Other Protection
Common Insurance Coverage Enhancements for WI Motor Carriers
With a wide range of partner carriers, Ansay is able to find the right set of policy endorsements for the unique needs of your business. In addition to Wisconsin’s minimum coverage requirements for trucking companies and owner-operators, it’s possible to bundle numerous add-on policies covering a range of different scenarios for comprehensive protection against common issues truckers and freight carriers encounter.
Depending on the company, insurers may combine these in an assortment of package types, with some coverage types overlapping the protections offered by others. Ansay & Associates will help you navigate the myriad options to get the coverage you need, while eliminating the types you don’t. Here’s a brief look at some standard coverage enhancements available for trucking companies and their drivers.
Physical Damage Insurance
Whether running a large fleet company or a humble owner-operator business, your biggest assets are your drivers and your vehicles. In the event of damage to vehicles, a company can be in real trouble if repairs or replacement cost more than they can cover out of pocket. Since damage is nearly impossible to plan for but is always a threat, operators within the trucking industry should get the best comprehensive coverage against physical damages to their trucks that they can afford. In fact, under some lease conditions, this type of supplementary coverage may be required.
Ansay’s team of expert insurance brokers will connect commercial trucking entities with a physical damage coverage enhancement that works best for them. A range of endorsements in this coverage group will protect your Wisconsin trucking company from financial losses from a range of events, including:
- Vehicle damage - 3rd party vehicle collisions aren’t the only things that can cause damage to semi trucks; animal strikes, driver error, unmarked bridges, etc. are all common occurrences
- Theft - with the upper end of cargo loads reaching into the millions in cash value, semi truck theft is more common than you may realize
- Vandalism - this is not limited to some kid with a spray can…trailers tires can be slashed, truck cabs can be ruined and arson is always possible
- Natural Disasters - a severe disaster can render whole fleets inoperable, leaving motor carriers responsible for lost revenue
Cargo Insurance
Cargo insurance covers liability in the event goods or cargo being transported are damaged, stolen, or otherwise lost during transit. As noted above, some insurance carriers package a type of cargo insurance into a general physical damage coverage. For higher value cargo or cargo more prone to spoilage, it’s worth investigating a separate comprehensive cargo insurance endorsement. Truckers & motor carriers should seriously consider specialized cargo insurance if they deal in certain categories of cargo, including:
- Perishable food: reefer trailers rely on their cooling systems to maintain proper temperature and failure of system components can lead to spoilage of entire shipments
- Consumer goods: items easily resold on illicit markets are a leading target for theft. This is a large category of products, including:
- Household appliances
- Electronics
- Furniture
- Tools
- Toys
- Long haul delivery: a longer interstate delivery means overnight stoppage, and stationary cargo is more prone to spoilage, theft or general damage
- Long hauls also often start their journey at high-volume logistical hubs, which are common targets of cargo theft
- Last mile delivery: transferring cargo to last mile delivery vehicles runs inherent risk of damage or misplacement, with fictitious cargo pickups (misdirecting a shipment to a different address) becoming increasingly more common
Motor Truck General Liability Insurance
General Liability is among the most common insurance types used across industries and different entities, but the “Motor Truck'' variation of it applies directly to the trucking industry. Depending on the policy it may cover things like customer injury from slips and falls on company premises, damaged cargo due to delivery error, even libel or slander.
