Call for a Free Quote! 1-888-701-1795

hello there

Get yourself a trucking
insurance quote in 5 min

State:
Insurance product:
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

Ask the Community

Ask a Question

Who can tell me where I can find cheap truck insurance?

Darrel at 9/8/2013 4:02:00 PM

What do you mean cheap truck insurance? Is there even such a thing as cheap trucking insurance? Nothing in trucking is cheap. You can go with just the basic liability insurance and still spend a fortune. I think everyone in the trucking industry is out there to rob the trucker. From the brokers offering $1 a mile freight, through the mechanic shops to the truck insurance. I guess you can look around and ask many places for a quote on your insurance, but it ain't gonna be cheap that's for sure.

Larry at 9/8/2013 4:11:00 PM

How much do is the payment a month for nonlocal trucking

Haneen at 9/7/2013 11:07:00 AM

Can I make money pulling Campers out of Indiana

Garmin at 8/31/2013 9:11:00 PM

My husband got a truck and is looking for trucking insurance. But its just a pick up truck with a goose neck. He will be hauling cars and some other building materials. I was thinking insurance should be about half of what the cost is for a big semi truck. But it turns out its not that much different. Is this normal or am I being bullied around by the insurance companies?

Brittney at 8/30/2013 1:55:00 PM

Unfortunately, truck insurance for a big semi truck is not all that different than the truck insurance for a small pick up truck with a goose neck. Keep in mind, you need the same limit of liability and cargo as a big semi. I think 1 mil. So the price will be about the same as the coverage is the same. I think you also need cargo insurance for about 100,000. This is the same as a big semi truck. Even in some cases, if you are hauling cars, you will need more than 100,000 in cargo insurance. Then you may end up paying even more than a semi truck.

Turner at 8/30/2013 1:58:00 PM

Sure I understand that the coverage is the same for a small pick up truck as it is for a big semi truck, but my husband's truck is much smaller than a big semi truck. A smaller truck cant do as much damage on the road. So why would my truck insurance be about the same as a semi truck?

Brittney at 8/30/2013 2:00:00 PM

Trucking insurance is very expensive. But in NJ truck insurance is absolutely crazy high. I know of people moving their companies to PA or some other place just to avoid the high cost. Does anyone have experience on how I can move my DOT and company so I can save on insurance?

Terri at 8/30/2013 1:15:00 PM

I did this. I have a trucking company and moved my address to OH. I am saving about half of what I would have paid to the insurance company. Truck insurance cost has made me do this. I just added one more address to my MC number and then bought insurance using that new address. I kept my business address in NJ and added a PO Box in OH. I am still paying a lot of money in insurance, but at least it is not ridiculously high as it was in NJ. I don't have any claims nor tickets and the price in NJ was 16,000 a year. Not I am paying 9 in OH.

Ryan at 8/30/2013 1:49:00 PM

Thanks Ryan, I am thinking I will just move my whole company in a different state. Not just a PO Box. Its time anyway. Truck insurance is expensive, but so is everything else here. So I just cant be competitive anymore. But definitely truck insurance is a primary reason. Its kind of sad that I have to leave my friends behind but I just don't have a choice anymore. I have 6 trucks and we depend on the income from the business.

Terri at 8/30/2013 1:52:00 PM

Pages 12345

Send your Question




Send Cancel

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.

RigQuote

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.

Roadside

Contact us