Owning an auto transport company means that you must instill trust in your customers. Without trust, it will be difficult to generate, maintain or grow your business income. Auto transport companies provide a service to consumers or other companies. They haul one or more of the customer’s vehicles from one location to another. This service is commonly used when people are moving, particularly to a different state. Commercial customers may use your auto transport company to transport vehicles they intend to auction, or new vehicles that need to be delivered to a dealership. Gaining these customers with trust all starts by having the right types of business insurance on your company.
The two most important types of insurance your transport company should have are general liability and commercial auto insurance. While additional types of small business insurance are also important, these two are the primary ways to protect your customer’s property.
General liability insurance protects your company against losses caused by unexpected events. It primarily focuses on four areas of protection: Bodily injuries, property damages, medical payments and tenant’s liability. Advertising and product liability are covered under those generalized headings, but the most important one for your auto transport company is property damage insurance. When your customer’s vehicle is in your storage lot waiting to be loaded onto the transport, it is your responsibility to ensure that it stays unharmed. If the vehicle is damaged while it’s on your premises, the property damages section of your general liability policy can pay for the cost of repairs.
The commercial auto insurance that you carry for your auto transport company is the most important however, because this is what protects your company and your customer’s vehicles while they are in transit.
Physical damages protection for example, helps pay for the cost of repairs and replacements needed if your transport truck is involved in an accident. Different levels of physical damages protection are available, including comprehensive coverage, collision damages and Specified Peril. If the truck turns a corner too sharply and causes damage to the vehicle it is hauling for example, the collision damages option may pay for those repair costs.
Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage protects you from having to pay for repairs and replacements when your transport vehicle is involved in an accident with another motorist who does not carry insurance. When the driver at fault is not insured or does not carry enough to cover all of the damages they cause, your uninsured/underinsured coverage will.
Since your customer’s vehicle is your cargo, you can protect it even further by adding cargo insurance.
Unattended truck insurance is extremely useful when your company driver is hauling a customer’s vehicle over a long distance. Since truck drivers are required by law to take regular breaks, they must occasionally leave their transport truck and its cargo unattended. If that cargo is stolen or damaged while the driver is away from the truck, unattended truck insurance coverage will pay for the cost of repairing the cargo or replacing it as needed.
Call and speak to one of our licensed representatives and we’ll help you determine all of the appropriate business insurance coverages you need for your auto transport company.
