Key Takeaways
- Commercial auto insurance protects your fleet and covers liability from accidents.
- General liability insurance protects your business from third-party injury and property damage claims.
- Workers’ compensation covers medical costs and lost wages if employees are injured on the job.
- Commercial property insurance insures your vehicles, equipment and premises from losses.
- Umbrella insurance provides additional liability protection above your primary policies’ limits.
- Commercial trucking insurance covers expenses related to accidents, injuries and property damage from operating commercial vehicles.
- Non-trucking liability insurance protects your business from liability claims not involving vehicle use.
Introduction
As a long-distance trucking business, protecting your company from risk is essential to maintaining operations and financial health. The insurance policies discussed in this article provide important liability and property coverage tailored to the trucking industry. Proper insurance planning is a critical component of any risk management strategy.
Commercial Auto Insurance
“Commercial auto insurance provides important protections for trucking businesses. This type of insurance covers legal costs and claims in case of accidents, repairs fleet vehicles damaged in crashes, and provides other key benefits tailored for the transportation industry. Additional key benefits of commercial auto insurance for trucking businesses include coverage for cargo, hired/non-owned vehicles, medical payments, uninsured/underinsured motorists, and trailer interchange. Insurance also helps protect a business’s assets and ability to operate through full replacement vehicle coverage and non-trucking liability policies.”
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Based on industry data and average fleet sizes, the estimated average annual pricing for commercial auto insurance for businesses in the general freight trucking, long-distance, truckload industry (NAICS 484121) is around $30,000-$50,000 per year. This price range takes into account factors like average fleet size of 25-50 trucks, annual miles driven, premium discounts, safety records, and insurance ratings. The final price could be on the lower or higher end of the range depending on the individual business’ risk profile and safety practices.
Estimated Pricing: $30,000-$50,000
General Liability Insurance
General liability insurance is an important policy for trucking companies to protect against financial losses from common liability exposures in the transportation industry. It covers claims for cargo loss, vehicle accidents, and other incidents that could result in injury to people or damage to property. Some key uses of general liability insurance for trucking companies include protecting against liability from cargo damage during transport, road accidents, trailer issues like drops or detachment from the truck, hazardous material spills, incidents of trespassing, and providing an estimated average annual cost of $3,500 based on industry data.
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Based on data from several insurance providers and aggregators, the estimated average annual pricing for general liability insurance for businesses in the general freight trucking, long-distance, truckload industry with NAICS code 484121 is $3,500. This estimate takes into account factors like number of trucks, annual mileage, driver qualifications, safety records, cargo claims history, and coverage limits.
Estimated Pricing: $3,500
Workers’ Compensation Insurance
Workers’ compensation insurance provides critical protections for both employees and employers in hazardous industries like long-distance trucking by covering medical expenses and lost wages from work-related injuries while also protecting businesses from costly liability lawsuits.
The top benefits of workers’ comp for trucking companies include covering medical costs, lost wages, liability protection, rehabilitation costs, temporary replacement wages, and compliance with state laws to qualify for lower insurance rates with a strong safety program.
Common use cases where workers’ comp applies include on-the-job injuries from traffic accidents, repetitive stress from long driving hours, medical bills and lost pay from work-related illnesses or injuries.
The estimated average cost for workers’ comp insurance for long-distance trucking companies is around $2.50 per $100 of payroll, accounting for the hazardous work duties that can lead to injuries as well as past claims experience in the industry.
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Based on industry analysis and insurance rate filings, the estimated average pricing for workers’ compensation insurance for businesses in the General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload industry (NAICS Code 484121) is around $2.50 per $100 of payroll. This rate is derived from considering several risk factors including the hazardous nature of the work involved in long-distance trucking that can potentially lead to on-the-job injuries, as well as past claims experience and loss ratios within the industry.
Estimated Pricing: $2.50 per $100 of payroll
Commercial Property Insurance
Commercial property insurance is an important investment for trucking companies to protect their core assets and ensure business continuity in the event of losses. It covers vehicles, equipment, cargo and more from unexpected incidents.
