Every year, about 2,600 truck accidents take place in Arizona, injuring nearly 600 people and killing roughly 50 people. Truck drivers spend more time on the road than anybody else, which means more opportunities to get into accidents. Commercial truck insurance in Arizona is a necessity. It is also required by law in Arizona.
Here are our top 6 picks for the best commercial truck insurance in Arizona.
- The 6 best commercial truck insurance companies in Arizona
- What does commercial truck insurance cover in Arizona?
- Commercial truck insurance requirements in Arizona
- What types of trucks are covered by commercial truck insurance in Arizona
- How much does commercial truck insurance cost in Arizona?
- What factors affecting the commercial truck insurance cost in Arizona?
- How do I find cheap commercial truck insurance in Arizona?
The 6 best commercial truck insurance companies in Arizona
We have researched 30+ companies offering commercial truck insurance in Arizona and here are our recommendations of the top 6.
- Progressive: Best Overall
- Sentry: Best for single trucks
- OOIDA Insurance: Best for activism
- The Hartford: Best for fleets
- Smart Financial: Best for connecting trucking businesses with several agents
- Simply Business: Best for comparing multiple quotes
Progressive: Best Overall
If you read this blog often, you will notice that Progressive is often our top pick for commercial truck insurance. Progressive is the top commercial truck insurer in the United States, and with good reason. They offer a wide range of commercial coverages and cover most types of commercial trucks: tractor-trailers, dump trucks, box trucks, delivery vans, tow trucks…the list goes on.
Progressive also has a lot of discounts they can offer you. You can get a discount for bundling, for paying in full, and for having a CDL license (in good standing). In addition, unlike many commercial auto/truck insurance companies, Progressive makes it easy to get a quote. It took us less than 10 minutes to get this quote on Progressive website. This is for a tractor-trailer that travels 500 miles in one trip and is valued at $190,000 (including the trailer).
Sentry: Best for single trucks
Sentry specializes in truck insurance and insures over 37,000 truck drivers. They have the types of insurance you need, such as:
- Commercial auto
- Physical damage
- Motor truck cargo
- Non-trucking liability
- General liability
- Cyber liability
Even if you only have one truck, Sentry will be happy to insure you. They are available in all 50 states, but you’ll have to work with an agent to get a quote.
OOIDA Insurance: Best for activism
OOIDA stands for Owner-Operator Independent Driver’s Association. They provide representation in Washington, fighting for the rights of truckers and giving professional truckers a voice. They also offer insurance, including:
- Primary liability
- General liability
- Physical damage
- Motor truck cargo
- Passenger accident coverage
They’re available in all 50 states. Becoming a member of OOIDA allows you access to lower rates of insurance, although they don’t offer online quoting so we have no way of verifying that. Membership is $45 a year.
The Hartford: Best for fleets
The Hartford offers a wide variety of business insurance, so if you want to buy all of your insurance from the same place, the Hartford might be a good choice. If you want a quote, The Hartford might be able to give you one—it told us to try commercialinsurance.net to get a quote because they were unable to provide one.
Even if you do get a quote online, you can’t buy your insurance online—you’ll have to call an agent. Some people like agents, some don’t. A good agent can point out gaps in your policy, and suggest ways to save money, whereas sometimes agents are just trying to make a sale.
The Hartford has special discounts and programs if you own a fleet. It’s called FleetAhead® and it uses technology to increase safety and reduce costs. Furthermore, The Hartford prefers to write multi-vehicle insurance policies.
Smart Financial: Best for connecting trucking businesses with several agents
Smart Financial is a large broker specializing in commercial insurance, especially commercial truck insurance. They have a wide network of agents who have the expertise in insuring trucking businesses and will be able to connect you with 2-3 agents who have experiences working with customers similar to you. After getting quotes from these 2-3 agents, you can decide which agent you want to work with.
If you prefer working with an experienced agent, you may want to start with Smart Financial. Their agents are very experienced and knowledgeable in the trucking industry and trucking insurance.
