In a perfect world, you would be fully loaded, clocking miles, and getting paid every time you sat behind the wheel and looked through a windshield, but that’s not the world we live in. Sometimes insurance is tied to the load, and if you’re not hauling a load, you don’t have insurance. Non-trucking Liability, aka Bobtail Insurance, provides coverage for when you do not have a trailer attached, have an empty trailer, when you’re off the clock, or when you’re deadheading back home.
If you are an owner-operator, leased out to a fleet that provides your trucking insurance, you need non-trucking liability insurance. Non-trucking liability insurance will cover any non-business use of the truck. If you drive the truck to the casino between loads, take the truck to the movies on your day off, or stop by the grocery store to load up on snacks for next week’s run, you are liable for the damage caused by any accident.
They can protect you against financial loss by paying for other people’s medical expenses and property damage resulting from an accident you cause when using the truck in a non-revenue generating activity.
Mostly you and your stuff. Non-trucking Liability and Bobtail Insurance are liability coverages that only cover expenses and damage that you cause, and these policies are only in effect when the truck isn’t hauling any cargo or participating in any business activity. Getting fueled, cleaned, or worked on can all be considered business activities and should fall under your primary liability policy.
Well, you may include physical damage coverage on the non-trucking liability policy and this coverage covers you anytime and anywhere. The liability coverage is different, but when it comes to the physical damage coverage on your truck, you may add this to the policy at an additional premium.
There are a lot of gray areas and potential gap areas between non-trucking and bobtail policies. Some cover deadheading or empty trailers, and some don’t. Anyone with a laptop can spit out an insurance policy and tell you it has the lowest rate. You need a professional agent in your corner who’s going to make sure you’ve got the right policy with the right coverages and still get you a great price. You need House Trucking Insurance on your team. Contact us today for a Trucking Insurance Quote.