In the 4th quarter of 2019, 39 people died in accidents involving heavy trucks or articulated vehicles in Australia. As a business owner, you always hope for the best but must prepare for the worst. This makes commercial truck insurance vital if you have trucks on the road. 
You know it's important but you're also wondering "how much does truck insurance cost?" You've already got plenty of other bills to worry about. Of course, your individual situation and the cover you choose will drastically affect the price of your policy, but let's try to get a general idea. 


Types of Cover
Basic third-party liability insurance is mandatory though you can choose to add more cover to your policy if you prefer. This will cover payments for injuries or property damage for which you are liable. You can also include more specific types of cover, such as maritime liability general average which covers goods being thrown overboard at sea in an emergency.
Basic liability cover is typically inexpensive, ranging between about $60 and $140 a month for a business with revenues around $250,000 per year.
To cover your vehicle, you'll need to choose vehicle insurance and if you are transporting goods, you'll need transport insurance to cover those. There are also a variety of add-ons you can choose depending on the type of business you run/cover you want. 
These include:

• Personal effects of the driver
• Driver injury or death, including counselling and repatriation
• Specific goods cover
• Emergency services cover
• Wet and dry hire insurance (covers the vehicle or vehicle and driver when renting it out)

And the list goes on. There are many options for personalising your insurance cover to create a policy covering exactly what you need. The beauty of this is that you never pay more than necessary for the type of cover that you need. 


Factors That Affect the Cost
Giving an accurate number for commercial truck insurance average cost is difficult as not every situation is the same. The cost depends on how you use the truck, cover for transport trucks is different than cover for a truck used by tradespeople such as electricians and plumbers. 
The value of the items in the truck is also taken into consideration. For example, tradespeople may choose a policy that covers their tools in the event they are destroyed or stolen.
Other factors include:

• The type of vehicle(s) you want to cover
• Driving records of you or your drivers
• Claims history
• Driving distances typically involved (longer distances have higher premiums)
• Using a truck insurance broker 
• Policy structure 
• The excess you choose
• Whether you hire out the vehicle or the drivers are always inhouse

As you can see, finding out the average price of truck insurance in Melbourne is not only difficult but also may not even be remotely correct for your particular situation.
​

Customised Truck Insurance Cost
​Looking for the lowest truck insurance cost for your situation? Feel free to give us a call or visit us here at BGI Brokers. We take the time to learn about your business and truly understand your cover needs in order to offer you a personalised quote tailored to your commercial truck insurance needs. 

Are you in the market to get insurance for your truck? Are you starting to wonder how to figure out all the different types of insurance? 

If you have started to research insuring your business trucks, you know there are many things to consider. Because this insurance can be expensive, you need to understand what you are buying and what exactly it covers.
Read on to learn about truck insurance for your business's trucks. 

1. What are the Types of Coverage?It is important to understand that you don't call your insurance agent and say I need to insure this truck. There are a variety of different types of insurance to consider when covering a big rig.
You want to consider several factors like how you travel, the load, the drivers, even how often the truck is empty when making decisions about the type of insurance to purchase.  

2. What is Basic Coverage?Basic coverage will cover damages in the event of an accident where your truck or truck driver is at fault. The basic coverage will cover damages and repairs to other vehicles involved in an accident.  
The basic coverage will also cover damages to your vehicle up to a pre-established value. This is where it is important to outline information about your fleet in the policy coverage. 

3. What is Comprehensive Coverage?Comprehensive truck coverage works like comprehensive coverage for your car. This type of insurance also covers damages. But damages that might occur not from an accident. 
For example, let's say you have trucks parked on your business premises. There is a bad storm with heavy winds. If the trucks are damaged because of the winds, the comprehensive coverage would kick in.

4. What Kinds of Specialty Coverage Should Be Considered?When purchasing insurance you want to be certain you are covered for any scenario in which you drive your truck. There are times when regular liability insurance does not cover your truck. That's why reading the policy coverage carefully is so important. 

One type of specialty insurance to consider is bobtail insurance. Bobtail insurance covers your truck when you are driving it without a trailer attached. It covers you between loads. 

5. How to Save Money On Your Truck Insurance?Of course, you want to find the best deal for your insurance coverage. You aren't going to be a successful business if you don't make money. 

But getting insurance because it's cheap might not be your best choice. You want the insurance that will protect your equipment, cargo and employees. Some ideas for saving money might include:

• Give detailed and accurate fleet information when seeking quotes.
• Consider slightly higher deductibles to lower premiums.
• Paying a full year in advance often gets a discount versus in installments.

