Are you looking for commercial truck insurance in South Carolina? You may or may not realize that the regulations for commercial truck insurance vary from state to state, and there are federal guidelines on top of that. It’s crucial that you comply with at least the minimum requirement and maintain insurance for your own protection and the protection of others. Let’s look at some things you should know about commercial truck insurance in South Carolina.
- 7 best commercial truck insurance in South Carolina
- Commercial truck insurance requirements in South Carolina
- What does commercial truck insurance cover in South Carolina?
- Commercial truck insurance cost in South Carolina
- Average cost commercial truck insurance per month in South Carolina
- Factors affecting commercial truck insurance cost in South Carolina
- How to find cheap commercial truck insurance in South Carolina
7 best commercial truck insurance in South Carolina
When we looked at commercial truck insurance in South Carolina, we researched several companies. We decided the following six companies were the ones we wanted to highlight. These aren’t the only companies offering commercial truck insurance coverage in South Carolina, far from it, but they are our favorites of the available choices.
- Progressive: Best Overall
- biBERK: Best for low-cost trucking coverage with a great digital experience
- Simply Business: Best for comparing several quotes
- The Hartford: Best for fleets in South Carolina
- Smart Financial: Best for new truckers and new trucking businesses
- THREE insurance: Best for simple and effective trucking coverage
- InsurePro: Best for pay-per-day coverage
Progressive: Best Overall
Progressive is a well-known company in the auto insurance industry. They have been in business for more than 40 years. They are the market leader in commercial truck insurance. They write the most trucking policies in the country and accumulate significant experience of insuring truckers and trucking businesses.
Progressive offers a variety of discounts to its customers as well as online quotes and policy management. The company offers coverage in all 50 states.
Progressive is the very first company offering commercial truck insurance quotes online, making it super easy and convenient for truckers and trucking businesses to get their quotes online, within less than 10 minutes. You may want to give it a try, even just to see the ballpark of your trucking insurance premiums.
biBERK: Best for low-cost trucking coverage
BiBERK is a division of the Berkshire Hathaway group. They specialize in offering insurance to small businesses directly, bypassing agents and brokers. That’s the reason why they have built their products to be distributed, sold, to managed entirely online. Trucking is one of their focused industries.
Because of their business model of selling directly to business owners, they are able to cut costs and provide significant savings to their customers. They claim to save at least 20% on trucking insurance for their customers.
biBERK is one of the four companies offering trucking insurance quotes online. Their quote application is very simple and fast. It should take you around 5-10 minutes to get the final quote on their website. If you are happy with the quote, you can go ahead to buy the policy and download the certificate of insurance immediately.
Below is a quote sample we got from biBERK after 8 minutes. Your quote will have different rates, but you may want to give it a try.
Simply Business: Best for comparing several quotes in one place
Simply Business is a broker that offers multiple quotes. Travelers Insurance owns the company, and as such, you will likely receive a quote from Travelers. In addition to Travelers, they will provide you with several other quotes for you to compare and choose the best and the cheapest one for you.
Since Simply Business is a broker, they do offer other coverages that trucking businesses may need. And their agents are very knowledgeable. If you want to discuss with an agent about your trucking business and get advice on the coverages and compare several quotes in one place, you may want to work with them.
The Hartford: Best for fleets in South Carolina
The Hartford, like Progressive, is well-known in the insurance industry. They specialize in policies for larger businesses. In the trucking industry, that means they prefer working with fleets versus owner-operators. The Hartford has been in business for more than 200 years.
They have built a stellar reputation as an insurance company. If you decide to get a policy from them, you know you are in good hands.
Smart Financial: Best for new truckers and new trucking businesses
Smart Financial is an online insurance broker that specializes in working with small businesses. Their specialty is working with those small businesses that other companies didn’t offer coverage for due to their being new to the trucking industry. In the trucking industry, when you are new and just starting out, you are considered a high-risk business. Many insurance companies refuse to work with high-risk customers.
