Car haulers or car carriers are a form of vehicle that are used by multiple types of people. Individual consumers may be interested in hauling vehicles via a car hauler or car carrier, and certainly, businesses like auto dealers and similar will use these forms of transport to carry larger quantities of cars in one place.
The benefits of choosing car carriers over other routes of transport for large numbers of vehicles cannot be understated. But naturally, when hauling expensive property in this way, it’s important to keep in mind that
getting car hauler insurance is the only way to truly know that your property will be safe.
The Dangers of Hauling a Vehicle Yourself
Drivers often do not realize that they are putting themselves in harm’s way when they make the decision to haul a vehicle behind a truck or RV. Businesses who may haul the occasional vehicle should instead use a car carrier or car hauler where large quantities of vehicles are hauled all at once.
When vehicles are hauled behind a moving truck or RV, it is far more likely that they will be tampered with or stolen. There are also more bad things that can happen with a vehicle that is being hauled like this. When vehicles are hauled behind trucks or RVs, accidents can easily happen, and it’s possible that the cars will be stolen from this position. There is a high likelihood.
How Car Hauler Insurance Can Help
Car hauler insurance will help you protect the vehicles that you are transporting in your car carrier. When you find a car hauler insurance plan, you can expect to have protection from numerous accidents and damages that would otherwise go unprotected.
The Risks That Car Haulers Take
There are numerous risks that you are taking as a car hauling business.
Here are the most important car carrier risks to consider:
Theft
One of the most serious risks that car carries take when they transport large quantities of expensive cars is theft. In many ways, it’s the easy possibility of theft that makes car hauler insurance so hard to purchase. It goes without saying that hauling new cars makes you a direct target for thieves.
In many cases, thieves aren’t as interested in stealing the entire car as they are in stealing parts that are worth a lot and can easily be taken away unlike the entire car. Of course, this makes leaving a car carrier alone and not attended by the driver extremely dangerous. There’s no way of knowing what’s going on in the car hauler when you simply need to step away at a truck stop or if you leave the hauler at night.
Keep in mind that some insurance companies who offer insurance for car haulers will not even cover thefts that occur when the car carrier has been left unattended by the driver. This is an important port to keep in mind. Other insurance plans will cover thefts in these situations only if there are reasonable measures taken by the driver that would have reasonably protected the unattended vehicles. Of course, “reasonable” is a loose term, so it’s important to get stipulations on this.
Clearance Risks While Driving
It’s not uncommon for car carriers to put a super high stack of expensive cars on their trailers. This helps them to fit a maximum number of vehicles on their car carriers, and it also helps them to be further protected while transporting them. But if the driver does not carefully and closely watch their clearance, an accident can certainly happen and cause serious damage to a trailer.
Some insurance companies that cover car hauling will not cover these types of accidents, so that’s something to keep in mind. The damage that would result in this scenario would almost certainly be in the hundreds of thousands or even millions, depending on the exact vehicles that were being transported.
Damage to Brand New Vehicles
Finally, when there is damage to used vehicles, that’s one thing, but damage to brand new vehicles is extremely costly. When hauling brand new vehicles, there are huge risks associated. The differential between reducing the cost of the car when it’s eventually fixed and having to repair new car damage can often be huge. When a car has to get fixed after it’s just come off the line, it can no longer be considered as “brand new.”
Here’s an example: You might have a brand new car that gets damaged in transport. Perhaps it gets dents and scratches while being carried in a large car carrier. Fixing those dents and scratches after the car reaches its destination may cost anywhere from $3,000 to $4,000. But this is much less than the overall cost of the car will have to be reduced because it was brand new when it was damaged and fixed. The overall cost of this car might have to be reduced by anywhere form $6,000 to $8,000.
Facts to Know About Hauling Cars in Car Haulers or Carriers
If you are just beginning to learn about the importance of car hauler insurance and the car carrying business, it may be helpful to know a few things about this process. You’ll also want to know some important facts about car carrying so that you can see and understand your risk factors. That’s because your specific risk factors will be important in how an insurance company evaluates you as an individual consumer or as a car hauling company or auto dealership.
Here’s the most important information that you need to know:
- Car haulers move vehicles across a wide range of distances.
Some car carriers will move vehicles all the way across the country while others will simply transport them a few miles within the same city, state, or region.
- Hauling wrecked cars is much difference than hauling new or used cars that are for sale.
If you are a car hauler who is carrying wrecked cars, there is a lot more training that you must go through. It’s important to keep the likelihood of damage to property at a minimum, and it’s also essential to keep roads clear and avoid further accidents while loading wrecked cars.
- Car haulers must be trained in their trade, and that goes for drivers as well.
In order to be a successful car hauler, you should know how to properly load vehicles on to your carrier. Drivers must know this too. Everyone working in the business should know how to care for the cars on the carrier and how to troubleshoot problems should they arise.
