What Type of Insurance Do You Need If You Are a Tow Truck Driver?

It’s raining heavily outside and you know “calls from stranded people with their car broken down” will be coming in any minute now. You wear your gear and get your tow truck ready to head out in emergency. After an hour, you get a call and you head out to the site. Smoke is coming out of the engine and it seems like the car’s engine got burned. You immediately attach the pulley rope and start dragging the car behind you.

You reach the shop and tell one of the workers to raise the car on the platform so that you can see what the problem is. Unfortunately, your worker parked the car the wrong way and while it was being raise, it fell sideways. You now have a completely broken and dented car from the left side and the owner is back there, looking at his car in horror. You end up paying all the expense yourself for fixing the car yourself, apart from the initial broken engine repair.

Whether it’s a breakdown or a collision, tow trucks make your life a little less stressful. Working as a tow truck driver or operating such a business comes with a few demands and the most important of them all is insurance.

While you are busy protecting other people’s cars, have you ever thought who is protecting your tow trucks and the drivers? Buying insurance for your tow truck business is not that hard. However, it is a lengthy process. The reason being: there is no specific insurance for tow truck drivers. There are plenty of options that you can choose to make one policy that provides coverage from every aspect.

Following are six tow truck insurance options that you should consider for your tow truck business and drivers:

 

Option #1
Auto Insurance Liability

This is the most basic type of insurance that covers liability, caused on your part. Let’s assume that you are towing a car and the pulley rope breaks. The car hits the road with a loud thud causing some damage to the car. The driver of the car hits his head on the steering feel, which causes a bloody gash and a concussion.

This is where auto insurance liability comes in. It covers two areas: bodily injury and property damage. Not only will you be paying for any harm that came to the car owner or any passerby but also the damage to the car, as well as any other property that you might have hit.

Here’s a link to learn more about our commerical auto insurance.

 

Option #2
Medical Payments Insurance

This insurance policy covers all the medical bills that you might end up facing for an accident caused by you. If the owner or any passerby was injured while towing the broken down car, then this insurance policy will protect you. Medical payments insurance offers broader medical coverage compared to what you get for bodily injury in auto liability insurance.

 

Option #3
Physical Damage Insurance

The above two insurance policies address the damage caused to the owner of the car or any passerby. Now, let’s talk about covering your business. Physical damage insurance covers your tow truck in case of an accident. Let’s assume that you are towing a car late at night. The road is completely dark and an intersection is coming up.

Suddenly you get rammed by another car, which causes damage to your tow truck, the car and the owner sitting in it. It’s a mess and all you can think about at that moment is how much you will be paying for bodily injuries and property damage. With these three insurance policies, you can cover all the areas.

 

Option #4
Underinsure – Uninsured Motorist

This insurance policy also provides coverage for your tow trucks. As the policy’s name states, it provides you coverage in the case an underinsured or uninsured driver hits your tow truck.

 

Option #5
On-Hook Towing Insurance

Let’s assume that an underinsured or uninsured driver hits your tow truck. Along with damage to your tow truck, the car you are towing also gets damage. In this scenario, on-hook towing insurance will help you pay for car repairs.

 

Option #6
Garage Keeper’s Legal Liability Insurance

Remember earlier when we told you that there’s a possibility that a worker might cause damage to the car due to negligence… garage keeper’s legal liability insurance covers the costs that come out of such incidents. It’s highly possible that you might have to tow a car back to your garage to pop the hood and really get in there. The wrong fuel or a wrong turn of the wrench can do quite some damage, which is why it is important to have this insurance policy.

In a way, you can say that tow truck insurance is a mixture of liability insurance, personal insurance and medical payments. Not only are you covering yourself but your workers and clients too. This allows you to create a strong client base and loyal workers. The right type of insurance policy can help you protect your savings. This comes as a bonus in any type of business because it protects your future plans for expansion.

So talk to your fellow tow truck owners and find out what type of coverage they have. This will give you an idea of how much coverage you need to buy. Go over these policies with an insurance agent and make sure to choose the right options based on your business structure.

If you are looking for an insurance company that comes highly recommended, then visit Pawson. The company provides different types of insurance policies for families, individuals and businesses. To know more about their policies, contact them at 203-481-8898.