Smart Financial partners with more than 2,000 agents who have specialized in small businesses for several decades. If you are new, they can help you understand the nuances of trucking insurance, select the right coverages, and choose the right insurance companies with the best prices.
You complete their online form, and their agents who have worked with cases similar to your new trucking business, will reach you to you immediately to discuss your needs to help you. You can also choose to call them and will be surprised by how friendly, knowledgeable, and professional their customer service people are.
THREE insurance: Best for simple and effective trucking insurance
Our research indicated that THREE was now available for commercial truck insurance in South Carolina, which is great news. THREE is another subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, specializing in small business insurance. They were founded with a simple philosophy that small business insurance should be made simple enough for the entire policy of multiple coverages that a small business might need to fit in 3 pages without insurance jargon or fine print.
They are very good at making things simple and super easy to understand so that you know exactly what you are paying for and which coverages you’ll have.
As they are trying to make everything simple, they also make it easy for truckers and trucking businesses to get a quote online. They are one the four companies offering truck insurance quotes online, besides Progressive, biBERK, and InsurePro. Their quote application is probably the simplest. It took us 5 mins to get a quote on their website. You may want to give it a try.
InsurePro: Best for on-demand, pay-per-day trucking insurance
InsurePro is a new and innovative insurance broker specializing in serving small businesses. Their founding philosophy is that you don’t need to pay for insurance for the period when you don’t need it. They have built their products in a way that allows them to offer trucking insurance to their customers for a short period, even just a few days a week. They call it pay-per-day or on-demand insurance. You only pay for trucking insurance when you are on the road.
If you are a new trucker or a new trucking business and do not have enough work to be on the road full-time, you may want to consider working with them. You will save a lot of money on the days that you do not need coverage.
Commercial truck insurance requirements in South Carolina
Commercial truck insurance policies in South Carolina must include uninsured motorist insurance and liability coverage with limits that vary depending on your vehicle’s type, weight, and use. Those limits are set by the FMCSA (the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). Interstate truckers must meet these minimums, and they must also meet the federal standards for liability coverage.
What does commercial truck insurance cover in South Carolina?
Commercial truck insurance is a type of policy that covers vehicles being used for business. If you use your vehicle for work, you need commercial truck insurance. Commercial trucking insurance is made up of several parts. Some of them are similar to personal auto insurance:
Primary liability
Primary liability policies are frequently offered with a combined single limit (CSL). In most cases, this policy covers both bodily injury and property damage.
For instance, assume a truck driver covered by the policy is involved in an accident. If the driver causes damage to another person’s vehicle or injures someone during the incident, the insurance will cover the cost of the injured party’s repairs and their medical expenses.
The driver and the truck that caused the accident, on the other hand, are not covered. As a result, motor carriers also choose medical payments and physical damage coverage.
Physical damage coverage
While primary liability pays for injuries or damages to third parties, physical damage coverage pays for damage to the policyholder’s vehicles involved in an accident. Collision coverage (damage from a collision) and comprehensive coverage are included in physical damage coverage (non-collision losses or damage, such as theft or vandalism). Learn more at the best trucking physical damage insurance companies.
Uninsured/underinsured drivers
Trucks are frequently the largest vehicles on the road. If one of your trucks is involved in an accident caused by another driver, the at-fault driver may not have enough insurance to cover your injuries and property damage. Instead, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage will cover the costs.
Medical bill coverage
Your liability insurance only covers bodily injuries for other people involved in an accident caused by your truck. So, it’s a good idea to get medical payments coverage, which covers medical bills for you and any passengers who may have been injured.
Motor truck cargo coverage
Motor truck cargo coverage protects the freight transported by a for-hire trucker in an incident such as a fire or collision. Truck drivers are legally required to insure their cargo while in transit until it is signed for at its destination.
