3 Useful Extra Commercial Truck Insurance Policies
While you might already have insurance that covers your truck for damage, loss, and liability, you can boost your coverage by buying additional policies. While these policies might not be essential, they can make a real difference if you need to make a claim that your general insurance doesn't cover.
Read on to learn more about additional coverage you might find useful.
1. Personal Use Liability Coverage
Your liability policy protects you if you have an accident in your truck that causes personal injury to other people or damage to their property. While this insurance is vital, it doesn't necessarily cover every trip you make.
General truck liability policies don't cover personal driving. If you use your truck for personal reasons, then you don't have liability coverage on these trips.
You can, however, take out non-trucking or bobcat liability insurance. These policies cover personal use. You get full liability protection if you do use your truck outside of work jobs.
2. Rental Reimbursement With Downtime Coverage
If you are an owner-operator, then your income is dependent on your truck. If your truck is damaged in an accident, then you might not have access to another vehicle. You won't be able to earn money; you could lose jobs. Your wait for a repair or a new truck will hit your income.
Rental reimbursement with downtime coverage mitigates these costs. Here, your carrier will give you money towards renting a replacement vehicle until you repair or replace your truck. Or, they will pay you downtime costs to cover lost income during this period. You can carry on earning even if your truck is off the road.
3. Permanently-Attached Equipment
If you have permanently mounted some equipment, devices, or machines in your truck, then you need to check if your carrier includes these items in your general coverage. Some insurers accept them if you declare them on your contract; others don't cover them at all.
If you don't have coverage for heating units, tracking and GPS devices, toolboxes, or any other high-value equipment you have attached to your truck, then you could have high out-of-pocket costs if these items get damaged or stolen.
If you do have items of value in this classification, then you can take out extra insurance for them. Permanently-attached coverage gives you more complete asset protection.
To find out more about these additional options, talk to commercial truck insurance carriers or agents.