What is the Minimum Coverage for a Car Hauler?
So you've invested in a truck, you've acquired your class C license, and you're ready to put an ad in the phone book and start hauling cars for a living.
Well, once you've gotten yourself covered under a solid insurance policy, that is. Here's what you need to consider when buying car carrier insurance for your business:
How Big Is Your Truck?
For a smaller truck, one that can carry up to four vehicles, you're looking at an insurance package that can cover up to $100,000 in losses. This will qualify you to bid for the jobs that you're after. For larger trucks, hauling up to ten vehicles at a time, you're looking at anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000 in coverage.
Laws will vary from state to state, some places will allow you to get away with less while some might require a little more. In any event, these numbers are recommended for your own protection. If you're carrying eight, nine cars across the state, then you're going to feel much better sitting on a $500,000 insurance policy than whatever your local minimum may happen to be. Additionally, a more robust insurance policy will help to put the customer's mind at ease, helping to assure more business coming your way.
What Else Needs To Be Covered?
Maybe you don't have a garage, maybe you just park your car hauler on your uncle's farm and throw a tarp over it. That can help to reduce some of the auto hauler insurance you need to buy. Most of us, on the other hand, wind up with more than just the truck to cover. A garage and operations plan will be, in many ways, a pretty basic place-of-business style policy. You're looking to cover theft, vandalism, natural disasters, basic liability and so on. If your business involves storing vehicles in addition to transporting them, you will also need to ensure that you have coverage for the cars while they're being stored, as well as the space in which you are storing them.
Car haulers need to invest a little more into their insurance than do many other businesses in the auto industry because they're carrying quite a bit of value with every trip. Beyond car hauler insurance, a number of greater costs involved with the trade demand that a car hauler do quite a bit of business in order to cover their expenses. For this reason, the field is actually less competitive than many other areas of the auto industry, so for the right entrepreneur, the investment is more than worth it.