Motor truck cargo coverage is available only to for-hire truckers who drive semis, dump trucks, tractors, trailers, box trucks, cement mixers, cargo vans, dually pickups, flatbeds, and car haulers.
Other trucks like Garbage trucks, passenger trucks, and ice cream trucks are not eligible for this insurance coverage. Furthermore, not all types of cargo are covered by insurance. Art, jewelry, pharmaceuticals, tobacco, alcohol, live animals, and explosives are examples of items usually not covered. Such items would require separate coverage.
Learn more at the best motor truck cargo insurance companies.
Non-trucking liability
Owner-operators who have a permanent lease with a motor carrier should consider purchasing non-trucking liability (NTL) coverage to be insured if they use the truck for non-business purposes. NTL coverage, for example, would cover medical and property damage expenses incurred while driving the truck for personal reasons, such as
NTL excludes any activities considered “business use,” such as hauling cargo, filling the gas tank, driving for maintenance, and washing the truck. These activities would be covered by the primary liability coverage of the motor carrier. Learn more at the best non-trucking liability insurance companies
Some people might find it confusing between non-trucking liability and bobtail insurance. They are similar, but not entirely the same. Bobtail insurance covers you only when you are driving the truck without the trailer attached to it. Learn more at the best bobtail insurance companies.
Trailer interchange:
Trailer interchange insurance covers a non-owned trailer. Learn more everything about trailer interchange coverage.
Commercial truck insurance cost in South Carolina
Based on a quote for a one-truck operation requiring liability, physical damage, bobtail, and cargo insurance, the average commercial truck insurance cost in South Carolina was compiled. With that in mind, the average cost for commercial truck insurance in South Carolina is $13,820. The range for most premiums is between $11,910 and $16,890. Several factors determine the costs of your premiums in South Carolina.
Average commercial truck insurance cost per month in South Carolina
The average commercial truck insurance cost per month in South Carolina is $1,150 with the average cost breakdown for each coverage below:
| Commercial truck insurance coverages | Average cost |
| Trucking liability | $590 per month |
| Bobtail | $55 per month |
| Trucking physical damage | $320 per month |
| Cargo truck insurance | $185 per month |
Keep in mind that these are just the averages. Your rates will be different. Be sure to shop around with a few companies to compare quotes. Get several quotes online to compare before making the final decision. The 4 companies offering truck insurance quotes online are Progressive, biBERK, THREE, and InsurePro.
Factors affecting commercial truck insurance cost in South Carolina
Some of the factors influencing the cost of premiums are as follows:
- Your cargo. Hazardous materials cost more on insurance, as do heavier loads.
- How long you’ve been in business. Shorter business times equal increased risk for insurance companies.
- Your driving history and the driving history of all the drivers on your roster.
- Your location. Highly populated areas carry greater risk with insurance.
- Where you drive, short-haul truckers have lower premiums than do long-haul truckers.
- The coverage you need. If you opt for minimum coverages, you will pay lower premiums, but that isn’t necessarily a wise choice.
- The company you choose.
These are a few of the common factors affecting the price of insurance coverage in South Carolina. The list is not exhaustive; it’s simply a sampling of the possible mitigating factors for your insurance premium prices.
How to find cheap commercial truck insurance in South Carolina
In this day and age, people are trying to cut costs wherever they can. The cost of insurance is one place where you might have a little control over what you pay. As long as you are meeting state and federal minimum requirements, you can choose coverages that help you save money. The best way to save money on commercial truck insurance in South Carolina is to shop for quotes with multiple agents or a broker.
Final thoughts
South Carolina is like other states. They require minimum insurance limits to comply with state regulations. If you are an interstate trucker, you also must comply with the FMCSA rules for minimum coverages. It’s wise to carry more than the minimum coverages so you are confident of your coverage levels.
Costs for your insurance premiums will vary depending on numerous factors. The best way to save money is to shop for multiple quotes and take advantage of any discounts offered by the company you choose.
