What Kind of Tow Truck Insurance Do I Need?

If your company uses tow trucks, you’ll need to invest in tow truck insurance. It will protect you if the unimaginable happens and one of your trucks gets into an accident. But what type of insurance do you need? What are all the ins and outs of these policies? Don’t worry – we’re here to help!

What is Tow Truck Insurance?

With regular commercial auto insurance, any individual who owns a vehicle or needs to drive it regularly should be insured. The same goes for tow trucks – anyone who owns the tow truck or operates it on a regular basis should be insured to drive it. The business owner is responsible for buying the tow truck insurance policy, regardless of whether or not they are the person behind the wheel.

The difference between tow truck insurance and auto insurance is that a tow truck also needs to be insured for the vehicles being hauled. It’s similar to cargo insurance, which says that the goods carried on a cargo truck must be insured. 

Who Needs Tow Truck Insurance?

Even if you don’t own a straightforward towing company (for example, an auto body shop that offers towing services), you still might greatly benefit from tow insurance. Many businesses use tow trucks in their day-to-day operations and should invest in tow insurance, such as:

• Roadside service providers
• Auto club contractors
• Rotational towing
• Auto body shops
• Auto mechanical repair
• Full-service stations
• Auto salvage and auction haulers

What Are the Different Types of Tow Truck Insurance?

There isn’t just one type of coverage for tow trucks. There are many types of business insurance protections available. Finding the right combination of protection types and coverage for your business is essential. You don’t want to overpay for coverage you don’t need, but you also want to ensure you’re covered in worst-case scenarios. 

Business owners with operating tow trucks should select a series of coverages that will insure the truck, driver, business itself, and any individuals or property that could be harmed due to tow truck activity. When choosing an insurance policy, the business owner should work with a reputable insurance company to determine the policy/coverage, premium, limits, deductible, and system for filing claims. 

If you’re unfamiliar with what some of these insurance terms mean, we’ve broken it down for you:

• Policy/Coverage – the incidents, damages, and expenses that insurance will cover.
• Deductible – the amount of money that the tow truck company will pay out-of-pocket towards a claim.
• Policy Limit – the maximum amount of money that the insurance company would pay toward covered incidents (any amount exceeding this would be the responsibility of the tow truck company to pay).
• Monthly Premium – what the insurance policy costs each month.
• Claims – a request that a policyholder submits in writing to the insurance company to receive compensation for a covered incident.

What Does Tow Truck Insurance Cover?

Insurance policies for tow trucks are composed of several individual coverages that will protect an array of entities. This could include the tow truck driver, the tow truck itself, the vehicle being towed, passengers, and more. 

In addition, tow truck policies consist of lists of specific incidents that will be covered. These can include collisions, theft, vandalism, and other accidents.

Tow truck insurance is divided into various policy options to be purchased separately to fit the business’s needs best. Some options apply to commercial automobiles, and some are specific to tow trucks. The primary coverage options for tow truck policies include:

• Bodily Injury Liability – pays for expenses associated with injuries caused to another person in an accident where the tow truck is at fault.
• Property Damage Liability – pays for expenses for damages to another person’s physical property during a covered incident (does not cover costs associated with damages to the tow truck, towing business’s other property, or the towed vehicle).
• Medical Payments Coverage – provides financial compensation for medical bills incurred by drivers and passengers injured in a tow truck accident (regardless of fault).
• Physical Damage Coverage – pays for the costs of damage to the policyholder’s own vehicles in the event of a collision (also covers non-collision losses, like theft or vandalism).
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage – pays for expenses related to incidents when the motorist at fault doesn’t have a sufficient policy limit to cover the damages.
• On-Hook Towing Coverage – pays for the expenses associated with repairing/replacing a vehicle that gets damaged while being towed (can cover fire, collision, theft, or vandalism)
• Motor Truck Cargo Coverage – covers damage to the cargo of a truck while in transit
• Garage Keepers Legal Liability – protects against property damage to customers’ vehicles while it’s being stored, serviced, or parked at a garage
• Garage Liability Coverage – coverage for bodily injury or damage to property of the business

What Doesn’t Tow Truck Insurance Cover?

As noted above, not all incidents are covered under each specific type of coverage. For example, some policies, like bodily injury liability coverage, only apply to third parties but not the tow truck driver. This is why purchasing a collection of policies is vital to have the best coverage for your business.  

Even with a broad range of coverages, certain events will never be included, such as:

• Intentional Damages – damages/injuries that result from intentional harm to another person or property
• Damages Exceeding Policy Limits – any additional damages beyond the coverage limit
• Certain Types of Cargo – includes money, jewelry, alcohol, tobacco, pharmaceutical drugs, contraband, and explosives

How To Make Your Operations Safer and Reduce Insurance Premiums

If you work in repossession, towing, or other businesses that include towing, consider investing in the Minute Man XD Wheel Lift. The Minute Man XD Wheel Lift is a slide-in wheel lift designed to offer you the best in light-duty towing and repossession. Featuring a hydraulic-powered auto-load head and in-cab controls, the Minute Man XD makes short work of loading and unloading vehicles, helping you do more work in less time. 

By investing in a wheel lift, you can instantly make your light-duty towing tasks safer, more efficient, and more profitable. Their proven versatility enables low operational expenses, exceptional durability, and successful towing jobs, time after time. Plus, when you use safety features, you might be able to save money on insurance costs. 

Contact our team today to learn more about the Minute Man XD Wheel Lift, its features, and its pricing. 

The material and information contained on this website is for general information purposes only. You should not rely upon the material or information on the website as a basis for making business, legal or other decisions.