Tow Truck Insurance
What is Tow Truck Insurance?
Tow truck insurance is a specialized type of commercial auto insurance designed to provide coverage for vehicles that are used in the business of towing other vehicles. Tow truck operators face unique risks due to the nature of their work, which involves moving disabled or damaged vehicles from one location to another. This insurance helps protect tow truck operators, their vehicles, and their businesses from potential liabilities and financial losses. .
Tow truck insurance can be tailored to the specific needs of your towing business, as there are different types of tow trucks (flatbed, wheel lift, hook, and chain, etc.) and different operating situations (roadside assistance, private property impounds, collision tows, etc.)
Tow truck insurance coverages:
Tow truck insurance offers various coverages to protect tow truck operators, their vehicles, and their businesses from potential risks and liabilities. Here are the common coverages typically included in a tow truck insurance policy:
- Liability Coverage: This is the foundational coverage and is required by law in most places. It provides protection if your tow truck is involved in an accident, and you are found to be at fault. Liability coverage helps pay for bodily injury and property damage expenses of other parties involved in the accident.
- Bodily Injury Liability: This coverage pays for medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and legal expenses if you or your driver is at fault in an accident that causes injuries to other people. It helps cover the medical treatment and recovery of the injured parties, including drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or occupants of other vehicles involved in the accident.
- Property Damage Liability: This coverage pays for the repair or replacement of other people's property that is damaged in an accident for which you or your driver are found at fault. This can include damage to other vehicles, structures, or other property affected by the accident.
- Physical Damage Coverage: This coverage is for your tow truck itself. It helps cover the repair or replacement costs if your tow truck is damaged in an accident, regardless of fault. Physical damage coverage is usually divided into:
- Comprehensive Coverage: This covers non-collision incidents, such as vandalism, and weather-related damage.
- Collision Coverage: This covers damage resulting from collisions with other vehicles or objects.
- Fire and Theft Coverage: Fire and theft coverage is a type of physical damage coverage for your tow truck. It protects you against losses resulting from fire-related damages or theft of your tow truck. If your tow truck is damaged due to a fire incident or is stolen, this coverage will help cover the repair or replacement costs of the vehicle, up to the policy's limits.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage: This coverage protects you if you are involved in an accident with a driver who has either no insurance or insufficient insurance to cover your damages.
- Medical Payments Coverage: This coverage helps pay for medical expenses for you and your passengers, regardless of who is at fault in an accident.
Towing and storage protection:
Towing and storage protection is a type of insurance coverage that provides additional protection for towing companies, particularly when they are involved in moving and storing vehicles for their clients. This coverage is typically added to a standard tow truck insurance policy to extend the scope of protection for specific risks and liabilities associated with towing and storing vehicles.
- On-Hook Coverage: On-hook coverage, which is sometimes considered part of towing and storage protection, provides coverage for vehicles while they are being towed or transported. If a vehicle you are towing is damaged in an accident or incident, on-hook coverage helps pay for the repair or replacement costs of the damaged vehicle, up to the policy limits.
- Garage keepers Coverage: This coverage is essential for tow truck operators who store customers' vehicles at their business premises. Garage keepers coverage protects the vehicles while they are not being actively towed and are stored on your property. It helps cover damages to customers' vehicles caused by events such as fire, theft, vandalism, or other covered perils.
- General Liability Coverage: This provides protection for your business against non-auto-related claims, such as slip-and-fall accidents at your business location or damage to someone's property due to your business operations.