Simply Business: Best for comparing multiple quotes
Simply Business is an insurance broker that specializes in business insurance, much like CoverWallet or CoverHound. They partner with various insurance companies so that they can present you with several quotes. This makes comparison shopping a breeze.
They are not always able to provide quotes online given the complications of trucking business. However, they are able to provide our quote options on the phone for us to compare and select the best one.
What does commercial truck insurance cover in Arizona?
Commercial truck insurance is a group of policies designed to meet the needs of truckers. Truckers have more specific needs than many other people who use either a truck or a car for business use. There are several components:
Trucking primary liability:
This is the most basic form of insurance, and you’re required to have it as part of your trucking license. It provides coverage for any damages to people or property caused by your truck when you are at fault. You must have this coverage to drive a truck.
General liability truck insurance
Similar to general liability for other small businesses, trucking general liability insurance covers customer injuries, customer property damage, and advertising injury for trucking businesses. Learn more at the best trucking general liability insurance companies.
Trucking physical damage coverage
This covers you for damages done to your own truck. If you have a loan on your truck, you’ll need physical damage coverage because it is required by the lenders. Even if you don’t have a loan, you should still have it. It protects your biggest business asset. The cost of this coverage depends on the value of your truck at the time of purchasing insurance. Learn more at the best trucking physical damage insurance companies.
Motor truck cargo insurance:
A lot can happen when you’re on the road. If you suffer cargo loss or your cargo is damaged, this type of coverage will protect you. This coverage is usually required by the shippers or brokers before they allow you to transport their cargo. Its costs depend on the type of cargo you transport. Learn more at the best motor truck cargo insurance companies.
Bobtail Insurance:
If you drive around with just your truck and no trailer attached, you’ll need bobtail insurance. This covers you for any accidents that happen when your truck is not being used for a job. Learn more at the best bobtail insurance companies.
Uninsured/Underinsured motorists coverage
You probably have this in your auto insurance policy, too. This covers you if you are hit by someone with either no insurance at all, or not enough insurance to cover the entire cost of the accident.
Reefer breakdown coverage
Although this might sound like insurance that covers drivers who smoke too much pot, it actually covers refrigerated trucks which are called reefers. It covers damages or lost of cargo due to an accident, refrigeration breakdown, or damage to cargo due to a collision.
Mechanical breakdown insurance
If your truck breaks down en route, you lose time and money. This coverage will assist you with out-of-pocket costs when you need repairs.
Commercial truck insurance requirements in Arizona
Arizona has many rules and regulations surrounding commercial trucking.
Legal trucking loads:
- Length: 65 feet
- Width: 8 feet, 6 inches
- Height: 14 feet
- Weight: 80,000 lbs.
If your truck is bigger than these limits, you can apply for a permit for an oversize load or heavy load, but there are still limits:
- Length: 120 feet
- Width: 14 feet
- Height: 16 feet
- Weight: 250,000 lbs.
Federal law states that a truck driver can only operate their vehicle for 11 continuous hours in a 14-hour workday. Then they must rest for 10 hours before driving again. Drivers also can’t exceed 60 hours in any seven-day period or 70 hours in eight days. Then they must take a break for at least 34 hours. This is to prevent accidents caused by exhausted and distracted drivers.
All commercial drivers in Arizona must keep a Medical Examiner Certificate on file with the Motor Vehicle Department. You must also complete a DOT physical every 24 months in order to maintain your license.
What types of trucks are covered by commercial truck insurance in Arizona?
All types of trucks in Arizona are eligible to be covered by insurance. Some trucks are more expensive to insure than others. Here is some common types of trucks you may need to insure in Arizona:
- Box trucks – Learn more at the box truck insurance cost and the best box truck insurance companies
- Cement mixers
- Dump trucks – Learn more at dump truck insurance cost and the best dump truck insurance companies
- Tractor trailers
- Semis – Learn more at semi truck insurance cost and the best semi truck insurance companies
- Pickup trucks – Learn more at the average pickup truck insurance cost per month
- Tow trucks – Learn more at tow truck insurance cost and the best tow truck insurance companies
- Flatbed trucks
- Refrigerated trucks
Commercial truck insurance is more expensive than your personal auto policy, but it’s just as necessary, if not more so.
