Commercial Truck Insurance Miami, FL

Everyone knows that it is illegal to drive a car without having auto liability insurance. If you drive a commercial truck, you need commercial truck insurance including truck liability insurance, cargo insurance, physical damage insurance, and personal injury protection. Businesses also need general liability. 

If you are starting your trucking business, you may wonder how you will have enough time to get your business going and obtain all the different kinds of trucking insurance you need. Several companies offer commercial truck insurance but do not offer the general insurance you need to run a business. You need an insurance company that specifically services trucking companies. 

With over 20 years of experience in the trucking industry, Orbis Insurance Group offers a comprehensive insurance package to our customers. When it comes to insurance and compliance, we are dedicated to the growth and success of small trucking businesses.

You cannot run an interstate trucking company without getting an MC number, and you cannot get a MC number without first purchasing insurance. Your motor carrier authorization will activate once you have the appropriate insurance coverage. 

There are several different types of insurance that you need to run a well-protected and compliant trucking company.

Accidents happen every day in South Florida, and when they involve commercial trucks, they can be especially severe.  If a driver in your fleet causes an accident, liability insurance will pay for the medical bills and auto repairs of the person injured in the crash. 

The Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA) enforces the laws governing commercial vehicles. A motor carrier must have a certain amount of trucking insurance to operate legally. The amount of insurance you must buy will depend upon the type of products that you haul:

• Non-hazardous cargo in vehicles that weigh over 10,001 pounds must have coverage of  $750,000.
• Trucks that carry hazardous materials must have $5,000,000 of coverage.
• Trucks that transport oil must have $1,000,000 of coverage.
• Non-hazardous freight transported in vehicles that weigh under 10,001 pounds must have coverage of $300,000.

If your trucking company strictly operates within the state of Florida, then you will not need quite as much insurance. If your trucks weigh between 26,000 and 35,000 pounds, you must carry at least $50,000 of liability insurance. A truck weighing 44,000 pounds must have at least $300,000 of commercial truck insurance. 

According to a study by the FMCSA, the cost of the average non-fatal truck accident was $195,258. The average cost of a fatal crash was $3,604,518.  That estimate was for medical bills alone. It did not include the price of mental health care costs, lost income for the victim, or lost income for the family in the event of a death. 

A good liability insurance policy should cover all of the expenses that the average accident causes to the injured party. It is always a good idea to have more insurance than the government requires. 

When a semi-truck is involved in an accident, it can cause damage to the road and the environment. It can also cause a chain of accidents. It may be necessary for the road to be shut down for a longer time than the average accident. 

A bad accident can be the end of the road for a small trucking company. We want to make sure you have all the insurance you need to stay in business if the worst happens.

If you are like most trucking companies, you probably own more than one type of vehicle. You probably also do more than one type of run. Each commercial truck needs coverage that is designed especially for its unique problems. At Orbis Insurance Group we cover the following types of vehicles and hauls.

Straight Trucks

If you have a company that uses straight or box trucks, we can help you with insurance. We know that some small companies offer moving trucks, garbage trucks, and other types of hauls. We also know that the safety of your drivers, your cargo, and the public are important to the well-being and reputation of your business. We are committed to your growth and success and will build you an airtight policy that will keep you compliant and successful. 

Local, Intermediate, and Long Haul

If you are like most trucking companies, your drivers go to more than just one destination, and they take different types of hauls. Insurance requirements for interstate drivers are different than they are for intrastate drivers. We will make sure that every truck in your fleet has the coverage it will need to move your company forward.

Mixed Radius

We can insure vehicles used for both long and short hauls. Some trucking companies will pay more for insurance than they have to. In addition to making sure that the vehicles you drive are fully insured, we will never sell you insurance that you don’t need. We can create a special mixed radius policy that will save you money.

Auto Haulers

If you haul cars in the United States, you will have to be insured for one million dollars because it is one of the most expensive types of cargo you can carry.  Hauling cars comes with many risks, and we want to ensure that you are fully covered if you should have an accident.

If damage is done to an automobile in transit, it will never be able to be sold as a new car. The dealer will have to sell the car for less money, and you will be considered liable. If you damage so much as a convertible top, you can end up paying $15,000. That is why you must have good cargo coverage if you haul cars.

Intermodal

Air and ocean freight shipping requires plenty of paperwork. If an importer’s exporter’s paperwork is not filled out properly, a shipment can be delayed or not make it across the ocean at all.

The rules are just as stringent for insuring the products that you are shipping. If you pick up cargo from the docks, the airport, or a train, you are going to need intermodal insurance. This is a special kind of insurance for carriers who transport shipping containers. Normally, you will lease the chassis on which you will transport your goods, but you will need to be covered for the chassis and the containers.

