Commercial truck insurance is essential for protecting your business and assets. However, not all types of damage or incidents are covered by every policy. Understanding common exclusions can help you avoid surprises when you need to file a claim. Here’s a guide to some typical exclusions in commercial truck insurance policies and tips on how to manage them.
Exclusions Related to Vehicle Maintenance
An example of an exclusion that is likely to be found in commercial truck insurance policies is the one concerning vehicle maintenance. It is to be noted that some policies do not pay up if the damage happens out of neglect or poor maintenance. For instance, if an accident occurs due to bad breaks that have not undergone maintenance as required and expected by the company, the insurer is likely to reject the claim. To prevent this, ensure you maintain the truck as often as necessary or before the recommended period elapses. The documentation of all the maintenance works should be well documented because when filing for the claim’s sake; the records shall be of great use.
Exclusions for Driver Negligence
Policies with regard to the compensation for losses may not cover losses that occurred due to the negligence of the driver. This consists of cases of road accidents, such as those caused by rash driving or driving under the influence of alcohol or other substituted substances. In case a driver is deemed to be negligent, then their insurer may decline to compensate the thrash. In order to avoid such, one should introduce and enforce driver training and then assess the driver’s behavior on the road to conform to the rule of law.
Exclusions for Non-Commercial Use
Business use truck insurance normally applies to vehicles whose primary use is commercial purposes. If those errands are trivial and are accomplished with the truck but are not business-related, then those incidents might not be covered. Ensure that you only operate your truck for the business you are involved in and maintain logs of your business use to avoid any problems with the insurance company.
Exclusions for Unauthorized Drivers
The policies of the insurance can necessitate that they do not assume the responsibility of paying for an accident that occurred when an underage or unauthorized driver was behind the wheel. If, fairly recently, a driver who is not on your policy has been involved in an accident, the claim is likely to be turned down. To avert this, make sure that all the drivers who are using the truck are declared in your policy and modify the same as often as possible with any new driver that may be hired to use the truck.
Exclusions for Cargo Damage
Loss to or damage to the goods may not always be compensated for by normal commercial truck insurance policies. This is even more so for such items as information and expensive and or hazardous goods. On a few occasions, you could need extra cargo insurance if the cargo is damaged or lost. One might want to consider purchasing additional cargo insurance or endorsements to transport certain types of goods.
Exclusions for Weather-Related Damage
Many policies do not allow the customer to make a claim for loss or damage arising from disasters like hurricanes or floods. Your claim may not be paid if your truck was damaged by a storm or any other harsh weather conditions. For this risk, one needs to prepare for the weather occurrence by strengthening their truck and trying to predict or avoid areas of bad weather if possible.
Exclusions for Fraudulent Claims
The exclusions normally exercised by insurance policies reveal that any claim discovered to be fraudulent is not covered. This involves such actions as giving false details or even inflating the extent of the loss. Never tend to lie in any report cases since this leads to legal issues and the denial of claims in the process.
Exclusions for Wear and Tear
Another thing that commercial truck insurance typically does not cover is fairly normal and standard wear and tear. This means that the slow degradation of the item that takes place due to regular use will never be remunerated. These activities are helpful for preventing or reducing the effects of wear and tear that could possibly shorten the life span of the truck.
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