Insuring a commercial truck is often more complicated than merely purchasing comprehensive and collision coverage for the vehicle. If you have a commercial truck in Vermont, you may want a combination of the following coverages in your commercial trucking insurance policy.

Is My Truck in Vermont Adequately Protected by My Commercial Trucking Insurance Policy?

Physical Damage Protection

Physical damage coverage frequently provides the most basic level of protection for a truck and trailer. The coverage is sometimes detailed as collision coverage and comprehensive coverage. Collision coverage usually provides protection for damage that occurs in multi-vehicle collisions. Comprehensive coverage usually protects against other incidents, which may include falling trees, burglaries, hitting animals and similar ordeals.

In the event that you don’t have a trailer to insure, most Vermont insurers offer policies that provide physical damage protection for trucks only. When this coverage is included in a long haul truck insurance policy, protection is typically limited to equipment that a business owns or leases on a long-term basis.

Interchange Protection

Interchange coverage is usually used to insure trailers that a business doesn’t own or lease. The coverage may include both collision and comprehensive protections, like physical damage coverage often does.

“Unidentified trailer coverage” is another term for interchange coverage.

Motor Truck Cargo Protection

Both physical damage and interchange coverage frequently insure only a business’ equipment -- and not cargo that the business transports. To protect cargo, many businesses add motor truck cargo coverage to their long haul truck insurance policy.

When selecting motor truck cargo coverage, it’s important to choose a coverage that’s designed for the type of cargo your business moves. Insurers sometimes offer several different permutations of this coverage for different types of cargo, and an insurance agent who specializes in long haul truck insurance can help you sort through the various options.

Downtime Protection

Downtime coverage is sometimes necessary to protect a truck and/or trailer during off-hours. If a long haul truck insurance policy’s physical damage protection is limited to only when equipment is in use, adding this protection may ensure the equipment is protected when not in use.

Non-Trucking Protection

Non-trucking coverage is similar to downtime coverage, in that both protections might cover incidents that occur when equipment isn’t being used for work. Non-trucking coverage, however, is normally specifically for when a truck is being driven for personal purposes. For example, this coverage might cover damage that occurs when driving a tractor home after dropping off the day’s load.

While many companies may need non-trucking coverage, this protection is sometimes particularly popular with owner-operators. If you’re an owner-operator, you likely know firsthand how often a truck might be driven for personal use.

Talk with a Vermont Insurance Agent Who Knows Commercial Trucking Insurance

Despite including a number of protections, this list includes only some of the coverages you might want your commercial trucking insurance policy to include. It doesn’t even touch on liability protections or other protections that don’t directly protect equipment from damage.

To make sure you end up with all of the insurance protections you need, ask an independent insurance agent who specializes in this type of commercial insurance for help comparing policies. An independent agent will be able to compare policies from several different insurers, and someone who’s familiar with the nuances of these policies can make informed recommendations.

To speak with an independent and specialized agent in Vermont, call or message Paige & Campbell Insurance. Our team of independent agents is familiar with commercial trucking insurance and have helped many companies get this type of insurance. They’re ready to help you as well.