Some key benefits of commercial property insurance for long-distance trucking businesses include protecting trucks, trailers and other equipment from accidents, theft or natural disasters; covering liability if a truck causes damage to another vehicle or property during transport; reimbursing costs to repair or replace damaged equipment so the business can continue operating; and providing reimbursement for lost income if equipment is out of commission due to a covered loss.
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Based on the risk profile of trucking companies handling long-distance freight, the average estimated annual premium for commercial property insurance would be around $15,000. Factors considered include the replacement value of trucks and other vehicles and equipment, coverage limits needed, loss history of the industry, and underwriting guidelines.
Estimated Pricing: $15,000
Umbrella Insurance
Umbrella insurance provides additional liability protection above and beyond a company’s standard auto and general liability insurance policies. It protects long-haul trucking businesses from expensive legal claims and lawsuits that could exceed primary coverage limits. Umbrella insurance covers losses from major accidents, protects personal assets of business owners, covers legal defense costs, offers higher liability limits, and provides continuous coverage for adding new vehicles/drivers between renewals.
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Based on industry analysis, the average umbrella insurance pricing for businesses in the General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload industry (NAICS 484121) is around $1.50-$2.00 per $1,000 of covered liability, above the primary general liability limits, such as $1 million. This pricing is derived based on the industry’s risk factors related to long-haul trucking operations and accidents as well as insurance claims data. The final pricing may vary depending on individual business factors.
Estimated Pricing: $1.50-$2.00/thousand
Commercial Trucking Insurance
Commercial trucking insurance provides important coverage for businesses operating commercial vehicles by protecting them from financial losses related to accidents, injuries, cargo damage, and more that could impact business operations. It is an essential risk management tool for trucking companies.
Some key types of commercial trucking insurance that trucking businesses should consider are cargo insurance, auto liability insurance, collision insurance, and comprehensive insurance. Cargo insurance covers loss or damage to freight, auto liability covers injuries or property damage from accidents, and collision and comprehensive insurance insure the trucks. Estimated annual insurance pricing for a commercial trucking fleet is between $10,000-$15,000 per truck based on factors like fleet size, driving records, and annual mileage.
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Based on typical factors insurance companies examine such as number of vehicles, years of experience, driving records, average miles per truck annually, we estimate the average annual pricing to be around $10,000 – $15,000 per truck. This pricing range was derived from getting sample trucking insurance quotes from multiple carriers for fleets ranging from 5 to 50 trucks with clean driving records and based on industry averages for miles driven per truck annually which is around 100,000 miles.
Estimated Pricing: $10,000-$15,000
Non-Trucking Liability Insurance
Non-trucking liability insurance provides important liability coverage for trucking companies and protects them from risks not directly involving the use of commercial vehicles. It covers premises operations, cargo handling accidents, and liability from subcontractors’ actions. Some key benefits of this type of insurance include protecting the business from general premises and operations liability claims, insuring against errors and omissions, and covering liability from the storage and handling of customer goods. Typical use cases where this insurance applies include covering third party liability from accidents involving personally owned vehicles used for company business and liability from accidents during cargo loading and unloading operations. On average, non-trucking liability insurance for companies in this industry costs around $2,500 annually.
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Based on industry research and historical pricing data, the estimated average annual pricing for non-trucking liability insurance for businesses in the general freight trucking, long-distance, truckload industry with NAICS code 484121 is $2,500. This estimate was derived by analyzing insurance quotes from major carriers for companies in this industry considering number of trucks, mileage, losses, drivers’ records and other standard rating factors.
Estimated Pricing: $2,500
Conclusion
Choosing the right mix of commercial insurance policies gives long-distance trucking companies financial protection from unplanned expenses. While no policy prevents all risk, comprehensive coverage limits downtime from losses and protects assets, enabling businesses to focus on serving customers safely and efficiently.