There are certain commercial auto insurance policies that are made specifically for truckers are bobtail and physical damage insurance. They are different than typical liability insurance for truckers because bobtail covers the truck when there is not a trailer attached to it. This is called bobtailing, which is why the insurance policy refers to it. Depending on whom you work for, you may or may not need this type of coverage.
The physical damage refers mainly to comprehensive and collision insurance, which protect your truck if it ever damaged.
There is typical liability insurance that should cover your truck and the trailers or containers that you are pulling. However, when you don’t have those containers, your insurance isn’t the same. It might not actually cover your truck at all! Bobtail and physical damage insurance continues protecting you when your trailer is not connected to the truck. Regardless of whether or not you are working, the insurance covers any damage that happens to your truck in the case of an accident. You should also know the difference between bobtail insurance vs non-trucking liability and bobtail and deadhead coverage.
This type of insurance is much more broad than other liability insurance. Unfortunately, it can also cost a bit more than other liability policies. A lot of companies prefer for their trucks to have this type of insurance because it covers all parts of the truck and makes it easier if an accident occurs. The physical damage coverage doesn’t just cover the cost of your truck and the repair. It can also cover the downtime and income that you lose out on because your truck is down. This is an important thing to have when you are dependent upon your trucking income.
You might be thinking that you don’t travel without a trailer very often, but an accident can occur at any time. Imagine you driving your truck to and from the terminal and an accident occurs. Without bobtail and physical damage insurance, you would be out the money to repair your truck. With bobtail and physical damage insurance, you would be completely covered.
A bobtail and physical damage insurance policy also helps to pay for the damages your truck may cause to another person’s property. In an at-fault accident, you could be out thousands of dollars without a way to pay for the repair. This could quite literally ruin your career, and you could be without a job for months while you figure out a way to pay for everything. Insurance helps you so that you don’t need to worry about all of that when an accident happens. All you need to do is file the claim and wait for your truck to be repaired.
Physical damage is a term for certain commercial auto insurance coverages that protect your vehicle including collision, comprehensive insurance or the fire and theft with combined additional coverage.
Your truck might be the only vehicle you have, so you could be using it to go out with friends or take a trip to the movie. If that’s so, you’ll definitely want to be covered. Anytime you use your truck for a non-business purpose, your might not have coverage. Your days off are as important as your days on the job, and your truck should be protected no matter what day it is.
It can also help you pay for any medical expenses that you might experience because of the accident that happened. Really, any trucker that plans to use their truck outside of commercial use needs to have this policy in place for when an emergency or accident happens. It can save you thousands of dollars, and it could help you pay for the repairs so that you get to go back to work as soon as possible.
Bobtail and physical damage insurance rates very widely. A typical bobtail insurance policy that covers up to $1,000,000 in damages is going to run anywhere from about $30-$70 a month. This is in addition to your other insurance policies that cover your truck. In between jobs you want to be protected, and bobtail insurance does that for you.
Physical damage can cost a lot more, depending on where you garage your truck, your truck’s value and your driving record.
We hope this article on bobtail and physical damage insurance was informative. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a bill for something that you are never going to be able to afford. While truck insurance may be a pain to pay every month, it’s an important thing to have.
Read through helpful commercial auto insurance for small business to help you better understand polices you own or are buying.
