Save money on commercial truck insurance – it is on the mind of all owner operators and fleet owners. Truck insurance is a major expense, but there are ways you can save commercial truck insurance.
Maintain Your Vehicle
Drivers and companies should implement regular truck and trailer maintenance checks in their pre-trip and post-trip routine. Those self-inspections are quick and easy, but the DOT inspections will take much more time when the inspector digs deeper after finding one issue, and even more time when tickets are being written. At minimum, the following items should be checked before getting on the road:
- Brakes
- Axels
- Mud flaps
- Lights
- Leaks
- Mirrors and windows
- Tires for excessive wear or audible leaks and visible cracks in the tires
- Trailer for stress cracks in the frame
- Load tie-downs
- Wheels and general lug nut inspection
If there’s something wrong, get it fixed right away. If one brake light or headlight is out, get it changed. Remember, if an inspector finds a problem it may cause you to receive a ticket or an out of service violation.
Save on commercial truck insurance and be safer by maintaining your vehicle. Vehicle maintenance can be the difference between running for years without receiving negative marks on your record or being an accident, and nobody wants to cause injury or death when it could have been prevented.
The cost of properly maintaining your equipment is much less expensive in the long run than taking on the risk of an accident.
Drive Smarter
Driving smarter takes common sense, experience, and using what you learned during driver training. It is part of being a professional truck driver and something every driver should take seriously.
- Drive the speed limit
- No tailgating
- No illegal lane changes or driving in no-truck lanes
- Control emotions
- Focus on the road
The above are a few of the things that if you are currently adhering to, great. If not, starting a practice of a stronger safety culture will help keep everyone safer and help keep your insurance premium competitive with quality insurance carriers.
Keep in mind that recordable accidents and general insurance claims, SAFER scores and results from the FMCSA management system will all affect your insurance premiums.
Other Factors
There are typical factors affecting commercial insurance premiums that you have little control over:
- Driving radius and states entered
- Commodities hauled
- Years of Class A experience
- Age of driver(s)
- Deductibles and coverage limits
Truck Insurance Agency Quality Over Cost
It is important to save on commercial truck insurance, but so is the quality of your truck insurance agency and insurance provider.
- What if your truck insurance agent is more knowledgeable about insurance and trucking, and strives to give you better advice for protecting your business?
- What if your agent has candid conversations with you about working toward a safer culture as it involves your business rather than simply telling you what you wish to hear?
- You will want to work with the highest rated insurance providers because they are known for paying claims and having the ability to pay claims. Quality insurance agents will work with highly rated insurance providers. You can check the financial strength of your insurance provider at AM Best.