Having the privilege of talking daily with many truckers, we discovered that many aren’t well informed about the insurances that exist and their different coverages. Many think that having liability insurance covers everything and that isn’t true. For this reason, we consider it important to write about what types of insurance you should have to avoid unpleasant surprises in case of a claim.

There are many factors to determine which insurance is the most appropriate for each business. However, these are the 4 fundamental coverages that you should have:

- Liability: It is mandatory and covers the damages caused to third parties or property. Driving without having this coverage is a crime and could result in heavy penalties.
- Bobtail Insurance: Also known as non-trucking liability. This insurance covers your liability (damages to third parties) when you aren’t using the truck to transport cargo. For example, if you leave your load in the yard and leave with just the truck to the mechanic`s workshop for maintenance, to wash it or going home and you don’t have this insurance, you don’t have liability coverage.
- Motor Cargo: This insurance covers the merchandise that is being transported, either by damaging the product due to collision or theft. It doesn’t cover if the load gets wet, unsafe fall damage, or if it’s not received for some reason. We recommend securing your cargo before leaving and if you see that the cargo isn’t safe, contact your company and don’t bear responsibility, which could bring you economic losses.
- Physical Damage: Generally, it groups some coverages in order to protect your truck as "collision insurance", covering the cost of repair or replacement of your vehicle when it suffers damages in an accident. It’s very important to have it, since in the case of an accident in which you aren’t guilty. It’s also easier to report it to your insurance to repair the truck and then your insurance will be able to recover the money paid for the repair of your truck, including your deductible. It’s a matter of evaluating the situation and see if it’s convenient for you to report it to your insurance or to deal with the insurance of the person who caused the damage.

We want to conclude by saying that many try to economize in insurance, which isn’t a bad thing; however, we recommend that you verify that the money saved doesn’t mean a reduction of dangerous coverage in the case that you need to use the insurance. A single claim could represent losing everything you have fought for your all life.