Transportation manager insurance – cost and coverage

Whenever you budget the expenses of your business, Transportation manager insurance must be high on the list because you can’t always know exactly what could happen in the future.

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With the protection provided by liability insurance and all the other kinds of insurance we will tell you about, you can protect your business and yourself in case something unforeseen happens.

Like any business owner, for your Transportation manager enterprise, you must consider how much financial risk you are taking on.

Business Insurance for Transportation manager

If your Transportation manager business runs without proper insurance, you are taking a tremendous chance not just of losing some money but of a final wipe-out.

This is because the laws in every state are very strict in enforcing liability on the owners of businesses for the consequences of their actions. 

In this article, we are giving very general guidelines for startup businesses to highlight what the main kinds of insurance that you need are, and where possible, a rough guide to how much you can expect to pay.

The question is, can you afford to NOT have insurance for your Transportation manager business?

What this means, for any Transportation manager business owner, is that if some customer claims that your actions caused them some physical or economic damage, a court can award damages far beyond the total size of your business.

Your Transportation manager business is not sheltered by laws in the same way as states are, where laws can place a “cap” on the maximum level of liability.

In some states, like Texas, there are specific monetary levels that limit the amount a court can award in any case against the state.

In a court case, it’s purely the right of the jury to award whatever amount they deem appropriate, even sometimes giving a person more than they have sort.

When you are running your Transportation manager operations, you can’t deny responsibility for the results of your actions.

Even more importantly, unless you have spent beforehand the money necessary to have your business running as a corporation, all of that liability belongs to you as a person.

What does Transportation manager insurance protect you from?

For your Transportation manager business, the most important types of insurance are designed to cover the risks to your business from accidents, from unexpected events, and from mistakes.

In addition there are some mandatory kinds of insurance that various states require.

In the next few paragraphs, we will explain the most important points any Transportation manager business owner should consider when negotiating the insurance needed.

The main types of insurance for your Transportation manager businesses are liability insurance, commercial insurance, asset insurance and workers compensation insurance.

Liability insurance

General liability insurance

Any Transportation manager business is dealing directly with members of the public, and that means you always have the danger that some accident can happen to them personally or else something of theirs can be ruined.

In such a case, they can demand compensation.

General liability insurance policy for your Transportation manager business covers you against claims coming from injury to visitors or damage to their property.

It protects your Transportation manager business from the claims themselves and also to any resulting court costs and legal fees of the lawsuits.

In many cases, it can also help you to qualify for extra business from city and state organizations, where contracts insist on proper liability insurance.

The normal level of general liability insurance for your Transportation manager business would be with a boundary of $1 million for a single event and a total of $2 million for the whole year.

See the table in the costing section below for average prices of general liability insurance for your Transportation manager insurance operations.

Professional liability insurance for your Transportation manager business

In the event where a customer alleges some negligence, errors, or omissions in how you conducted your Transportation manager business for them, you can quickly have to fight a law suit.

Even if the lawsuit against you is judged in your favor, the cost of defense can be substantial, and the impact on your reputation can be damaging.

Every small Transportation manager business should have enough professional liability insurance to cover a once-off claim of $25,000, with annual cover of $50,000.

See the table in the cost of Transportation manager insurance section below for average prices of professional liability insurance for your Transportation manager operations.

Product liability insurance

Whatever goods you sell or advice you give about the goods, you are running a risk that clients may claim that the results didn’t meet your description of function, or that your advice was basically incorrect.

You need to be aware of the specific laws of product liability in your own state.

For example, in California, all businesses in the supply chain can be held culpable for results caused by products claimed to be defective.

To cover yourself against any likely lawsuit, you need Product liability insurance for Transportation manager

Only you can estimate exactly how much insurance you need.

Best advice is to contact experienced insurance agents, brokers or company representatives for help.

Commercial insurance

Commercial vehicle insurance for your Transportation manager business

Be careful! – almost all policies for private vehicle insurance do not cover any occurrence like theft or accidental damage when the van is being used for business purposes.

The best way to make sure that your vehicle is insured for both its own value, and the valuable contents, is by taking out a designated commercial vehicle insurance package.

Commercial truck policies insure the value of any vehicle in case of accident, malicious damage, fire, or theft.

As well, in case of any accident, the car itself, the content and any legal bills, medical expenses, and property damage is insured if your car is involved in an accident.

Most states, other than Virginia and New Hampshire, mandate this type of insurance.

The necessary value of the insurance depends on the depreciated value of the vehicle, and your declared level of cover of contents. 

Tools and Equipment insurance

Since your Transportation manager business needs unique and expensive equipment, you will realize how much it can cost to replace it in case of any damage, loss, or theft.

The gear may be subject to malicious damage, deliberate fire, theft, other such unforeseen acts.

In addition, acts of nature like lightning strikes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and other highly damaging natural events can eliminate your whole business in one stroke.

Unless you can afford to immediately replace such specific gear quickly out of your own pocket, you should have full-level equipment insurance so that you can immediately buy any equipment needed to keep your Transportation manager business running.

It is hard to advise how much equipment insurance you need – it’s basically dependent on how much you have invested in your Transportation manager business’ equipment.

