Car Hauler Insurance: Everything You Need to Know
There’s a reason our clients consistently send their friends to us for their insurance; they know we’ll work to get their auto haulers the best coverage possible.
A car carrier is a large investment that can pay off well over time. Car carriers are expensive, and if damaged in an auto accident, the repairs can really put a dent in your bottom line.
When you own a car hauling business such as transport companies, car dealerships, or repossession companies, to name a few, you need to purchase various types of insurance related to vehicle transport. And it’s not just your truck you have to worry about. If anything were to happen to any of the cars or commercial trucks you are hauling, it would come out of your paycheck.
When vehicles are involved, there is a new element of risk introduced in business operations. To mitigate this risk for business owners, commercial auto insurance (usually through an insurance representative of an insurance agency or an independent insurance representative) becomes an essential requirement. It can buy you peace of mind and keep your business going forward smoothly.
Here’s everything you need to know about car hauler insurance.
What Is Car Hauler Insurance?
Car hauler insurance is a packaged policy that combines several types of coverages, including bodily injuries, property damages, and medical payments.
Who Needs Car Hauler Insurance?
If you own a car hauling business, you might need additional or specialized coverage as your regular insurance policy won’t cover you. This is because personal auto insurance probably won’t cover commercial activities like car hauling. And even with a commercial auto policy, you may not have enough coverage to ensure that you are completely protected.
Anyone who is serious about their hauling vehicles business would probably need a commercial policy with high coverage limits for liability.
Businesses that need car hauler insurance include:
- Car dealerships with car carriers
- Auto transport businesses
- Businesses that have contracts with multiple car dealerships
- Auto body shops with car carriers
What Does Car Hauler Insurance Cover?
General Liability Insurance
Liability insurance is required by law in most states, and many states will not issue your truck permits and licenses without this basic level of protection. Liability insurance is there to pay for injuries and damages inflicted on other people when you are at fault in an auto accident. This coverage includes bodily injury and property damages.
Comprehensive Physical Damage Protection
Comprehensive damage protection provides coverage for almost all conceivable hazards and perils your truck might encounter aside from collision and rollover events. Comprehensive protection covers you for theft, for example, and pays for the cost of repairs if your truck is damaged in a storm. If vandals spray paint the side or slash the tires, comprehensive coverage pays for those repairs too.
Property Damage
This coverage will help pay for the damages that happened to the other vehicle. The property damages portion of your auto liability coverage pays the repair bills and can pay for the replacement of property that is destroyed.
Cargo Coverage
The cargo that you transport on your car carrier is quite valuable. Protect it from loss with cargo insurance coverage.
Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage protects you from losses that are caused if you get into an accident where the other driver doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance. If the driver at fault does carry liability insurance, but it is not enough to pay for all of the damages and injuries inflicted by the accident, your uninsured motorist policy will make up for the differences.
Bodily Injury Coverage
Bodily injury coverage pays for physical injuries and harm that is inflicted as a result of an auto accident. For example, if you were driving your car carrier and bumped into another car, injuring the people in the other vehicle, your bodily injury coverage will cover medical payments that arise for the people injured in the other vehicles. This includes standard medical bills such as hospital transport and emergency room care. It also includes physician’s bills, prescription medications, and rehabilitative care, as well as losses in wages if they have to take time off work for recovery.
Collision Damage Protection
This coverage is designed to take care of your truck if your car carrier turns too sharply into a truck stop and scrapes the side of a building and gets damaged or if it collides with another object. Collision damage protection will pay for the cost of the repairs.
Also, new cars are among the most common hauled vehicles. That said, they pose a big liability risk. Should there be any damage to a brand new car, there is a huge difference between the cost to repair damage to a new vehicle versus the reduced amount it must be sold for after being fixed.
If the roof of a car is damaged during transport, the repair may cost only $6,000 (but also consider towing expenses!) — however, at the same time, the car value may have gone down by $10,000. If this happens to several cars on a single haul, it can quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars. Hence, insuring your hauler contributes significantly to your overall business insurance as well.
Unattended Truck Coverage
Brand new cars are a major target for thieves, who may attempt to steal entire vehicles or raid them for parts. This can make leaving vehicles unattended problematic, and many insurance companies will not cover auto theft from a truck that has been left unattended, even for a short time period. Therefore, you need to make sure that your auto insurance policy is properly covered for theft, even including unattended cars.