Shipping containers can be hard to secure and balance. It takes skills and experience to load containers onto a truck. Even experienced drivers can have accidents, and they can be brutal ones. Our intermodal insurance will ensure that you are covered should a container end up on the road rather than in a warehouse.

Coverage for one vehicle or any size 

Not every trucking company has an enormous fleet of trucks. There are plenty of one-man owner-operators who need insurance. We can provide coverage for a single vehicle or an entire fleet. Even an independent trucker needs insurance. One accident could destroy a one-person business if they do not have the proper coverage. We will partner with you to make sure you are fully covered so you can build your business.

New Ventures

If you are a new company, there will be some insurance companies that will not want to take you on as a client. They may think your lack of experience will make you and your drivers high risk. We specialize in helping new companies with their insurance, their compliance, and finding them loads. 

 If you are an experienced owner who is starting a new trucking company or a specialized company, we can help you with that as well. We bring over 20 years of experience to the table. 

Cargo Coverage

In addition to liability insurance, a trucking company is required to have cargo insurance. The FMCSA requires that you have at least $5000 of cargo protection for each vehicle in your fleet and $10,000 for each accident.

Cargo insurance is extremely important to the vitality of your company. Your clients want to know that their product will get to its destination on time and in one piece. Accidents happen, but you must ensure that your clients will be compensated if their products arrive late or not at all.

A trucking accident is also very time-consuming, and the product may get to its destination considerably later if your driver is involved in a collision. 

A collision is not the only thing that can cause damage to a truck’s cargo. There could be an accident when loading the cargo, and theft is also a common problem for truckers.

Although your truck may have a superior security system, you may lose products due to human error. Your truck driver may simply forget to secure the cargo before taking a break. Some thieves also have sophisticated equipment designed for stealing cargo from a truck.  Recently there has been a rash of truck piracy. This is to be expected given the supply chain shortage.

Orbis Insurance Group will make sure that you have a cargo coverage plan that will make you and your clients feel safe. We have been in business for 20 years, and we understand everything that can go wrong with a cargo shipment. Loss of cargo can hurt a company’s reputation, and we want you to stay in business for many years to come.

Reefer 

A refrigerated truck has special insurance needs because it is a semi that pulls a trailer that is a closed refrigeration system. This simply means that it removes heat. It requires an evaporator, condenser, and compressor to work the way it should.

If cargo spills from a reefer truck, it can cause major road problems. There are certain foods, such as seafood and dairy products that have a high risk of spoilage. You will need specialized insurance for the refrigeration equipment and the food cargo you haul.

General Freight

We can cover you for general freight items such as furniture and non-perishable supplies. Being compliant with the law is essential to your success. 

Dry Goods

Dry goods are considered any non-perishable product that would be ruined if it got wet during transit. There is generally no temperature control in this type of truck, but you may need extra insurance for water damage if you transport dry goods.

Flatbed

A flatbed trailer is easy to load and unload, but it is not enclosed and does not have any sides, so there is nothing to protect the cargo if it rains or snows. That is why it is important to insure your haul. Even if you just do local hauls that are not regulated by the FMCSA, you should still get cargo insurance. It will protect your client’s property and your reputation in the industry.

Intermodal 

In addition to insuring yourself for the chassis that you rent or lease, you will have to ensure the goods that are inside the crates. We can make sure that your cargo is well taken care of as it makes the important first leg of its journey.

Physical Damage

 Just because a truck weighs more than almost anything else on the road does not mean that it cannot be damaged. Physical damage insurance will cover harm to your truck when a driver is involved in an accident. It will pay for repairs to your vehicle or a complete replacement for a crash or a rollover. You can also get a comprehensive insurance plan that will cover weather damage and theft. 

You paid a lot of money for your trucks, and you want to make sure that they can get replaced in the event of an accident. Orbis Insurance Group can put together an insurance plan that will protect your investment.

General Insurance

If you enter the garage of the average trucking company, you will find a bevy of activity. You will see drivers loading and unloading trucks and people repackaging items to make them fit. Truckers will be inspecting their vehicles, and clients will bring in products to be shipped.  People will come in and out for job interviews, and office supplies will be delivered just like any other office.

With all that going on, somebody could easily slip and fall or hit their head. If a visitor is injured on your premises, you may have to pay for their medical bills.  Whenever someone is injured, you should file an accident report and give them your insurance information.  We can provide you with a general insurance policy that will cover you if anyone is injured on the property.

Orbis Insurance Group can help you with every aspect of setting up a new trucking business. We are one of the best commercial truck insurance companies in the country. We can make sure you are compliant, insured, and staffed correctly. We want your business operations to run smoothly and for your company to be around for the long haul. Whether your company drives dump trucks, box trucks, or flatbed trucks, we can put together an insurance package for you. Owner-operators love us, so give us a call today, our insurance agents want to see your business flourish.