, depending on the value of the vehicle.
PlsCheckThisBush@reddit
Thank you! At least this gives me a rough idea of what I’m looking for. My regular insurance (USAA) thought I was joking until I gave them a vin number and they immediately wanted off the phone lol. Progressive wanted $15-30k a year since it “could be used for commercial purposes.” Value of the vehicle would be…$5-10k at best? Literally looking at the biggest hunk of shit that still runs but would never pass a DOT inspection.
Artistic_Alfalfa_860@reddit
The only incident of any kind on my MVR (for like 12 years) is a minor fender bender that happened during my second week of training. It was night and I bumped into a truck, resulting in pretty minor damage. How would this affect my ability to get insured if I wanted to go into business for myself?
Entropy_H@reddit (OP)
Most insurance companies are going to look at the last 3-5 years when determining eligibility. Even if it does fall into that time frame it shouldn't be hard as that wouldn't be a major violation
Artistic_Alfalfa_860@reddit
Oh yeah it was like 6 months ago is what I meant to say but then nothing before that going back over a decade. Is that recent enough to be a problem for me?
Entropy_H@reddit (OP)
It's recent enough to be taken into consideration, but if you can show the damage was minimal or you have a police report that helps take some of the fault away then it will not affect your rate in a major way typically.
Free_Sun1877@reddit
Just curious, can a non-English speaking driver be added to a US policy?
Entropy_H@reddit (OP)
Normally I would say yes, but there has been a recent change where you can be tested for English proficiency during stops, so I would wait until we know the exact standards and what FMCSA is going to do to both track and enforce these new regulations.
CannibalAnus@reddit
There was never a ‘change’ it was always on the books. The fuck heads in charge of the federal government never enforced it. Now we have non english speakers killing people left and right because they dont understand the laws/signs put in place. We dont need them/want them driving down prices on freight and can go back to a standard 9-5 in their little 4 wheeler cars.
Violet_Apathy@reddit
I want to buy a box van or straight truck and convert it into an rv without paying exorbitant insurance rates intended for people using the truck deliveries. Is this possible? I can't seem to find rv insurance companies who want to play ball. I also am a cdl a holder if that helps.
Entropy_H@reddit (OP)
All you need is the basic non-trucking liability and physical damage. General liability could be good if you are worried about other people getting hurt on the truck, but NTL is much cheaper than standard commercial auto liability. It takes about 20-30 minutes for a broker like me to get a quote from progressive, geico, great west. And then maybe 24-48 hours to get quotes from providers that do not have an online rating system. Also, being a CDL holder helps a lot with pricing👍
Violet_Apathy@reddit
Do you think it'll be over or under a hundred per month for two people with a good driving history?
Entropy_H@reddit (OP)
Assuming you're both CDL w/ clean records, on a 12 month policy, with just non-trucking liability and physical damage coverage,,,,,, it could be around like 100-200 a month as a random guess? But it will depend on a lot of factors like location, radius, garaging address etc. I only work in the commercial sector, so I do some bobtail but I haven't ever written a box truck that isn't being used for commercial trucking purposes at all, so take everything with a grain of salt.
P3tr0@reddit
If you're a power only carrier, what insurance do you actually need?
Entropy_H@reddit (OP)
Assuming you mean you're running trailer interchange and not that you're a hotshot, you need Auto Liability, Cargo, and that Trailer Interchange or Non-Owned Trailer coverage. That coverage can be listed under cargo or under Physical Damage depending on whether you also need to insure the truck itself. In most cases the only insurance you really NEED to have is auto liability and cargo.
P3tr0@reddit
Good to know thanks. If I own a trailer and it's fully insured would there be any coverage if I were to run a power only? Like cargo insurance for instance, is that to the combination vehicle or just to the trailer that is on the insurance?
Entropy_H@reddit (OP)
Cargo is typically based on the number of power units and the type of trailer and commodities you are hauling, not whether you own it or not. So just consider it linked to the tractor, not the trailer. Having said that, that doesn't mean you can just haul whatever trailer you want. It should still be one you have covered under trailer interchange or some other case in which it is listed on your policy.
Ornery_Ads@reddit
Is there any insurance product that would allow a carrier to have an active policy on multiple unused trucks in order to keep them plated without having to pay for a full policy on them?
My case is I have 4 trucks with the goal of hiring on drivers, but gave up after 6 months with no employees. I dropped two trucks from the policy and turned in the plates, but was wondering if I had other options