Commercial truck insurers have exited the market due to climbing loss ratios from rising crash rates, delays in first-notice-of-loss reporting and skyrocketing litigation costs.
The current state of the insurance market makes it difficult for fleets to find cost-effective coverage that adds value beyond minimal liability protection. At present, motor carriers are required to have minimum liability coverage of $750,000 per truck, but this amount hasn’t increased in nearly 40 years.
A movement is gaining support in Washington, D.C., to increase minimums to $2 million. This could further increase insurance costs without adding more value. A recent survey of 2,000 U.S. adults conducted by U.S. Xpress found that 76% agree or strongly agree that the government should increase the minimum to $2 million.
Motor carriers can expect to pay more for insurance, but “may not be getting as much value out of it as they should be due to a lack of innovation,” said Chuck Wallace, co-founder and chief executive of High Definition Vehicle Insurance (HDVI) Group.
HDVI is one of a few “insurtech” companies that have entered the trucking market with technology that aims to squeeze savings from the traditional insurance model.
[Related: Could ‘insuretech' help slow the fast-climbing costs of commercial truck insurance?]
HDVI has focused on rebuilding commercial truck insurance from the ground up and wrapping it in technology, Wallace explained. The company offers a product that covers the full cost of the ELD, telematics and video safety systems from companies such as Samsara, Geotab, Netradyne and Keeptruckin.
