Extended periods of time on the road, driver fatigue, heavy competition, the weather condition, are just a few contributing factors to higher accident rates for long distance drivers. A transport insurance broker can help minimize the commercial costs that you may be liable for by finding the appropriate insurance coverage for your trucking business.
Transport operator specialist brokers are an essential ally that you want to have on your side when trying to build your business. They will match you up with a commercial insurance plan to protect your company from its liabilities.
Here are some reasons for using a transport insurance broker:
You Can Insure Your Commercial Trucks
If your company makes use of vehicles, commercial transport operator brokers will find you the best truck insurance policy. They will help you build and protect your fleet, making sure that you get repairs to the vehicle when needed. Your broker will also go the extra mile to get you extras like preventative repairs and roadside assistance. Since transport insurance policies vary, a broker can find you the best prices by bundling.
Advise You on Different Options
Options are great when you are trying to find the best insurance plan. The more options you have, the better you can protect your trucking business. When you talk to a transport operator specialist broker, you will have access to many policy options to suit your needs.
They have deep relationships with carriers in the insurers, helping you find deals that are not advertised. Brokers will also talk to you about the business you run and liabilities you have so they can find the ideal coverage for your needs.
Brokers Offer Sound Advice
A transport insurance broker usually sees the big picture and offers you advice as your business grows. When your company expands, as with your insurance needs. Your broker can give you advice that can help you with the financial future of your company and will make sure you always have the right amount of insurance at an affordable rate.
Handle Insurance Issues Promptly
Since insurance brokers are opening their resources to you, your business can always count on faster service.Whether you need to buy a new plan, change your current plan, or file a claim, your transport operator specialist broker can speed the process and handle the details efficiently.
This quick turnaround time makes your business more efficient, enabling you to always stay covered. The resources of your business will be used more wisely, and you will be able to keep your attention on your areas of expertise.
Help Account for Emergencies
Your company can deal with emergencies better when you have access to a dedicated transport operator specialist broker.Whether you are dealing with outages, or other road issues that you could not have accounted for, a broker can speed your claim along enough to address these emergencies. They can help you get back to business as usual.
How can a transport operator insurance broker help when you file a freight claim?
Your transport insurance broker can help get the exact information about your specific goods that were lost or damaged. This should be supplied by the claimant, after which the goods are identified by the carrier. If you were careful while booking the shipment, you should have documentation, like your commercial invoice.
You will also need confirmation. The carrier or forwarder will assess the claim and verify that the goods were lost or damaged. In addition, working together with the shipper, the valuation and damages will be determined. After that, request for payment is submitted to the carrier.
Who can make a freight claim?To submit a freight claim, you must be the legal owner of the damaged vehicle, an entity accepting risk of loss in transit. The claim should be made to the carrier of origin or delivery. You should also send the claim the claims manager at the carrier. For the most part, the forwarder should be able to support you with this.
Additional Tips
Know your risks. Watching for truck movement patterns and trends can help you prevent damage and loss incidents. For example, the rate of fictitious pickups and driver theft is rising in the country, with incidents occurring on weekends or holidays. The company recommends that shippers and carriers conduct security awareness training, background investigations, and quantifiable in-transit security programs that include real-time monitoring and tracking technology.
File promptly. Missing filing deadlines is a leading reason transport companies cannot recoup their losses. Freight terms determine which party files a claim: normally it is the owner of the goods, whether that us the shipper or the consignee. Keep in mind that deadlines differ by mode and carrier. For example, the carrier may want initial notification of damage within 15 days, a lawsuit within two months, and a claim filing within nine months.
Filing often entails filling out a claim form with data including the exact nature of the damage or loss, the cost of the goods, the value of the goods, and receiving documents, packing list, photos, delivery receipt, etc. Complete documentation with the help of your transport insurance broker speeds the claims filing process.
Prepare for inspection. Carriers may opt to inspect a damaged shipment, often within one week of delivery. The value of the shipment and extent of damage determine whether the carrier will want to perform an inspection. If the damage was documented on delivery, the customer has taken good photos, the product is low value, they will likely waive an inspection.
Wait for carrier feedback. Carriers usually have about a month to acknowledge a claim, but the entire claims process may take from weeks to months. Claims involving shipments that are lost and never found tend to get resolved fast, while those damaged due to poor packaging can take some time. If carriers decline some or all the claim, they need to state the reasons.
You may resort to reduce payment to the carrier by the amount of a pending claim, or a settled one. But typically, carriers prohibit that, although you can negotiate into their contract, with the help of your transport insurance broker, the ability to take a set-off for claims in which the carrier has admitted liability.
