Protect Your Assets With The Right Coverage For Your Log Truck Operation
Transporting logs is a dangerous job where insurance is a requirement to operate. Getting a great rate on your logging operation can be difficult to find, you may feel like it’s a never-ending cycle of searching for a cheaper option. The great news is that as an independent insurance agency, we have a list of carriers that help logging companies like yours find the best coverage. As an independent insurance agency focused on trucking operations, we understand the logging business. We want to see you succeed in successfully launching and scaling your company, and our job is to provide you with the right coverage in case of any accidents.
Coverages For Logging Truck Drivers
Log trucks are specialized vehicles for transporting logs. They’re ideal for hauling because they can carry lots of weight. Log truck drivers will need to have separate insurance on top of their personal vehicle policy in order to operate their truck, which usually falls into one or more categories:
- Primary Auto Liability: This coverage protects bodily injury and property damage caused by an accident for which you are legally responsible.
- Physical Damage Coverage: The amount of protection that is available for any damage or loss to your truck. This can be caused by various things, such as fire, theft, vandalism, natural disaster, and more… This coverage thus protects your investment in your vehicle and can provide money for repairs.
- Motor Truck Cargo: Protects the truck driver and the trucking company from financial loss due to cargo damage or theft after a wreck. (Covers the cargo during the transportation of logs)
- Rental Reimbursement: A policy where the truck driver can use their commercial auto insurance to pay for any cost incurred by the rental company if the truck is destroyed.
- Mobile Equipment Coverage: Mobile equipment insurance coverage is a policy that protects the “mobile equipment,” which would be the logging truck, against damage or loss. The policy covers such losses as damage to any attached machinery or equipment.
Risk Factors
Weight of Logs: The weight of logs makes the risk a lot more dangerous in the event of a collision. Whether you are hauling logs on backroads, main city roads, or the highway, the risk is related to the speed and weight of what you’re hauling. Log Trucks are more prone to accidents compared to other types of trucks which can impact the premium.
Risk of Tipping: Tipping trucks is a common occurrence in the logging industry. The extra weight that log haulers transport can cause trucks to become unstable if they are not evenly distributed during transportation, which leads them more prone for tip-overs with uneven distribution of cargo or even just one side coming loose on an edge hitch.
Accidents & Claims: The extra weight with the logs and truck size impact the size of an accident if one were to occur. That means an accident is more likely to cause more bodily injury and property damage thus increasing the potential loss which directly increases the annual policy premium.
