$1M Commercial Auto Insurance for Michigan Trucking Companies - The Basics

How's it going everybody? If you are running a trucking company here in Michigan, then this video is for you. Depending on your operation, you may have heard that you need at least one million dollars in commercial auto liability coverage. And today I wanted to talk about what that actually means and why having the right coverage is so important. Thank you for stopping by. My name is Brian. I'm an independent insurance agent based here in the state of Michigan, Metro Detroit specifically, and I work with businesses on their commercial insurance programs as well as helping families and individuals with their personal insurance, their home, their auto insurance as well. My goal with this channel is to pass on a little bit of educational information to you so that you can make more informed decisions around your insurance and then overall help answer any questions that you might have. So let's get into it. And before we get too far into the video, I do want to invite you to subscribe to the channel and if you find this video helpful, useful, anything like that, please feel free to like, share, pass along with anyone else as well. So let's break this down. This one million dollar liability coverage is there to protect your business in case of a serious accident. Whether that's damage to another person's vehicle or their property or somebody involved in the accident is seriously injured. In many cases, this coverage is not optional and if you're hauling for brokers, shippers, maybe a specific company or have a specific contract in place, this one million dollar liability coverage limit is almost always going to be the standard requirement that they have in place before you even get approved to move any sort of loads. And in some cases, depending on the contracts that you're taking on or the freight that you're hauling, you might even be required to carry more than that one million dollar liability limit. And this is where having an umbrella policy can give you an added layer of protection to meet any sort of additional coverage requirements that somebody might have. But even beyond these contracts, this coverage is really about protecting your business financially. Because if one of your trucks is involved in a serious accident and there's a lawsuit that follows and large medical bills involved, this is the coverage that steps in to help protect your business from those costs. So without having this coverage in place or having enough coverage, the medical expenses, the legal fees, any potential settlements or judgments that come from a lawsuit, those costs would have to come out of pocket, out of your business, without having this coverage in place if there is an accident. And now just to be clear, liability coverage does not provide coverage for everything for your business. It won't pay for the damage to your own truck or trailer and it won't cover the cargo that you're hauling. These would be separate coverages on your commercial auto policy. So through physical damage coverage like comprehensive and collision coverage and then motor cargo coverage. But liability coverage is really the foundation of your trucking insurance program because it is what protects against the potential large risks that could wipe out a business. Now if you're only operating in Michigan, you might not need all the federal filings that come with an operation if you're crossing state lines. But even for a trucking business that is only operating here within the state, it is still very important that your commercial auto policy and overall insurance program is set up the right way. Not just to stay in compliance, but to properly protect your business based on the way that you actually run your operation. So how is the cost for this coverage typically determined? Your premium is mainly going to be based on a few factors. So things like the type and the number of trucks and trailers you have, what kind of freight you're hauling, how far you're driving, your company's claims history, and then the driving records for all of your drivers. And if your business is just getting started, you can expect to pay a little bit more in your first year, maybe your second year as well. But the good news is if you keep your record clean, your claims history clean, your rates can typically come down over time. Overall, with all this being said, having the right coverage in place is not simply just a box to check for your business, but really making sure that you are properly protected. So thank you for watching, and if you are looking for help with your commercial auto insurance, with your trucking insurance, whatever it may be, I would love the opportunity to work with you and see if our team can help. There are a lot of ways to get a hold of me, and they should all be in the description below. Please feel free to text, call, email, fill out a contact form, whatever is easiest. And if you have any questions about insurance, please feel free to either reach out to me directly or leave them in the comments below. I would love to help answer those as well. So thank you again!