How much does commercial truck insurance cost in Arizona?
The average cost of commercial truck insurance in Arizona is $12,418 a year, or $1,035 a month This is the average cost for one single truck in Arizona for trucking primary liability, bobtail, and trucking physical damage coverages with the following breakdowns:
| Commercial truck insurance coverages | Average costs in Arizona |
| Trucking primary liability coverage | $820 |
| Bobtail insurance | $30 |
| Trucking physical damage coverage | $185 |
These are just the averages. Your quotes will be different and they are also different by different insurance companies. Be sure to shop around with a few companies or with a broker like Simply Business or commercialinsurance.net to compare several quotes to find the cheapest one for you:
What factors affecting the commercial truck insurance cost in Arizona?
How much you’ll pay for insurance depends on many factors, such as:
State regulations
This is the number one factor affecting the price of your insurance. You must meet state minimums. Coverage beyond the minimums, while beneficial, will also require additional charges.
Age and experience
Every driver in your company can affect your policy premiums with age and experience. Younger drivers and drivers that are past their prime are seen as a higher risk no matter how safely they drive, and therefore, your premiums could be higher. More experienced drivers know how to handle a wider variety of situations which can lower premiums.
Driving history
Clean driving records look better to insurance companies. More accidents and citations lead to higher premiums.
Previous insurance coverage history
Insurance companies want to know whether you pay your premiums and whether any other company has canceled a policy that you held. If previous insurance companies canceled your policies, or if you have a history of skipping payments, you can expect a higher premium if you find a company willing to work with you.
Years in business
Brand new companies pose a greater risk for insurance providers than a well-established company. That translates to higher premiums for less established companies.
Driving locations
If you routinely travel a route with bad road conditions, extreme weather conditions, crowded streets, or other hazardous occurrences, your insurance company will pass the risk on to you in the form of higher premiums.
Employment history of drivers
If a driver has been in the trucking industry for a while and is familiar with different equipment and routes, insurance companies consider that a plus. The experience could lead to lower premiums.
Cargo
If you consistently transport expensive or hazardous cargo, your premiums will be higher because of associated risk.
Safety
Trucks with safety features and companies with clear safety protocols and driver training programs often get lowered premiums.
Truck weight and age
Larger trucks or heavier trucks are more difficult to handle in traffic or position for loading or unloading. The truck’s weight can cause higher premiums because the lack of maneuverability creates an inherent risk for accidents.
Older trucks may get lower premiums because they are considered less costly to fix if they have issues.
Coverages and deductibles
Finally, coverages, coverage limits, and deductibles all affect the truck insurance cost. The more coverages you have, the more expensive your truck insurance policy is. The higher the coverage limit is, the lower your policy’s deductible amount is, the higher the truck insurance cost is.
Reducing your coverage limits and increasing your deductibles is a good way to reduce the cost of your commercial truck insurance policy.
How do I find cheap commercial truck insurance in Arizona?
Obviously, you want to pay as little as possible, while still getting the coverage you need. Here’s how to save money on your commercial truck insurance:
Employ drivers with clean records
Even one speeding ticket will increase your premiums by hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. Make sure you employ only drivers with clean driving records.
Ask about discounts
You can save money by paying in full, by bundling and buying more than one policy from the same company, or by using certain types of driver-monitoring devices.
Shop around
This is probably the easiest way to save the most money. You’d be surprised at how much prices for the exact same policy can vary among different companies.
Consider higher deductibles or lower limits
Just make sure you have enough insurance to cover any potential problems, and if you raise the deductible make sure you have access to enough cash to cover it.
Last thoughts
The U.S. economy depends on its truckers to provide it with necessary goods and services. Truckers need insurance to protect themselves and their property while they drive.
