Getting and comparing commercial trucking insurance quotes online can help you find the right coverage at the best possible price easily and efficiently. However, doing so is an incredibly difficult process because not many trucking insurance companies offer quotes online.
In this article, we will share with you 3 best companies offering commercial truck insurance quotes online. We went ahead to get quotes online from these companies for a 2020 Ford flatbed truck based in Houston, Texas, that drives within a 500-mile radius. We also share the screenshots of the quotes we received for your reference. The process takes us around 10 minutes for each quote.
The driver profile we used to get these quotes has a clean driving record, making no claims for the last three years. The driver does not agree to have their driving monitored by their insurer.
- Get 3 best commercial truck insurance quotes online
- Compare 3 commercial truck insurance quotes online
- What factors go into generating a commercial truck insurance quote?
- What level of trucking coverage do I need?
- How much should my deductibles be?
- How do I compare coverages, levels, and costs?
Get 3 best commercial truck insurance quotes online
- Progressive: Best quote overall – A high level of insurance protection at a reasonable price
- biBERK: Lower premium for less coverage
- THREE: A seemingly fair price for complete coverage
Progressive: Best quote overall – A high level of insurance protection at a reasonable price
Progressive’s initial quote comes in at just under $26,000 per year, which includes an electronic funds transfer discount if you decide to pay your coverage in installments electronically through your bank. You could save more than $2,700 on your coverage if you pay for it all at once when your policy starts. These are two examples of the discounts the insurer is famous for. You may be able to save more if you have a safe driving record or allow the insurer to monitor your driving.
Progressive’s quote comes with a relatively high level of coverage:
- $1 million in bodily injury and property damage liability coverage pays for bodily injuries to others and damages to their property if you’re found to be at fault in an accident.
- $1 million in uninsured/underinsured bodily injury and damage coverage pays for your injuries if you’re in an accident caused by someone else who has no or too little coverage. It also pays for damage to your vehicle if they don’t have adequate insurance to cover it.
The Progressive policy comes with several other coverages that have little impact on policy prices.
If you can’t afford the premium presented by Progressive, you can change your coverages, limits, and deductibles until you identify adequate insurance protection you can afford.
We vote this to the best overall commercial truck insurance quote for its comprehensive protection at a reasonable price. The online quote is also super easy and flexible for us to make any adjustments as we see fit.
biBERK: Lower premium for less coverage
biBERK is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaways, the same owner of Geico. So, they have as much of a stellar reputation and financial strength as Progressive. If you get a policy from biBERK, you know that your policy is backed by one of the most successful insurance companies in the world.
biBerk’s initial quote comes in at just under $12,000 per year, significantly lower than Progressive’s. However, biBERK is providing less than one-third of the bodily injury and property damage liability coverage ($300,000 combined limit) offered by Progressive, which could leave your operation vulnerable. biBERK’s premium includes no discounts, but you could save ten percent on your premium if you pay for it upfront.
Like Progressive, biBerk will allow you to adjust your coverages, limits, and deductibles to find cost-effective coverage for your truck.
If having the lowest premiums is the most important to you, you should seriously consider biBERK.
THREE: A seemingly fair price for complete coverage
THREE is another subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaways, the Warren Buffet’s company. You are in good hands if you decide to buy the policy from them.
In the case of THREE, it’s impossible to make an apples-to-apples comparison to other insurers. THREE offers complete business insurance protection at a price similar to Progressive’s. The company does not allow you to a purchase commercial truck policy alone, and its bundled solution makes it very challenging to make a clear comparison of coverages. The one thing that makes it impossible for our comparison is that we don’t know the level of coverage limits THREE offers on their commercial truck coverage only. Their coverage limits includes not only commercial truck coverage, but also general liability and commercial property coverages.
If you only want to get insurance for your truck, THREE is not the company for you. However, if you want complete coverage for your trucking business, THREE’s quote seems to be the best one.
