Skip to main content
Insurance

High Risk Commercial Truck Insurance

Are you shopping for truck insurance and considered high risk? We can help getting a fast, free, and efficient policy.

So you are considered a high risk to the commercial truck insurance companies? Don’t fret. There is a path forward. We’ve put together this resource to educate yourself and bring you options. With real choices, you can make a real step forward. If you are looking for high risk truck insurance quotes to compare, you can get them here.

Ultimate Guide to High Risk Commercial Truck Insurance

Table of Contents

  • What is considered a high risk trucking operation?
  • Which companies will insure a high risk semi truck operation?
  • Which companies will insure high risk operations & drivers?
  • Companies that will quote in your state
  • Assigned Risk Truck Insurance
  • Plan of action if you are a “High Risk Semi Truck Insurance Company”

What is a High Risk Trucking Operation?

Drum roll please…. A High Risk Trucking Operation is one that an Insurance Company determines is a high risk. The good news is that what one company considers high risk, another company may not. Truckers can be considered “high risk” for many reasons, though, and these can be generally grouped into 4 categories:

#1 – Safety Record – The FMCSA tracks every roadside inspection and keeps a record. This information is accessible to the insurance companies and they use these to help determine your risk level.

  • Too many “OOS” Out Of Service Violations (Driver, Vehicle and Hazmat Violations)
  • Bad “SMS” Rating – Safety Measurement System. An “Unsatisfactory Safety Rating” or “Conditional DOT Rating” will be frowned upon.
  • Bad “CSA” record – CSA stands for Compliance, Safety, Accountability, and some people refe
  • BASIC Violations – Alerts in any of the 7 categories will hurt you.
  • At fault accidents and crashes
  • Unfavorable loss history – Insurance companies will want your “loss runs”. This is a record of the insurance claims you have had in the past, and plays a big factor in your profile.

#2 Hauling Risky Cargo – You may have an unblemished safety record, but if you are hauling: nuclear waste, explosives, certain hazardous materials, or extremely valuable cargo, then you may considered high risk. The trick here is to find insurance companies that really understand these commodities. Some companies price certain haulers high because they don’y fully understand what they are insuring.

#3 Risky Driver – Insurance companies pay close attention to who is going to be driving your truck. High risk truck driver insurance premiums will be high. You will get dinged for:

  • Drivers with a bad MVR (Motor Vehicle Report)
  • Young Drivers- Drivers under 25 years old
  • Drivers with less than 2 years of CDL experience
  • Truck Drivers that have had a DUI. Getting insurance for a cdl drivers with a DUI is tough, but there are companies that will weigh all the facts and not automatically refuse to write the policy.
  • Other serious driver violations (excessive speeding, reckless driving, DWI)

#4 New Ventures – Sadly, new trucking ventures are considered by many insurance companies to be high risk. This is because they don’t have history and it makes it hard for the insurance companies to quantify the risk. Good news here is that some companies have seen this and find other ways to judge new ventures and can offer better rates if certain criteria is present.

Insurance Companies that Insure High Risk Semi Truck Operations

Insurance companies make money when you don’t have claims. So many companies go the route of insuring the less risky truckers. This doesn’t mean that you don’t have choices though. While it is true that there are less insurance companies willing to insure a high risk trucker, you do have choices.

The hard part can be finding those choices. Just ask a trucker that is being cancelled from their current insurance company what their shopping experience is like. Or ask an owner operator with a DUI about their insurance. Often times they get turned down again and again for coverage. Finding the companies that insure riskier operations can be challenge.

The silver lining is that we’ve done the work for you and can connect you with companies that can actually insure your operation. Whether you have a blemished safety record, hauling dangerous cargo, or employ a high risk driver, we have truck insurance companies that can quote you. While the premiums may be higher, you can stay in business and work on reducing your premiums over time.

High Risk Truck Insurance Companies By State

Most Insurance companies don’t write business in every state. A company that writes high risk New Jersey truck insurance, may not write high risk Florida truck insurance. So you need to find the companies that actually write business in your State.

Also, if you are garaged in certain zip codes or certain counties, that can also color the insurance companies view of you. It doesn’t seem fair, and all that gets factored into the premiums that the ins. companies charge.

Assigned Risk Truck Insurance

What is assigned risk truck insurance? Some trucking companies or drivers are too risky and no insurance company will write the policy. In these cases, the risk can be “assigned” by the State to an insurance company. Sometimes this will be your only option. Sometimes this option will be even cheaper than other non-standard trucking insurance companies.

Plan of Action

We will overcome! The current situation is what the current situation is. Your best move is

  1. Getting the best possible deal on insurance that you can right now.
  2. Fixing whatever is causing you to be labeled as high risk.

First Step– Getting the best deal on insurance means that you need to get choices from every company that can quote you. The price of high risk truck insurance is not cheap! The disparity in price from company to company can be very high, sometimes there can even be over $10,000 difference between quotes!

Our service has relationships with insurance providers that do business in the states of Ohio and we can help all types of trucking operations, no matter the risk profile. Our service is to connect you with different companies that can actually quote you, and then you will have something to compare. That way you can get the best deal. Our service is free for you to use and we have helped tens of thousands of truckers, across Ohio, see their choices, and we can help you too!

Second Step– Fix the issue. Check your SMS scores and Safety Rating. Find out what is causing the issue. Whatever it is… fix it! There are many resources available to help rehabilitate a trucking company’s safety profile, and thus insurance risk profile. This can take time, but the lower insurance premiums are definitely worth the effort.

Skip to content