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Welcome to RigQuote
  • Watch our videos, we have some trucking insurance info to share

  • Credit History Vs Truck Insurance Rates

  • Having your own MC Vs leased to a carrier

  • Can I be an owner but not a driver?

  • Can I cancel my trucking insurance?

  • Bobtail insurance Vs Primary Liability

  • UM / UIM explained

  • Limitation & No Limitation explained

  • Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Explained

  • Medical Payments Explained

  • General Liability and Any Auto Explained

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so because car haulers paid a lot of money for there insurance, then prices to ship a car must go up a lot but brokers who explain that to customers still put very low rates for carriers. why?

Den at 8/26/2014 7:06:00 AM

Shipping rates, unfortunately, do not take insurance rates into account. Insurance rates have increased for auto haulers due to a high incidence of loss in this particular line of work. This is especially true for new ventures. However, when an authority has reached the 2 year milestone, if the safety scores, loss history and driving records are good, more insurance options become available and this can mean better rates!

RigQuote.com at 8/27/2014 8:41:00 AM

I own my truck and my license is susp3nded so my insuranc3 company cancelled the coverage on my rig. I havea driver and beenbA not LLC I am having a difficult time to get insurance for my truck unde4 my drive4s name. Please help need to get this truck rolling asap I haul cattle.

Steven at 8/24/2014 6:58:00 AM

With a DBA, it will depend on the state you conduct business out of as to whether you can be excluded as a driver. The reason why it is not allowed in some states is, if you have had a CDL, there is an assumption that you may be tempted to drive and the risk your driving record may present needs to be included in the rate. This may be a good time to take that next step and set up an LLC. With an LLC it is permissible to be the owner and not the driver with many insurance companies.

RigQuote.com at 8/27/2014 9:41:00 AM

what about insurance for a 23 year old that has only been on the road and had lic. for only 8 months. Has clean record also?

John Russell at 12/30/2013 7:16:00 PM

Well, depends on what kind of vehicle the 23 year old will be driving. But if its a big semi truck then the only place which offers insurance to people without experience is Progressive. The risk is high so the price is high as well. But with good credit history the rice may end up very manageable. Credit History is more important than experience when it comes to calculating insurance cost.

Ryan at 12/30/2013 7:25:00 PM

Who can tell me what is the cost of truck insurance in TX? I got some quotes and they are so high. I have a quote from Progressive which has no payments. I cant afford to pay for the whole thing.

Troy at 11/14/2013 5:19:00 PM

Every company has their specialty in Trucking but with current losses so high all companies seem to only offer High Priced policies. it is based on where you keep your trucks ( zip) How you pay your bills financial stability. Your driving record and past performance ( how you keep up your truck & Equipment. ) it is also based on value of your equipment and limits of insurance your requesting. I have been told 2012-13 losses were over 245 Billion dollars. If you have been in business for 3 or more years ask your agent for Loss Runs and start Shopping.

Bob Bodenhamer at 12/26/2013 2:33:00 PM

No. They don't report it to the cdriet bureaus.They check your cdriet because there's a correlation between good cdriet and good drivers / bad cdriet and bad drivers. Bad cdriet=irresponsiblity

Sebastian at 9/27/2013 3:04:00 PM

that the biggest load of crap i've ever heard, they check ur credit so they have an excuse 2 jack up rates i know ppl that only pay cash like and hardly any credit

piaredneck at 10/19/2013 6:27:00 PM

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Our company

We have very extensive experience in the trucking insurance business. We have been helping people purchase trucking insurance for the last 8 years. We work with the very best companies offering trucking insurance in every state. We have built a special quote calculator to help you see what others are paying at the moment. The quote calculator will also help you understand what parameters matter in calculating your insurance premium. We have built several educational videos. These videos will guide you through some of the most commonly asked questions.

Our system will not only give you a guideline as to what you should be paying for insurance, but it will also connect you with the very best 3 trucking insurance companies in your state. There is a handful of insurance companies which offer trucking insurance. Out of them only a few insurance companies are really competitive in the market. Your job as a shopper is to find an agency which can offer a quote from a currently competitive insurance company. This is easier said than done. You don’t know what companies each agency is working with. They all say they are trucking insurance specialists. But do they have contracts with the companies which are actually aggressive in writing trucking insurance? This is where we come. We have selected the top 3 insurance companies in each state. Those companies which we have selected are not only the most competitive at the moment, but they are also A rated carriers with experience and appetite for insuring the trucking industry.

We will shop for your special case or particular insurance needs. We provide insurance for car haulers with big semi trucks or those working with the small pick up truck and a goose neck trailer. The companies we have selected, have several cargo options specifically designed for car haulers. They also provide insurance for the reefer and dry van haulers. The flatbeds are not a problem. We can offer Liability limits ranging from $750,000 all the way to $5,000,000, cargo insurance from just a few thousand all the way to $500,000 for car haulers or even more for some of the specialty equipment haulers. We also provide insurance for towing businesses.

We really want to help you find the best deal possible, please give us a call or try the quote calculator online. We can take your quote request by phone or online. We can answer some of your trucking insurance related questions. We will try helping you. Once again, the whole purpose of this site is to share some basic knowledge about trucking insurance through our educational videos. To help you connect with the best and most experience trucking insurance companies in your area. To provide you with an online estimate to what you should be paying for insurance.

