Catering Truck Insurance
Catering Truck Insurance
A catering truck may be a small business van or cargo van, or a larger boxed and refrigerated truck. Depending upon your company’s needs and business structure, you may own several different types of catering trucks. Buying or leasing any sized catering truck for your company is expensive. If you had to repair damage to one of your trucks from a wind or hail storm, would it cause your company deep financial stress? If your truck is involved in an auto accident, could you afford to pay all of the associated bills and expenses that arise?
Your catering truck in an investment in your company and your commercial auto insurance is an investment in your truck. Business insurance can protect you from losses to the truck itself and from financial losses when the truck causes an accident. Here are the types of commercial auto insurance you’ll need for your catering truck.
- Liability Insurance – Liability insurance protects your company from having to pay other people’s bills when your catering truck causes or is at fault for an auto accident. Liability insurance is required coverage in most parts of the United States, and generally pays for two important areas:
- Bodily Injury – When a person is injured in an auto accident, bodily injury protection pays for the bills that are caused due to those injuries. A person who suffers from a broken leg due to an auto accident for example, will likely require immediate hospital care. If your catering truck caused the accident, the bodily injury portion of your liability insurance will pay for that hospital care. It will also pay related physician’s follow-up fees, prescription medication costs, rehabilitation, losses in wages from time off work, pain and suffering and funeral expenses.
- Property Damage– When property is damaged in an auto accident, the property damage portion of your liability insurance will pay to have that property replaced or repaired. If your catering truck strikes a parked vehicle for example, and crumples the side door, the property damage portion of your insurance policy will pay to have that door replaced or repaired.
When you set up liability insurance for your catering truck you will need to select a coverage amount and type as well as an insurance deductible. The deductible is the amount that you will pay out of pocket when there is an auto accident with your truck. If the accident expenses do not exceed your deductible then the insurance company will not have to cover any costs. Select a deductible amount that you can easily afford at any given time. If your deductible is too high then you may have difficulty paying it when an accident arises. If it is too low it can cause your insurance premiums to be too high.
The amount and type of liability policy you choose determines how much your insurance company will pay for each accident that arises. A single claim policy of $150,000 will pay a maximum of $150,000 for the total combined damages – property and bodily – created in a given accident. A split claim policy sets maximum payouts for individual use and total accident. For example, if you select a split claim policy of $30,000/$125,000/$50,000 then your policy will pay a maximum of $30,000 for any individual person’s bodily injuries in one accident. It will limit the payout for all bodily injuries combined to $125,000 per accident. The last number defines the maximum amount the policy will pay for property damages, in this case $50,000.
Medical Payments – Medical payments coverage protects the driver of your catering truck and any passengers who were riding with him at the time of the accident. If the driver or any passengers require medical care after an auto accident, this insurance will pay those medical costs. This coverage is a no-fault insurance, which means it pays benefits regardless of who was at fault for the auto accident. It isn’t available in all areas however. Call one of our licensed representatives to determine whether this insurance option is available for you.
Physical Damage Insurance – Physical damages insurance protects your catering truck. This is important commercial insurance to carry when your company leases its trucks. If the truck still has a lien or outstanding bank loan on it, this is also important coverage. If your truck is destroyed while under lease or with an outstanding loan, your company may have to pay off the contract out of its own funds. By carrying physical damages insurance however, the insurance coverage can pay for the cost of payoff or replacement instead.
- Comprehensive Physical Damage Protection – Comprehensive damage insurance protects you from most of the day-to-day potential hazards and risks. It does not apply to damages and loss caused by your truck overturning, or caused by collision events. It protects you from losses caused by theft for example, and expensive repairs caused by vandalism. It also pays for repairs when a hail storm damages the truck or a tree falls onto it in a storm.
- Collision Damage Protection – Collision damage protection is specifically designed to take care of you and your truck when it overturns or is involved in a collision event. If your catering truck turns into a customer’s driveway too sharply for example, hits a curb and overturns, the collision damage coverage will pay for the repairs.
- Specified Peril (CAC) – Fire and Theft with Combined Additional Coverage (CAC) insurance is also known as specified peril coverage. This commercial insurance protects you from specific hazards and risks that are not collision or roll over related. Coverage applies only for those risks listed on your insurance policy however.
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist – If your catering truck is involved in an accident with another vehicle that does not carry insurance, your company may have to pay the repair bills to get your truck back into working shape. Likewise, if the accident is caused by someone who carries insurance but it is not enough to cover all of the damages caused to your truck, you may have to pick up the difference. Uninsured and underinsured motorist protection is designed to prevent you from having to deal with that financial impact. With this coverage, your truck is protected in the event that the at fault driver does not have any insurance, or does not have enough to pay for all of your truck’s repairs. Like liability insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage takes care of two primary areas:
- Bodily Injury – As covered with Liability Insurance.
- Property Damage – As covered with Liability Insurance.
- Collision Deductible Waiver (CDW) – A collision deductible waiver (CDW) is designed to prevent you from having to pay your insurance deductible when you file an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim. Since you or your driver was not at fault for the accident, you should not have to pay the standard deductible. As long as your company carries uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage for your catering truck, you can get a CDW and not have to pay the deductible.
Other Important Commercial Auto Insurance For Your Catering Truck Includes:
- Rental – Rental insurance pays for a temporary replacement truck when yours is out of service due to being in the repair shop after an accident.
- Towing – If your catering truck is disabled in an accident or other means, towing insurance pays for the cost of towing your truck to the repair shop.
- Cargo – The cargo your company carries for your or your client’s business is valuable on its own. Protect it from loss and destruction with commercial cargo insurance.
- Accessories – The accessories you have installed in your cargo truck can be protected with extra insurance as well. Expensive communications radios, GPS navigation units and other accessories can be protected from loss with this option on your commercial auto insurance policy.