Always shop around and get multiple quotes to compare both coverage options and costs between companies.
6. What Factors Impact Premium Rates?Many of the same factors that impact your auto insurance also impact your truck insurance rates. Some of the factors impacting the premiums you will pay include:

• The driving record of your drivers.
• The safety of the location your trucks are parked. 
• The age and condition of the fleet. 
• Distance the fleet drives. 

Your insurance provider will look at the combination of factors to establish the rate. Of course, all these factors are connected to risk. 

Everything You Need to Know About Truck InsuranceHaving your fleet covered for any possible scenario is the whole reason you purchase insurance. You want to be protected. 

If you are looking for truck insurance, we can help.

​
Contact us for more information to get your truck insured today.

Public Liability (PL) insurance is essential for any public facing business. If anyone suffers an injury or property damage as  a result of your businesses activities a well structured PL premium should provide protection against you and your business.

For example, you may have a gourmet deli and a customer had knocked over a bottle of water. Before you have a chance to clean it up another customer cuts themselves on the glass or slips over on the water. This customer may decide to sue you have damages as a result, these damages can often be much higher than you would originally anticipate. For example it can include the medical bills, loss of earning, emotional distress etc.

Your PL cover should explicitly cover:

• Are contracts covered as well as employees
• Level of cover
• Who, what, how  and when are those within the business and the public covered
• Legal, medical and property damage to be covered
• Emotional distress coverage
• Listing of all key people within the policy
• Any damage cause by your business products or services

A simple PL premium is often more complicated than it looks, have one of the BGI experts ensure a policy is provided that matches the risk profile of you business.

​

​

Firstly, given the large size of trucks, clear visibility of the road is cut off for other motorists moving behind the trucks and this makes the motorists to always want to overtake trucks or to speed up when a truck tries to by pass them. This has led and still leads to many of the road accidents especially on highways.
Truck drivers themselves have blind spots commonly referred to as “no zones” that make it hard to see some areas around the truck when driving.  These “no zones” extend to 10 to 20 feet in front and 200 feet behind the truck. Plus, there are additional no zone areas on either side of the truck that are undefined. These are the areas where accidents with trucks and other motorists usually occur.

Trucks also create wind gusts which affect other motorists who are driving beside the truck making them to lose full control of their vehicles.
The time taken by trucks to turn is another issue on roads. Truck drivers may be trained to turn safely and to indicate when they are changing lanes but other motorists tend to be impatient and not so observant which also leads to many truck accidents.
​
You can mitigate the risk of truck accidents and the resultant costs involved to cater for injuries to other motorists and road users, injury to the truck driver, and damage to the truck itself by insuring your truck. There are a variety of truck insurance options to cater for all different outcomes of truck road accidents.
BGI Insurance can help you to get the best insurance policy and provider for your truck and help you overcome loses from any truck accident.
e to edit.

Transporting livestock involves additional risks and complexities that can make finding the right policy and a competitive price difficult.

Whether you are transporting cows, pigs, chickens, horses or other livestock it is important to understand the difference between your risks and that of generic truck insurance. 

The key risks of transporting livestock includes escaped livestock, death or crippling of livestock during the transportation process or a deck collapse from incorrect loading / faulty equipment. 

The insurance will than need to specify the type and level of cover to be provided. This can be general (broad) coverage or limited coverage which is limited to the specific wording of your policy. Further the policy needs to specifically address what is or is not included such as carcass removal, when the livestock coverage begins and ends and additional property coverage.

For more information on Truck Insurance which covers Livestock transportation, contact the team at BGI Brokers today.

Too many small businesses put off reviewing their truck insurance policies to ensure they are appropriately covered. Unfortunately many of our new customers come across with significant underinsurance risk where in the event of an accident, fire or theft of their businesses primary assets (key operating vehicles including trucks) they would be left with a significant financial loss, one many businesses would not be able to recover from.

One major problem  we notice is the weight put on the actual pricing of the premium, while we will always look to find the best price for our clients we will not do it at the risk of providing insurance cover that does not meet our clients needs. 

Some considerations when reviewing your truck insurance premiums annually should include:

1) Check the policy inclusion and exclusions and if you do not understand the wording ask your broker to explain what it means
2) Ensure the agreed market valuations of the assets insured are up to date and would adequately cover the loss or cost to replace the truck 
3) If you have a fleet of trucks do not assume any newly acquired or disposed assets are covered, go through each truck on your Fixed Asset Register and ensure they are covered by an active policy
4) Assume the worst happens (fire, accident etc) and work out what the recovery process would include and the time it would take to get back up and operating.  Ensure any business losses during this period are covered or acknowledge the risk and mitigate it to an acceptable level.

If you have any questions about your business and truck insurance needs contact BGI Insurance today.

