Three Reasons Why You As A Trucker Should Carry Your Own Insurance
Being a trucker includes some pitfalls and perils that no other driver would ever experience. There will be at least one incident of a trucking accident in your career. If there is not, you are exceedingly lucky. Additionally, you should be carrying your own trucker insurance. If you are not, you are taking some massive risks. Here are three reasons why you, as a trucker, should carry your own insurance on yourself.
A Lot of Employers Do Not Carry Insurance on You or for You
Some truckers make the mistake of thinking that their employers are insured against any accidents that happen with their drivers. To an extent, that is only partially true. The employers' trucks are insured, the company is insured, and the businesses are insured. You probably are not. If an employer expressly tells you that he/she insures you as a courtesy to your employment with the company or that you are insured by the company, ask for it in writing. Otherwise, assume that you, personally, as a commercial driver are not insured.
You, Personally, Can Be Sued
You may be a representative of the company for which you drive, but that does not mean other motorists on the road cannot sue you personally. If you get into an accident, it is you who drove the truck in the accident, not your employer or anyone back at the office. As such, the other driver(s) and his/her lawyer(s) can sue you personally for the driving mistakes you made that caused the accident. If you are not insured, you could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars or even have to pay restitution in the millions out of your own pocket.
Your Employer Is Not Insured to Cover Injuries You Incurred in an Accident
It is rare for truck drivers to be injured in an accident because of the size of the vehicles they drive. However, if you are injured, your employer does not have insurance that will pay for your injuries that were the result of an accident either you caused or you were a part of. There may be some worker's compensation claims you can make, but given that you were in a trucking accident, those injuries may or may not hold up on a claim for worker's comp. If your employer offered you health insurance and you turned it down, he/she is not responsible for your work injuries. If you carry trucker's insurance, you can (or could have filed) file a claim with that company to pay for your medical expenses.
Reach out to a trucker insurance company to learn more.
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