What Is Commercial Truck Insurance?

If you use large trucks and vehicles for your business, it’s essential to make sure that those vehicles are insured. While commercial auto insurance can cover smaller business vehicles, like vans and pickup trucks, larger vehicles require more specialty coverage.

Commercial truck insurance is designed specifically for the large vehicles your business uses, including:

Tow trucks
Box trucks
Delivery trucks
Cement mixers
Garbage trucks
Semi trucks
Tractor trailers

What Does Insurance for Commercial Trucks Cover?

Commercial insurance for truck use includes several types of coverage to make sure that you’re fully protected. In most cases, these coverages include:

Liability coverage to protect your business if your truck is in an accident that damages someone else’s property
Physical damage coverage, which can protect your business against any damage that your truck sustains in an accident
Unidentified trailer coverage, which helps to protect your business if your truck is in an accident with a trailer that isn’t insured
Trailer cargo coverage, which helps protect your business against damage caused to any items being hauled at the time of an accident
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which helps to cover any expenses your business sustains resulting from an accident caused by a driver who either has minimal insurance or who isn’t insured at all

Do I Need Commercial Truck Insurance?

Any business that uses large trucks that can’t be covered under a standard commercial auto insurance policy needs to purchase a commercial truck insurance policy. Most states have laws requiring you to insure your vehicles, so operating without commercial truck insurance could lead to fines, a suspended license, and even jail time.

You will need to insure your trucks for a certain amount of minimum coverage, and those minimums vary by state. While meeting your state’s insurance minimum gives you basic protection you need to drive legally, it’s a good idea to increase your insurance limits so that you have more coverage in case of an accident. Accident-related expenses like medical bills and vehicle replacement costs can get very expensive, and when a large, expensive truck is involved, it’s possible that those costs will exceed the minimum coverage required by your state.

How Much Does Commercial Truck Insurance Cost?

Many factors affect your insurance cost, including the type and number of trucks you need to insure, the type of cargo that you will be transporting, and the operating radius of your business. The driving history of your employees can also affect your rates, so be sure to hire employees with clean driving records if possible. You may also want to implement systems to monitor your employees’ driving habits, like using dash cams to ensure they’re driving safely.

Your coverage needs will also affect your premium, so getting a commercial truck insurance quote can give you the best idea of your rates. You can get free, personalized commercial truck insurance quotes today to start exploring different policy options for your business.

Paige Cerulli Paige Cerulli is a freelance content writer and journalist who specializes in personal finance topics. She graduated from Westfield State University and brings more than a decade of professional writing experience to the ConsumerCoverage team. Paige’s work has appeared in outlets including USA Today, Business Insider, and more.