What you need to know about transport insurance

Transport insurance is a complex and dynamic industry, mainly due to the nature of the work and the high number of claims that are processed each year. This means that insurance advisers need to thoroughly understand the nature of the transport industry so they can craft a policy that’s perfectly tailored to their client’s needs.

Let’s take a look at what types of businesses require transport insurance, what it covers, how insurance advisers can help you to reduce your risk profile, and what the future holds for the transport industry.

What is transport insurance?

In the insurance industry, transport insurance generally refers to national car fleets, short-haulage companies, livestock carriers, road trains, fuel carrier fleets, and so on; in other words, it doesn’t refer to personal car insurance. Given the differences between the type of transportation required by these companies, it’s not a big leap to recognise that from an insurance perspective, their risk profiles are very different.

It’s these differences that your insurance adviser helps to identify, allowing them to craft an insurance policy that’s customised to your company’s specific needs. A company’s risk profile depends on a number of factors, including their historical safety record and current safety policies, as well as the type of work they perform. The ability to successfully identify a company’s risk profile is one of the characteristics of an experienced insurance adviser, and just one area in which they can assist.

What does transport insurance cover?

Given that each transport insurance policy is customised to meet a company’s individual needs, there’s no hard and fast list of items that are covered. Some companies may want to include warehouse or cargo coverage, others may want to include machinery or electronic equipment breakdown, property damage due to storms or third party property damage due to accidents. So transport insurance is often a package of insurances relevant to each individual company, although it revolves around transport vehicles.

How can insurance advisers help reduce your company’s risk profile?

The idea that insurance advisers just sell policies is outdated and doesn’t come close to the needs of clients in the transport industry. These companies want the best coverage for the lowest premiums, and to achieve these goals, advisers need to do more for their clients.

This means your insurance adviser needs to source insurance providers who work with them to your benefit. Specifically, advisers require information from providers to help them optimise your risk management program and reduce your claims. They also need providers who work quickly to process claims, so that your company can get back to work in a timely manner.

Of course, transport companies aren’t off the hook, as it’s vital that they adhere to all relevant safety laws that govern their operation on our roads. They also need to be willing to work with their advisers to address driver fatigue, improve driver training, enforce driver regulations, ensure vehicle maintenance is up to date, and invest in driver monitoring, such as telematics.

Looking to the future of the transport industry

Undoubtedly, safety on our roads will be a big factor in any future regulations within this industry. Ultimately, future solutions may include autonomous trucks, eliminating the costs, oversight, training, and management of drivers. Today, however, insurance advisers need to focus on promoting best practices in the industry, keeping up to date with technology, and reducing their client’s risk management profiles.

For more information on transport insurance for your company, contact Lewis Insurance Services on 07 3217 9015 or send us an email by clicking here.

This article was published by our AFSL Licensee, Insurance Advisernet Australia P/L, www.insuranceadviser.net

Disclaimer:
This information and any accompanying material does not consider your personal circumstances as it is of a general nature only. You should not act on the information provided without first obtaining professional financial advice specific to your circumstances and considering the Product Disclosure Statement.