Resources

Shopping for trucking insurance has never been an easy and enjoyable task. Let’s face it, who wants to pay large sums of money to the already wealthy insurance companies. Yes insurance is one of those necessary items we all have to buy. We understand this dilemma very well. This is why we would like you to be informed. We really want you to shop for your insurance, but we also want you to be well-versed of what to expect and what to demand.

information
here

Trucking insurance rates have skyrocketed in the last couple of years. Insurance used to cost in the neighborhood of $7,000 per year per truck, now people are paying over $10,000 per truck. Being informed is more important now than it has ever been in the past. Let’s go over some of the determining factors in your insurance premium:

Credit history

Yes this is the first and most important factor in calculating insurance cost. Trucking Insurance premium can very as much 60% or even 70% based on the company owner’s personal credit history. People with good credit pay a fraction of what people with bad credit pay. On several occasions we had people call us and say: “Well, my neighbor is about my age, don’t have tickets just like me, we driver very similar trucks, yet he is paying about half of what I am paying”. Yes this will always be the case. Every person is different and the insurance premium is based on many factors including personal credit history. Keep your credit history clean of blemishes and you will save thousands in truck insurance.

Safety rating

Your safety rating from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is a very important element in calculating truck insurance. In many cases trucking companies are forced to close their doors because they can’t find an insurance company to insure them. The Safety Score and the Out Of Service violations are very serious matter and you should concentrate heavily in keeping your safety record spotless. Make sure your drivers’ log books are in proper order and your trucks and trailers are regularly maintained and inspected.

Location

Even though when you buy a truck you are expected to travel far long haul distances, your home location will play a big role in calculating your insurance premium. People in densely populated cities pay far more than those in rural country areas. For example, insurance rates in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and in many other less populated states, are 20-30% less than those in CA, FL, NJ, IL, etc. Even your zip code plays a role in your insurance premium.

Driver's age

Anyone below 30 years of age should expect to pay at least 20% more than if they were 30 or over. Trucking insurance rates are sure high, but for young drivers the insurance cost is almost unbearable. There is not really a fix for this issue, only time will reduce your trucking insurance premium. For now, stay in school.

General Liability vs Primary Auto Liability

Many people don’t distinguish between General Liability and Primary Auto Liability. But in fact the two are very different in respect to what they are intended for and in premium. General Liability, as the name of it entails, is intended to cover general business losses. Such as rented premises, office locations, personal injuries, etc. The premium for General Liability in most cases is about $600 - $700 per year. The Primary Auto Liability is the one which covers your trucks. This coverage is intended to cover other party in case of an accident at which you are found at fault. The premium for Primary Auto Liability is the most expensive part of your trucking insurance package. Usually in the neighborhood of $5,000 to $7,000 per truck per year.

Cargo and Commodities

The limit of your cargo insurance also makes a difference. Generally speaking, the premium for cargo insurance is 1% of the total limit you need. For instance, if you need $100,000 of cargo insurance, you should be prepared to spend about $1,000 per year per truck. But this is not always the case. Car haulers for instance pay more than general dry freight haulers. Car haulers’ cargo premium is about 4% of the total cargo limit.

Non-trucking liability

Also called bobtail is something you can buy to cover your truck when you are not under dispatch with the motor carrier which provides your Primary Auto Liability. It will only cover losses when you are not using your truck on for hire bases.

Physical damage

Also called full coverage or comp and collision, is the coverage which covers your equipment. It usually has a deductible of about $500 or $1,000. The cost for this coverage is in the range of 3,5% to 5% of the total value of your equipment.
Above we discussed what factors play the most important role in determining your insurance premium, now let’s talk about a few additional things you should know about trucking insurance.

Additional information

Often motor carriers will lease on owner operators. In some cases the owner operators may have bought their own insurance would not want to be paying for the insurance provided by the motor carrier. Well this is simply wrong. You can’t allow your owner operators to display your MC number and not be covered under your primary liability policy. This is the FMCSA rule as well as almost certainly disclosed in your insurance contract. You have to insure all trucks owned or operated by the motor carrier or is owners. You may be asking yourself, well what would happen if I don’t list the owner operators under my insurance policy. The consequences are severe. If the owner operator is in an accident where he / she was found at fault, then the owner operator’s insurance may not pay for the damages. Ultimately it is the motor carriers’ responsibility to include the owner operators on to their Primary Auto Liability policy. Also, if the motor carrier’s insurance company finds out that owner operators are being used and not listed, more than likely the insurance policy will be canceled.
Recently, we have seen an increased tendency for a motor carrier to close their MC / DOT number and open a new one. In most cases the reason for such is the motor carrier’s safety record. However, insurance companies are becoming more and more vigilant in their research. They are using services which match old and new MC / DOT numbers. If such match is found, more than likely either the insurance company will not offer a quote or if the policy has been bound they will cancel it.

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We really hope that what we discussed in this section has been helpful to you, the transportation professional. We have many more stories, examples and information to share. We will gladly try answering any of your questions. If you have something you would like to discuss with us, just give us a call please. We will assist you.

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