Somewhere in a previous topic I'd said I would report on insurance quotes I was obtaining, so here's what I found. I Got quotes from 3 different brokers. There was some overlap as far as the insurers that they represented but as a group they represented all of the major companies.

The quotes I got were all between $10,000 and $10500. This is for $1,000,000 auto liability, $100,000 cargo with reefer breakdown coverage, and PD on $100,000 of equipment. All deductibles are $1000. This is for a new authority based in CA with 2 drivers who have 2 years O/O experience. One driver with 10 years CDL experience, no claims, and 1 speeding ticket. Second driver with 3 years CDL experience, no claims, and a clean MVR.

While the quotes were all about the same, the terms vary significantly if you're going to make payments. The amount down they want varies between 20-30% and the finance charge varies from 4-12%.

 

Is that rate for one or two trucks?

 

1 truck, 1 trailer, team operation.

 

My buddy goes with OOIDA for his workman's comp and GE (like the lightbulbs) for his truck insurance.

Hope this helps!

Me, I use VanLiner Insurance co.

 

You may want to continue checking. I just got a quote to renew my insurance. With $1MM liability and $100M cargo it comes to just over $3,900. They reduced my premium this year. There can be a significant difference in premiums between insurers. One company came back with a figure of $9,500. :shock:

 

GMAN, I continue checking but between the people I've dealt with thus far, I've covered most of the major insurers. Like I said before, the fact that I'm a new authority makes a substantial difference. I'll take a hit the first two years before my rates fall inline with what yours would be. Also, CA is a high $ state to insure anything in. Couple that with my speeding ticket ops: and two drivers and that explains the difference. If my quotes were all over the board, then I'd be a little more optimistic, but since they're all pretty much the same I figure they won't deviate much. By the way, what insurance company gave you that rate...not the broker but the actual insurer.

 

Try raising your deductibles, I have $3000 for wildlife, and $4500 for most others. Not by choice mind you, see how much difference it makes.

Seems as though those 2 drivers are probably not going to be making any claims. Average it out, say for some reason you get one claim every 10 years, is the deductible buy down worth it?

 

No_worries, my insurance is with Northland. My insurance broker tells me that they have the best rates, right now. Unless someone comes up with something for less money, I will renew with them. By the way, that rate is per truck. Where you run and base does make a difference in the rate you pay. Another big factor can be what you haul. If you have not yet gotten a quote from Northland, you may want to find an agent or broker who writes for them and check their rates. I believe my first year running my authority, my insurance was about $8,200. But that was hauling cars and has been several years ago. I don't think Northland will write car haulers or hazmat. Since hazmat doesn't pay any more than regular freight, I see no need to spend the extra money and hassle to be able to haul it. Let us know if you find a better rate.

 

The agent that I got the highest quote from represented Northland but it wasn't Northland that they ultimately quoted on. Either Northland was higher or the agent gets a higher commission from the other company. I wasn't impressed with their overall operation so I doubt I'll bother with them further. That happened to be Western Truck Insurance, who was suggested to me earlier. My best quote thus far has come from Great West. I've done my homework and, as an insurance company, Great West is the best of the bunch as far as ratings go. They also carried the policies for the company I leased to last year so I've had some experience dealing with them and have been impressed by their attentiveness and efficiency. I have a feeling that I'll be able to get a lower quote from the agent I've used in the past, most likely from Progressive. But unless it's substantially lower I'll probably go with Great West. It's just a top notch company.

I had thought of getting hazmat coverage to expand our flexibility, but as you said, I just don't see the rates to justify it. For a small operation the extra costs and hassles are pretty substantial.

 

Great West gave me a rather high rate last year. Sometimes having a relationship with your agent or broker can help. I found that sometimes an independent broker can get me a better rate than going with an exclusive agent for a company.

I think you are wise to steer clear of hazmat. You will need authority or permit from the Feds to haul it and need to continue jumping through hoops as long as you haul hazmat.