​

There are a number of key factors that have a significant impact on your truck insurance premium. Often your premium on face value may appear more expensive than someone else. For this reason it is important to understand what key factors influence the premium you will pay to insure your commercial truck.

The first thing to understand is that insurance companies record everything. For example every time an insured truck owner puts a claim in the details include make, year, age of driver, location, age of truck, gender of driver, how long the driver has held his / her license, where truck is garaged and where the driver lives.

Therefore when you submit your details your premium will be based on statistics. As such over time these trends change and therefore your premium may move up or down based on the risk the insurance underwriter assesses needs to be covered.

By using a highly experienced insurance broker as BGI Brokers we can shop your details around to a wide panel of insurers to find the best possible insurance options that meet your specific truck insurance needs. While we are located in Melbourne, we provide truck insurance to customers across Australia. While we will ensure we provide you with a very competitive quote, we invest significant time to ensure the insurance meets your specific needs. By doing this you will not be disappointed if or when you may need to depend on your insurance to protect your business and the trucks (assets) that your business is dependent on.

​

Professional Indemnity Insurance provides protection for professionals (such as accountants, lawyers or consultants)  who provide advice or a service to their clients. If this advice leads to damages and other legal costs being incurred by the professional than adequate professional indemnity insurance should mitigate any claimed damages. Claims may be made against a professional as a result of an act, commission or breach of professional duty in the course of carrying out your business (i.e. providing tailored advice).

Professional Indemnity Insurance is often referred to as PI Insurance. Any professional that provides tailored advice to a client or customer should consider taking out Professional Indemnity Insurance. 

When deciding to take out PI Insurance you must provide the provider with a review of your business operations such as the services you want covered and the revenue you expect to derive from these seperate services. You should also decide what the level of cover is you require, generally most providers will offer cover from $1m and above. Obviously the higher the cover the higher the cost of the premium.

If you would like more information on PI Insurance than click through to the BGI Brokers PI Insurance webpage below or contact us today for a no obligation review of your insurance requirements.

​

Selecting the right insurance to cover your truck or fleet of trucks is an important decision for any business that depends on their trucks. Whether you run a transportation business or depend on your truck to make deliveries for your business your business is at significant risk if you are not adequately covered through appropriate truck insurance. Possible financial and operational losses you may face without the right truck insurance could include:

• Damages caused to 3rd party vehicles and property
• Loss of business income
• Costly repairs or replacement costs for your truck

Some important considerations when choosing your truck insurance should include:

1) Valuation of your truck

Under or over estimating the value of your truck can have a negative impact on your business. If your valuation is too low than your insurance payout if required will leave you short when trying to replace your truck. Conversely if your valuation is too high than you will pay a higher premium than required.

2) Coverage level

Whether you need 3rd party or comprehensive truck insurance will depend on the truck valuation and the business impact of losing your truck. Beware of saving a few dollars on your truck insurance as your insurance will pay dividends and be one of your better financial decisions if you ever need it.

​3) Truck use and type

Be specific with the use of your truck and also the type of truck you have. Whether it be a tipper truck or a prime mover used to provide landscaping material deliveries ensure the details you provide are accurate and up to date.

4) Excesses & Choice of repairers

Understand the terms and conditions included in your policy. For example most policies will allow for a flexible excess level but ensure you think of the benefits and cons of a lower excess to save on your annual premium.

5) Who will be driving the truck?

Naming the truck drivers and providing all driver details and history of all drivers will ensure you are covered and the policy is specific to your needs.

To find the right truck insurance for your business whether you be a sole trader running a small delivery business or a large commercial transportation business with a large heavy vehicle truck fleet you need to:

- Define your insurance needs to match your business
- Negotiate with numerous large insurance companies to investigate the best cover available

At BGI Truck Insurance we take all the hard work out of the process by taking control of selecting the right provider, at the right price that matches your needs.

For more information go to: www.bgibrokers.com.au/truck-insurance.html and request a quote today.

Public Liability Insurance is one of the most common forms of insurance taken out by small and large businesses. Public Liability Insurance protects you (or your business) against claims from your clients, customers or the public who believe they suffered injury or property damage at your premises.

Due to the nature of the risks covered the claims that could be made against your business can be very significant and as such it is critical to protect your business through undertaking  adequate public liability insurance. Further many tenders or applications to register with government departments will require you to  have a minimum level of public liability insurance or you will be deemed too risky to do business with.

Further public liability insurance protects you, your employees, your customers and the public. 

The level of cover you require depends on your specific business circumstances, however generally premiums start at approximately $10m cover and up.

For further information about Public Liability Insurance call BGI Brokers to discuss what policy you need to mitigate your business risks.

​