Commercial truck insurance is much-needed protection to keep your business away from financial desolation—but it can come at a cost. Every trucking company knows how large the expenses for insurance can be.
By nature, commercial insurance is expensive. On top of daily operational expenses and other costs, it becomes a hard-hitting expense for small and large companies alike. This is why business owners should endeavor to save on insurance where they can whilst ensuring the protection of their company.
Several factors affect the total cost of commercial truck insurance, such as the vehicle type, location, business structure, and the cargo that it holds, among others. While there is no one-size-fits-all rate for insurance premiums given these factors, knowing how to cut the expense of truck insurance from the get-go can save business owners thousands.
Achieving maximum savings by cutting costs is a practical way to get ahead in the business. Here is a list of the best practices to lower the cost of your truck insurance and enjoy much higher savings:
The trucking business itself comes with dangers and risks. Though you can not eliminate these potentially damaging incidents, you can still manage and reduce them through stringent safety policies. By crafting safety policies, your employees will be aware of the dos and don'ts at your business.
Some of the protocols you should implement and emphasize for safety are speeding, seatbelts, vehicle inspections, and distracted driving. First, you should make time to ensure employees receive the proper training for this. Make it clear that disregarding safety training can be a ground for sanctions and even termination.
Admittedly, these policies take time and resources to do. But these safety protocols are essential for your employees or else, you will suffer the worst consequences like physical damage to your trucks or injuring your workers.
If your employee has multiple bad driving records such as offenses, traffic violations, and accidents, it could greatly impact your insurance premiums.
These records are an essential aspect that agencies are looking at when determining your insurance rates. So, to prevent rates from rising, you have to hire employees with good records. Most of the time, experienced drivers are preferred because you can just check on their records.
During the hiring process, make sure that you ask for driving records to support their credibility as drivers. You can also require several screening procedures to check if they can meet the standards required by law and your company policies.
To encourage your employees to be more responsible for their duties, you can help them take a few driving courses as well. It is an excellent way to train your employees to be more cautious while on the road, especially if they still have little experience driving trucks.
Scheduling pre-trip inspections are in line with your safety protocols, too.
Some accidents occur due to a company’s failure to check if the truck is roadworthy. Having mandatory pre-trip inspections allows you to identify significant safety hazards. Hence, you can prevent accidents from happening by making repairs first.
Checking everything before the truck hits the road may take around 20 to 40 minutes—but it can save you from a lifetime of regret should an accident happen. Employees in-charge in the inspections must have a copy of what parts need to be inspected to ensure that they don't miss anything.
GPS systems are essential for tracking the location of the truck. On the other hand, dash cams are for monitoring the performance of the driver. Insurance companies offer the installment of these two technologies, which can help determine who is at fault during accidents.
Moreover, you can utilize both GPS and fleet dash cams as anti-theft equipment. If thieves are aware that the truck can be located, it is less likely to be stolen. They might just abandon it somewhere because you can still recover the vehicle.
Additionally, dash cams allow you to see how the driver behaves while at work. These machines will let you see how safe they are on the road and how careful they are against possible accidents.
Truck companies are among the high-risk industries. For this reason, most companies implement risk management strategies to mitigate the risks. The risk management solutions will serve as a guide in your operations and policies.
Risk management involves assessing potential risks, creating policies and procedures, and implementing a preventive maintenance program.
Increasing your insurance deductibles means a reduction from the cost of your insurance premium. Thus, you will be paying lesser monthly payments.
Take note that raising your deductibles is most appropriate if you have sufficient money at hand that you are willing to pay for damages from claims. If you opt to raise deductibles now to save costs, the money you can get if something goes wrong will be directly affected.
Every once in a while, you should also check up on your insurance provider to check up on new products for fleets, better trucking insurance policies, and possible insurance bundles that can save you some money.
Running a truck company always has the risk of getting involved in accidents. These uncertainties are uncontrollable and inevitable that can impact your financial health. Thus, truck insurance is a necessity to mitigate the risks and you need it to protect your business.
Yes, you can lower insurance costs by enforcing strict safety precautions and doing important risk management techniques. With the right strategies, you can succeed in managing your truck insurance expenses.
The FMCSA Safety and Fitness Electronic Records (SAFER) System offers company safety data and related services to the industry and the public over the Internet.
Truckers Service Association is a non-profit organization that delivers specialized benefits and insurance products to Owner-Operators to optimally protect their businesses and families.
Commercial truck insurance is a worthy investment. However, it does not need to compromise your financial health. After all, you need to maintain strong financial stability to keep the business going. You can’t afford to lose the opportunity to save money using several methods and strategies.
Get educated about commercial truck insurance providers by exploring AssuredStandard today!
