Trucking Companies vs. The Insurance Industry

As of May 2019, two separate long term ITI clients decided to close their doors because they found that the increased cost of insurance was no longer sustainable for their business. The first company saw their renewal premiums had more than doubled forcing them to choose between staying in business while losing money and losing down while their heads were still above water. The second company was not even offered a renewal by their insurance company. The owners tried to shop around to secure coverage elsewhere but they were not successful in finding a reasonable option in the short window of time that they were given. After only receiving quotes that were more than triple the amount they paid the previous year they made the tough decision to sell their trucks and cease operating.

Neither of these clients was rated conditional and had long-standing business connections in their respective communities. This is an example of the hardening market for trucking insurance where we have seen insurance carriers examining each fleet with extreme scrutiny. Every roadside inspection, accident, and stop is being looked at to determine what your premium will be or if you will even be offered a renewal quote regardless of the trucking company’s standing with the FMCSA.

Both of these companies were notified months in advance that they were in jeopardy of rate increases due to their actions on the road. The advancement of technology has created the most transparent environment that the trucking industry has ever experienced and it is imperative that motor carriers are proactively monitoring themselves and taking immediate action to correct poor behaviors that can lead to poor safety results and accidents.

This is not a trend and will not go away anytime soon! Carriers can no longer wait for the FMCSA to review their operations in a Compliance or Focused Review. Insurance companies are reviewing motor carrier data in real time, quickly determining how risky a company is based on their safety results and handing out double-digit increases.

The landscape of the trucking industry is changing every day and requires that motor carriers stay dynamic and proactive or they risk being left behind.

Partner with ITI to review your safety results before your company is in a situation like we have described above and is forced to make a decision that impacts yourself and your employees.