Commercial Property insurance

Any Transportation manager business that owns or rents space in a building should have a commercial property insurance policy.

If you own the building, you may already have a substantial capital investment, in addition to a big liability if there’s a mortgage.

Your physical building location should carry insurance coverage for the value of the premises and contents against unexpected occurrences like fire and storms, and against deliberate damages like theft and vandalism.

If your Transportation manager business deals in areas of high risk, like Florida or North Carolina, extra coverage may be needed for earthquakes and hurricanes or tornadoes.

In other states like Washington, where extreme cold snaps can cause damage to outer coverings of Transportation manager business premises, there is a need for more extra cover than in warmer climes.

Whereas the level of cover depends entirely on the value of the property, it’s not possible to say what cover your need, but we have been able in the table in the cost of Transportation manager insurance section below to give some indication of the average prices per million dollars of property insurance for your Transportation manager business.

Temporary insurance by month, week or day for your Transportation manager business

Is your Transportation manager business working part-time or casually, or is the level of business fluctuating?

Using short-term insurance makes perfect sense. Business insurance by the month, day, or week – temporary insurance for Transportation manager – are special policies where you can cover a nominated period when you want to be covered.

By only paying for that period of cover, you will save by having lower premiums but still having the same risk cover.

The key feature of short-term insurance is that you purchase the cover for a defined period – a designated date, or a week or month starting on a specific date, for example for 30 days beginning on the specified date.

When you are expecting periods of better business activity, get the existing cover raised.

Talk to your insurance agent, broker or the company’s representatives to see what options you have.

Business Owners Policy BOP for your Transportation manager business

You have the choice to combine several of the important kinds of small business insurance in one policy that is known as the business owner’s policy – BOP.

A BOP combines commercial property and public liability insurance by amalgamating these coverages into one insurance policy, which can save you money.

BOP insurance will protect you if any claims of injury or property damage are made.

It is mostly the right choice for small and medium-sized Transportation manager businesses, such as yours.

There are two limits that will determine whether BOP is suitable for your own business.

BOPs cannot cover your professional liability or commercial vehicle policies.

Also, the size of your business will determine whether you are allowed to take out BOP cover.

The typical business that is allowed to take a BOP policy must have no more than one hundred employees, and not more than five million dollars in annual revenue.

Plus, you must separately take out the necessary worker’s compensation, health and disability insurance as determined for your state.

Workers Compensation insurance for your Transportation manager business employees

In many states, it is mandatory to have workers compensation insurance when your Transportation manager business has one or more employees.

Workers compensation insurance covers the business against any costs that arise if an employee experiences an injury or becomes sick as a result of work.

The benefits cover medical expenses, death benefits, lost wages, and vocational rehabilitation.

Failure to meet a state’s laws in this regard can leave you as the employer obliged to pay penalties levied by the states.

Some states, such as North Dakota, Ohio, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming only allow coverage from the government-run monopoly state funds.

In these states, you may not obtain your workers compensation obligations from private insurance providers.

Workers compensation rates are worked out based on the employee’s pay, and usually come out at around $1.00 per $100 per month.

However, you must refer to the relevant authorities in your state.

Average costs of these types of insurance

Although every Transportation manager insurance level is unique, there are enough examples of average quotes from insurance companies for us to give rough guidelines, including what are the cheapest rates offered.

Of course, you should always check with an insurance representative what’s relevant for your business.

The list below is of annual premiums we have gathered for the main types of insurance your Transportation manager businesses needs.

Types of insurance Price range
General liability insurance $665 – $1220
Equipment insurance $375 – $1085
Commercial insurance $910 – $2130
Public liability insurance $265 – $585
Product liability insurance $225 – $655
Commercial vehicle insurance $1570 – $2875

Cost of insurance for your Transportation manager operations depends on many different factors.

We have calculated these figures for small self-employed Transportation manager businesses.

In larger states like New York, premiums are generally about 20%-30% higher than national averages, whereas in smaller states like New Mexico, they can be about 20%-30% lower.

The location and size and type of your Transportation manager business can have a big effect on the cost of different policies.

You should talk to professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

In addition you can let the internet do the work for you by searching for insurance companies near where your business is located.

Another good source of information is the local Better Business Bureau in your city.

FAQ

What is small business insurance for Transportation manager operations?

This is an umbrella term used to describe basic insurance policies designed to protect Transportation manager business owners from risks like bodily injury, property damage, claims of negligence.

Does my Transportation manager business have to have insurance?

Some of the kinds of insurance are not mandatory for you to open your business, but they can protect you from risks in your business operations.

Some other forms are required by state law, such as workers compensation and vehicle insurance.

What does a small Transportation manager business insurance policy cover?

Liability insurance provides protection against lawsuits or claims filed by a third-party for bodily injury, property damage, or negligence.

The precise cover will vary based on your own operations.

See the table in the costing section above for average prices of the best policies for Transportation manager insurance.

How much will Transportation manager business insurance cost?

As well as the size of the business, some other factors, such as location and claims history, are used to determine your policy’s cost.

You should consult with professional insurance agents and brokers, or insurance company representatives.

You can search for more information insurance for Transportation manager, in the search box below, and follow the relevant links.

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