In addition, it’s important that car haulers and drivers know the parameters of their insurance policy.
Do they have to be with the hauler at all times to be covered?
What are the stipulations involving possible accidents involving clearance risk while driving?
What Types of Businesses Haul Cars as an Essential Part of Operations?
There are many industries that require the use of car haulers.
Here is a list of the industries that mainly use this form of transportation:
Businesses who are selling or buying vehicles
This includes auto makers as well as used and new car dealerships and sometimes, even individuals. Sometimes, cars are sold and hauled on a large scale while other times, just a few vehicles need to be carried from one place to another.
Auto repair shops
Many auto repair shops will end up using car haulers and tow vehicles to transport large number of vehicles. They may be picking up vehicles that were recently in accidents on the road or dropping off vehicles that they have recently sold or worked on.
Towing companies that are using flatbed trailers
Some auto repair shops prefer to use their own trailers or car haulers to transport their cars, but they might often hire towing companies as well. These towing companies often have tow trucks that leave the car trailing behind on its own four or two wheels. But in many situations, wrecked cars cannot be transported this way. In this case, flatbeds need to be used, and this is who would be transporting vehicles with a hauler instead of a typical tow truck.
Who Should Have Car Hauler Insurance?
Regular auto insurance is different than car carrier insurance. This is something that’s extremely important to remember. Car hauler insurance is for anyone who plans on hauling large quantities of vehicles, but some individuals may also benefit from car hauler insurance as well.
Car dealerships, auto wholesalers, and all other auto companies that operate on a large scale should have car carrier insurance to protect themselves and their investments as well. Many of these businesses will be shipping large quantities of expensive cars for long distances. Furthermore, it is not uncommon to need to ship extremely expensive, custom-made cars and other vehicles for long distances. These must definitely be protected in the event that an accident happens.
What Will Car Hauler Insurance Cover?
Car hauler insurance or car carrier insurance covers numerous types of accidents and damages. Most importantly, it will cover theft, accidents, and other types of damage. Here are the specifics:
Cargo Coverage
This type of insurance will cover any damages to the vehicles that you are hauling. This is true for new, used, or wrecked vehicles, but remember that there are always stipulations to pay attention to.
On Hook Coverage
This type of insurance will cover the actual carrier that you are using to transport your cargo.
Garage and Daily Operations Coverage
Finally, if you plan on storing any of the cars that you transport, you can get coverage for them while they are in storage. This include protection from theft, severe weather, vandalism, fire, and more.
Do You Really Require Car Hauler Insurance?
Many companies and businesses question the need for car carrier or car hauler insurance because in some cases, it can be costly. Furthermore, you may not feel that your business or industry has the risk that necessitates car hauler insurance. To determine whether or not you truly need this type of insurance, simply ask yourself these questions:
What state do you operate your business from?
This is an important question because many states require that certain industries involved in the hauling of vehicles have the necessary insurance. Make sure that you are following all state laws where you operate your business.
Who do you hope to do business with and where?
Again, depending on where you plan on doing business, insurance laws will vary. Different states will require that companies in that state have car hauler insurance, and if you are working with a business in that state, you can bet that those companies you are working with will want you to have insurance.
If you only plan on working with businesses in your own state or those companies that don’t mind working with you if you don’t have insurance, then it’s your call. But most companies will want to the assurance that their assets and business is protected by car carrier insurance.
If you experienced a loss, would you be able to cover it with your current finances?
This is another important question. The entire reason for having insurance in the first place is making sure that you are covered in the event of a loss. If you know that your losses wouldn’t be that severe and that you could easily cover them if you experienced one, then maybe you don’t need insurance. But most of the products that are at risk for loss when it comes to car haulers are cars, and even wrecked cars can be fairly expensive. This is why most anyone who operates with car carriers gets insurance.
How to Purchase Insurance for Your Car Hauler
If you have a business that requires you to haul cars or if you are thinking about possibly starting a vehicle hauling business, it is important that you put adequate protection in place with a tough, ironclad car hauler insurance plan. Unfortunately, it is possible that just one incident or accident could create devastating loss for your company. In fact, because of the precious and expensive that is being carried in this line of business, just one occurrence where you lose cargo could put you out of business completely. Don’t let this happen to you and your company. Don’t risk your livelihood because you weren’t sure if you should get a car hauler insurance plan.
Finding a great car hauler insurance plan is one of the most important parts of developing a successful business in car hauling. Likewise, even if you plan on hauling just one car or vehicle, you need to think about getting insurance for this part of your transport. Without a solid plan that will protect you or your company, you could suffer full losses.
In order to get a great auto insurance plan for car carrying, it’s important that you speak with a reputable insurance agency who deals directly with car hauler insurance.
Talk to an insurance agent in your area today, or get quotes from several different car haulers and decide on a car carrier insurance plan that will work for you.