How Much Does Car Hauler Coverage Cost?
As with any other vehicle insurance, the cost will depend on a number of factors. Generally speaking, it’s somewhat expensive to insure these vehicles due to the added liability of multiple cars, heavier weight, and distance traveled. Agencies will issue differing insurance quotes based on the (types of) coverage you require. Car hauler insurance costs can range from $800 to $1400 per month.
There are many factors that go into determining your insurance rate:
- The size and type of car hauler you have
- The nature of your business
- How many vehicles you may be hauling regularly
- The type of vehicles you will be hauling (Are they damaged? New? Used?)
- Whether you’re hauling locally or across state lines
- The location of your business
- The number of car haulers you’re insuring
You can usually get a free quote from the insurers so that you know what you are dealing with and then determine which offer gives you the best coverage. Some of the expenses for an insurance policy might be deductible from your taxes also.
Read More: Tow Truck Insurance Guide
How to Reduce Car Haulers Insurance
All Trucks Under One Policy
If you gather up your policies for all trucks that you own, you could get a single quote and save money on auto hauler insurance.
Pay Annually
If you pay your premium annually instead of monthly, you could get a good discount from your insurance company.
Ask About Discounts
Ask your insurance company about the discounts that you can qualify for over time. You may already qualify for a discount but the only way to find out is to ask for it.
Safety First
Driving an auto hauler can be risky. A history of expensive claims can raise your rates so make sure you take steps to reinforce safety standards as safety can help you manage insurance costs.
Car Hauler Insurance Requirements
The requirements for hauling insurance usually depend on local laws. For example, small haulers typically require at least $100,000 in coverage while large haulers need more coverage, from $200,000 to $500,000 to start.
Limits to Car Hauler Insurance
Your policy only covers the costs you are legally obligated to pay to another driver if you damage their property or cause injuries to them. However, it won’t cover damage to your car hauler. On the other hand, physical damage insurance can help you get your hauler back to work as soon as possible in case it’s damaged.
How to Obtain Car Hauler Insurance
One of the easiest ways to get car hauler insurance is through private insurance companies. You can contact East Insurance Group’s experienced insurance specialists to get the most accurate information and quote crafted according to your specific needs.
Read More: What is Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance
Auto Haulers Insurance FAQs
What is Considered a Car Hauler?
A car hauler is a type of trailer or semi-trailer designed to transport passenger vehicles using a truck. A car hauler is also known as a car hauler, car-carrying trailer, or auto transport trailer.
How Much Insurance Does My Freightliner Need?
Keep in mind that all the commercial trucks must have a liability insurance policy that covers mainly damages caused to other individuals by your driver or you and also injuries that may occur during the incident. Liabilities are a must pay in every single state; trucks that always cross the state line should ensure that they have met a federal mandate payment.
The liability insurance minimum payment solely depends on the truck’s weight class and the materials being ferried. For instance, a class A truck, a semi-truck with a weight of about 10,000 pounds and ferrying hazardous goods should ensure that it makes a minimum liability insurance cover of $1 million as opposed to a truck below the 10,000-pound mark, but it carries normal commodities should also pay a minimum insurance payment of $300,000.
Trucks ferrying explosive commodities should make a payment of $5 million in the liability coverage policy, regardless of their weight. This is apart from the primary liability coverage that is required by the law.
What Type of Insurance Do I Need to Haul Cars?
Car hauling could be one of the lucrative but also complicated things you can do in the world of commercial auto. However, the best car hauling insurance package can help you stop worrying about the potential issues on the road. If you want to haul cars, you need an insurance package that protects you from two significant problems: damaging new vehicles in the process and theft of new cars.
The first part would ensure that you do not have to pay for the accidents during the hauling process. On the other hand, the second part will protect your investment from the huge issue of theft. In addition to these, car hauling insurance must also cover property damage, cargo coverage, bodily injury, collision damage protection, comprehensive physical damage protection, and liability insurance.
Are you still confused about car hauler insurance, or do you need some help getting a quote for your business? Contact us today and get all the information you need fast and for free!
