Whether you run a garbage pickup business or own garbage trucks as part of a cleanup operation, your business cannot afford to lose the use of those trucks because of an auto accident or other incident. On top of business losses, losses from an accident can run into the tens of thousands of dollars or more if anyone is injured and property is damaged. It could cause a heavy financial strain on your company if you don’t have the right garbage truck insurance. Getting this coverage can be challenging because few or no reputable national insurers provide it, and those that do, don’t offer it in all states, especially California.
This article reveals the only reputable garbage truck insurers we could find in the United States and what you must know to get the right coverage for you at a fair price. Again, we are putting a caveat on this list. It’s likely that you may not be able to get coverage from them because they only offer garbage truck insurance in only a few states if they offer it at all.
- 3 best garbage truck insurance companies
- Do I need garbage truck insurance?
- What does garbage truck insurance cover?
- How much does garbage truck insurance cost?
- How can I save on my garbage truck insurance cost?
3 best garbage truck insurance companies
Not many companies offer garbage insurance. Even if they do, they may not offer it in all states. We have done intensive research to find the 3 best ones that we are recommending below.
- Progressive: Best garbage truck insurance provider
- biBERK: Best for low-cost garbage truck coverage
- Simply Business: Best broker to work with to compare several quotes
Progressive: Best garbage truck insurance provider
Progressive was established in 1937 to offer budget-friendly auto insurance. In 1971, it added commercial truck insurance to its offerings to provide affordable plans for small business owners.
PROS:
- Progressive is a solid insurance company with a good track record.
- It offers many discounts that could help save you money on garbage truck insurance.
- You can apply for coverage online.
CONS:
- Progressive can connect you with other types of trash-hauling business insurance coverage, but it doesn’t underwrite it itself.
- Garbage truck insurance is provided through a subsidiary of Progressive, and it’s hard to find information about it.
- Progressive doesn’t offer all discounts in all states, so you must check with other insurers to ensure you’re getting all the discounts you’re entitled to.
BOTTOM LINE: Progressive is a top vehicle insurer in the United States. It’s one of the few possibilities for getting garbage truck coverage through a national insurer.
biBERK: Best for low-cost garbage truck coverage
BiBERK is a business insurance company that uses technology to lower policy costs.
PROS:
- biBerk makes it fast and simple to apply for coverage, get quotes, buy policies, file claims, and download a certificate of insurance online.
- Agents are available to provide advice and support.
- biBerk’s insurance premiums are often cheaper than those of other insurers.
CONS:
- It’s unclear whether you can get garbage truck insurance through biBerk, but you may be able to get garbage truck business insurance if you live in certain states.
- biBerk doesn’t offer commercial vehicle insurance in all states.
- Despite biBerk’s reputation for being a low-cost insurer, you must get quotes from other insurance companies to make certain you’re getting coverage at a fair price.
BOTTOM LINE: If you need to save money on garbage truck insurance, biBerk could be the right insurance provider for you if it offers coverage in your state.
Simply Business: Best broker to work with to compare several quotes
Simply Business is an insurance broker specializing in serving small businesses. One of their focused industries is trucking. They partner with 20+ insurance companies and will help you get quotes from these companies to compare and find the best one for you and your business.
PROS:
- Simply Business is one of the easiest way to compare several quotes for your garbage trucking business
- You may be able to get quotes for garbage truck insurance from different companies.
- Simply Business has a good consumer satisfaction ratings
CONS:
- You may not be able to get multiple garbage truck insurance quotes from this provider because it’s such niche coverage.
- After you compare quotes and buy a policy from Simply Business, if you need to file a claim, you may need to do that directly with the insurance company.
BOTTOM LINE: Simply Business will help you get and compare several quotes in one place conveniently to find the cheapest one for your garbage trucking business.
Do I need garbage truck insurance?
By law, you must carry commercial truck liability insurance coverage. It pays for costs related to injuries you cause to others or property damage resulting in an auto accident involving your truck. Costs related to these things can add up to tens of thousands of dollars or more, which you would have to pay out of pocket if you don’t have adequate commercial auto liability insurance coverage. It could have a significant negative impact on the bottom lines of most independent garbage-hauling businesses.
What does garbage truck insurance cover?
Garbage truck insurance policies are flexible. You can select your coverages and limits. Similar to a standard commercial truck insurance policy, most garbage truck insurance policies would include these coverages:
- Bodily injury liability insurance pays for injuries to others in a garbage truck accident when you are found to be at fault.
- Property damage liability coverage pays for damage to other people’s property, including buildings, lamp posts, other vehicles, and more.
- Medical payments coverage pays for healthcare expenses related to an accident while driving your garbage truck.
- Physical damage coverage protects your trucks with collision and comprehensive coverage. Collision insurance pays for damage to your truck that results from an auto accident. Comprehensive coverage covers damages due to fire, theft, glass breakage, and more. Learn more at the best trucking physical damage insurance companies.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage provides bodily injury coverage for you if the other party in a vehicle accident is uninsured or doesn’t have a sufficient amount of coverage.
How much does garbage truck insurance cost?
Garbage truck insurance is quite expensive given the high-risk nature of garbage trucking work. It is hard to come up with an estimate of how much that would cost. Also, it largely depends how much coverage you’d like to have in your garbage trucking policy. The garbage truck insurance generally costs $1,000-$2,500 per month if you want to have a comprehensive policy.
Garbage truck insurance depends on several factors and different providers will give you different quotes. The key thing is to make sure you shop around with several companies or work with a broker like Simply Business to compare several quotes to find the cheapest one for you.
Learn more at the average cost of commercial truck insurance
How can I save on garbage truck insurance?
Driving and operating your garbage truck safely and maintaining a clean driving record will help you keep premiums reasonable. Taking regular driver safety refresher courses and performing routine maintenance will help you do these things.
You may also be able to save money by combining several types of business coverage on a single policy. It’s also essential to take advantage of any discounts available to you. You can also increase your deductibles to reduce policy costs. You must ensure you always have cash on hand to pay your deductible if an incident occurs.
Finally, get several insurance quotes when you get coverage or before renewing it. Compare them to find the best coverage for you at a fair price. Insurers calculate premium costs differently, and you may find that the methods used by one of them are more favorable to your situation. Since it’s challenging to find providers of this coverage online, it’s likely that you will have to depend on your business insurance agent to secure these quotes for you.
Learn more at the cheapest commercial truck insurance companies
