7 Fastest Ways to Lower Commercial Truck Insurance Rates

Despite what most insurance companies show you on their websites, the truth is the actual costs of commercial truck insurance rates are often hidden from view.

There are a million variables that affect interest rates for commercial trucks and equipment. Luckily, there’s also a ton of things you can do right now to reduce your truck insurance ASAP!

7 Fastest Ways to Lower Commercial Truck Insurance Rates

1. Use One Insurance Company for Your Entire Fleet. We see a lot of transportation and construction business owners use multiple different companies to insure individual vehicles. This typically results in larger insurance costs and higher rates. Instead, choose just one insurance company to cover all the vehicles in your fleet. Most companies offer discounts and lower interest rates as you add more vehicles to their insurance plan. This also makes it easier to keep track of payment schedules, which is crucial to keeping your rates low.
2. Pay Monthly for Annual Insurance Plans. Most insurance companies offer the option of choosing between paying smaller monthly installments with higher insurance rates, and a large annual payment plan with significantly reduced interest rates. Business owners typically choose monthly installment plans so as not to disrupt cash flow. However, with a business term loan that offers monthly repayment options, you can use your loan to pay off the large annual installment, and then pay the loan off with lower-cost monthly payments!
3. Keep Driving Records Clean. This may seem obvious, but too many business owners are unaware of just how much the driving records of their employees impact their insurance costs – both on and off the clock. Something as simple as blowing a red light or a mild speeding ticket can bump up your company’s insurance rates dramatically. The best practices we’ve seen that encourage safe driving are reward systems for those that go X months/years without a ticket or accident, and a punishment system for those responsible for lazy driving incidents.
4. Higher Value Equipment = Lower Commercial Interest Rates. The more current the vehicle model, and the more features it has, the lower your rates will be. The older and more run down your equipment is, the more risk is assumed by your insurance company. While adding new vehicles to your fleet can be expensive, using heavy equipment financing offers a lower-cost payment plan that doesn’t disrupt cash flow by saving you the stress of paying for commercial vehicles upfront.
5. Pay On Time – At All Costs! Some payments are harder to make than others. Depending on the season, fluctuating demand, and a billion other factors, cash flow might not be in your favor every time payday comes around. Nothing gets an insurance company more fired up to raise your rates than not paying on time, so ensure you have a backup plan to pay off each payment on schedule. Whether it be temporarily cutting costs from other business operations, or applying for a low-rate short-term financing option so you don’t interrupt cash flow, paying your insurance on time is vital to keeping commercial costs and rates low.
6. Split Up Your Routes. The longer the distance your drivers go, the more hours they spend driving, the higher their probability of accidents, the faster your vehicles will wear down and need maintenance, and the more risk insurance companies take on. All of this results in higher rates, and worse terms. Try to reduce the hours your drivers are required to complete by splitting up routes otherwise taken on by individual drivers. This may mean taking on more drivers or asking drivers to work additional days than they would otherwise. However, the amount you save on lower rates, as a result, will more than pay off any additional labor costs long-term.
7. Get Rid of Tax Liens and Judgments BEFORE Talking with Insurance Companies. Asking for lower rates with judgments and/or tax liens over your head is just asking for trouble and frustration. Judgments especially are more common among businesses that use commercial vehicles, due to the higher risk of accidents and traffic tickets. The good news is that there’s a fast and simple way to get rid of them, and ensure you get the lowest possible insurance rates for your commercial trucks and vehicles. Get yourself a small business loan or business line of credit to pay off your tax lien. As for judgments – there are financing and service options to get rid of them faster and easier than you’d ever expect.

One of the best ways to reduce your truck insurance is to routinely check into your policy and speak with your provider about ways to lower your rate. That way, you can inform them of any of the changes you’ve made immediately and finely tune your contract much faster.

How Much Does Commercial Truck Insurance Cost?

Policy prices depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to:

• The type of vehicle
• The jurisdiction of which it’s registered
• The owner’s driving history
• What the vehicle will be used for
• The level of coverage
• The owner’s credit history
• Existence of safety measures
• The insurance company itself

Smaller vehicles generally come with less expensive policies, but larger commercial trucks almost always need expensive policies simply because of their size and weight. On average, commercial truck insurance ranges from $3,000 to $12,000 annually.

If you’re given a quote that’s outside of your price range, know that you don’t have to accept it on the spot. You should shop around, get multiple quotes, and choose the option that best fits your business goals and financial situation.

Cover the Costs of Your Commercial Truck Insurance With National Business Capital

If you have a tax lien, judgment, or another hurdle in your path to getting commercial truck insurance, consider paying it off before you apply. As stated before, this type of spot on your credit history can lock you into paying more than you should. Proactively paying it off not only gives you a better chance of qualifying for a lower rate, but it’ll make your life much easier.

At National Business Capital, we leverage a marketplace of top U.S. B2B lenders to match our clients with the right financing offers for their businesses. We can help you cover your tax lien or judgment today and – later in your business journey – help you stay at the forefront of your industry with the financing you need to grow without limits.

Give us a call at (877) 482-3008 for a free consultation from a Business Finance Advisor, and ask how they can help you get the funds or services you need in as little as 24 hours. Or, complete our digital application to get started!