Why is Car Shipping Insurance Important?

When shipping your vehicle, accidents can happen.  It is essential to have insurance on your car when it is being transported.  If an accident happens and you do not have insurance, you may be paying for it out of pocket.  That is a lot of your own money for damaged caused by transport.  Some states may require it, while others may not.

You do not want to be caught without hauler’s insurance.  It would be hard to cover the cost of damages out of your own pocket.  Especially if it is a lot just to transport your car.  Some transport companies offer liability insurance.  This is a basic policy that will meet state requirements.

Do not rely on what the car shipping company has to offer.  It may or may not be a good deal.  Some companies require insurance at a certain level.  Keep in mind, when they ask for you to have a specific type of insurance, it is due to the state requirements for the states they will be traveling through.

Imagine if you are a car hauler with about 10 cars on your truck.  There is an accident, and 9 of those cars are extremely damaged, and the 10^th car has a few scratches.  With haulers insurance, you will be ok.  Insurance will take care of it.  However, if you do not have insurance, you will be putting out a lot of money to repair all 10 cars.

As a car hauler, you are not working with only individuals.  You may be working with dealerships, wholesalers, and several larger automotive companies.  It is crucial to protect your assets.  Mainly, your business and everything in it.

There are always risks involve when hauling cars.  Having the right hauler’s insurance will protect you from those risks.  The biggest thing you must consider if you get in an accident is a liability.

What to Look for in Hauler’s Insurance?

You will want the basic coverage just like you would have for your cars such as collision, comprehensive, medical payments, and liability.  These will include the driver, vehicles, and the transport trailer.  You may want to include operations and garage, cargo, and on-hook coverages.

Each transport company is different.  They may ask for other types of coverages included.  It is best to check with them before hauling for their company to ensure you are fully covered to meet their needs.

Your operations and garage coverage are for if you need to store the vehicles.  Perhaps they are damaged while in storage.  This will include severe weather damage, theft, vandalism, and fire.  If you do not have this added to your coverage you something happens while storing the vehicles you will need to pay out of pocket.

Cargo coverage will offer you extra coverage when you are storing or transporting vehicles.  I would advise having this even if you have the operations and garage coverage.  They each cover different areas and will be beneficial if something happens.

You may or may not need On-Hook coverage.  This will cover any damage if you are towing a vehicle.  Most companies that require this type of coverage are towing companies.

What is the Cost of a Car Shipping Insurance?

Car shipping insurance can be expensive.  You are looking between $800 to $1,400 each month.  This is based on several factors due to the high liability, heavier weight, carrying multiple cars, and the distance you travel.

Make sure you shop around.  Just like car insurance, some companies offer better rates than other companies.  You can give the agencies the information of what you are needing the protection for, and they can help you determine the best plan for you.  Some of the factors that will determine your cost are:

• The Business Nature
• The type and size of your car hauler
• The number of vehicles you could be hauling regularly
• If the cars you are hauling are damaged, used, new, etc.
• If you will be hauling across state lines or staying locally such is in state
• Business location
• The number of haulers you will be insuring
• Your personal driving record such as traffic violations

Each of these areas may strongly impact the rates of your policy.  The best thing to do is to get quotes from several different agencies before deciding on which one to use.

Safety is a priority when shipping vehicles.  Having a commitment to safety will help save you money on insurance as well.  The best way to show this is through your driving record.  Your driving record will give a good outlook on the type of diver you are.

What Type of Coverage do I Need?

This will vary depending on the size of the hauler you are using.  If it is a small hauler that will hold less than four vehicles, you could be ok with coverage starting at $100,000.  If your hauler is pulled by a semi-truck and contains over eight cars, you will need coverage starting at $250,000 but may want to get coverage for about $500,000.

These amounts are only the minimum coverage.  You can always get more coverage.  These are based on what companies are looking for just to bid for a job.

You must know what your hauler’s insurance covers and does not cover.  Whatever it does not cover, you may want to consider looking into a package deal that will allow you to add things that are not included in the initial insurance policy.

What is covered in car shipping insurance?

At the very minimum, your policy will cover the liability of property damage, liability of bodily injury, comprehensive, underinsured or uninsured motorist, collision, and medical.  You can also add operations and garage, cargo, and on-hook coverages.

These coverages are only the minimum that you will need.  You may be asked to get more coverage, but generally not less.  It never hurts to have too much.  It will hurt if you do not have enough coverage.

One thing to remember, there are insurance requirements that will be laid out in the policy.  Make sure you respect all the elements in your system.  If there are any issues and you need to use your insurance, the company will investigate.  If you did anything, even if it is only one thing that is against what is in the policy, you may be paying out of pocket.  Your plan will not pay for the damages.

Always be mindful of what your coverage is and stick to it.  Remember, you will want to check with the auto transport companies you will be working with to ensure they do not require anything extra.  If you are driving locally, you will only need to worry about your local state’s requirements.  However, if you are operating outside of the country, you will need to worry about the conditions for each state.

State law enforcement does not care if you meet the requirements of your local state if you are in their state.  They only know what is required for their state.  Be mindful of the requirements and always make sure you have the correct amount of insurance.