Compare 3 commercial truck insurance quotes online
Let’s summarize the 3 commercial truck insurance quotes that we got and let’s to compare them apples-to-apples as much as we could. Below is the summary table.
| Progressive | biBERK | THREE | |
| Company reputation | Progressive – 5 star | Berkshire Hathaways – 5 star | Berkshire Hathaways – 5 star |
| Coverages included | Commercial truck coverages only | Commercial truck coverages only | Commercial truck and other liabilities and commercial property coverages included |
| Coverage limits | $1M CSL | $300,000 CSL | $1M CSL |
| Deductibles | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Annual premiums | $25,973 | $11,924 | $23,761 |
- You should keep in mind that these three quotes are for our hypothetical trucking business based out of Houston TX. Your quotes from these 3 companies will be completely different. So you never know which one is cheaper or more expensive for your truck until you get all three quotes from them.
- If you receive 3 quotes from them similar to these three, below are our suggestions on how to choose the right one for your business:
- If you need the lowest premiums available, you should choose biBERK
- If you want to get a comprehensive policy with all coverages to protect your trucking business, you should go to THREE
- If you want to be 100% sure that you have enough coverage to protect your truck if you get involved in an accident and you are found to be at fault, you should go with Progressive. It is a bit more expensive, but you’ll have absolute peace of mind.
What factors go into generating a commercial truck insurance quote?
Before comparing quotes, it’s essential to know what factors are considered when insurers calculate them. More factors are considered when generating them than virtually any other type of insurance. This makes comparing quotes extraordinarily challenging and is why most truckers consult with an experienced truck insurance agent or other professional before buying coverage.
Here are some of the factors that go into a commercial truck insurance quote:
- Your truck, including its make, model, age, and more.
- The current value of your vehicle.
- The number of vehicles insured.
- Your vehicle’s safety features.
- What you use your truck for.
- Your business type.
- The structure of your business.
- Your credit record.
- The accident history of your truck.
- Whether you drive your truck for personal or only business reasons.
- What you haul.
- The weight of your truck when loaded.
- The value of what you haul.
- Your driving radius.
- Whether you cross state lines.
- Your driving record.
- Your claims history.
- How long you’ve worked as a truck driver.
- The location of your business.
- Where you park and store your truck.
- The coverages and levels you select.
- Your deductibles.
- How the insurer calculates premiums.
- Whether the policy is stand-alone or bundled with other coverages.
- And much more.
As you can see, it’s almost impossible to pinpoint which of the myriad factors is having an impact on your insurance costs. You must get quotes from several reputable commercial truck insurers and consult with experts to ensure you get the right coverage at a fair price.
What level of trucking coverage do I need?
Figure out your insurance needs before you start comparing quotes. An excellent place to begin is by finding out what the minimum financial responsibility limits are in your state. Selecting coverage amounts beyond the state minimums can provide you with more protection. An insurance agent or representative can advise you on whether getting coverage above the minimums makes sense.
Learn more at minimum trucking insurance requirements in different states
How much should my deductibles be?
The deductible is the amount you have to pay out of pocket before your insurance coverage kicks in. The higher your deductible, the lower your premiums. However, you must always have enough cash on hand to cover your deductible. If not, your ability to continue to conduct business could be compromised.
How do I compare coverages, levels, and costs?
As you can see from my examples, comparing quotes for this coverage is highly complex and may be better left to a professional. There are so many options for commercial truck insurance — along with factors that impact premium costs — that it can almost be impossible to do a side-by-side (or apples-to-apples) comparison. Getting commercial truck insurance is many, many, many times more complicated than getting coverage for a personal vehicle.
If you try to do this yourself, all quotes should have the same coverages, deductibles, and limits. (You may have to generate several quotes from each insurer to get them to all lineup. Different insurers use vastly different application processes, and it is tough to know whether all the factors align. What’s worse, they present them in different ways, so a comparison is like trying to line up several complex business tax forms. Be prepared for it to take many, many hours.)
Once you have quotes that contain the same information, you can compare them to find the one with the lowest price. However, you may want to go beyond that to consider other features and benefits offered by an insurer. You may find that a slightly higher premium could get you valuable benefits like a faster claims process, roadside assistance, and safety programs.
Learn more at the following resources:
- the average cost of commercial truck insurance;
- semi truck insurance cost;
- dump truck insurance cost;
- box truck insurance cost; and
- hot shot trucking insurance cost
What else should I consider when buying commercial truck insurance?
Coverage and premium price are essential, but so is the insurer’s quality. Make sure the insurance companies you get quotes from have good financial stability ratings to know they’ll be able to pay out claims. Also, check online ratings and reviews from clients to ensure you’ll have a good customer experience.
Learn more:
