The auto transport industry is known for being somewhat unreliable, which really hurts companies like us who strive for excellence in every category. But one of the most daunting aspects of the car shipping industry is the idea of insurance – more specifically, whether or not your vehicle will be insured when it is on the auto transport truck. Legally authorized auto transport carriers are required to have a minimum amount of liability and cargo insurance as mandated by the federal government. This means that your vehicle should be covered by the truck’s insurance for any damages sustained during the transportation of your vehicle. We here at Cruise Control Auto Transport make sure that all carriers that we work with have all their insurance paperwork in order and up-to-date before we book with them, and you can also request the insurance information of your assigned carrier when they pick the vehicle up.
If you ask a carrier for their insurance certificate they are required by law to present it to you. We recommend that you ask for this information upon pickup even if you’ve been told repeatedly that the carrier has insurance, just to be safe. However, sometimes vehicles are more valuable than what the minimum covers, so if you are concerned you should ask the carrier some of these questions to get the full scope of the insurance they provide:
- What type of damage is covered by the truck’s insurance?
- How much of the vehicle is covered? If damage occurs to the taillight, will that be covered?
- Does the insurance coverage come with a deductible? If so, how much is it?
- What is the limit of their coverage? Since most companies only cover the Kelley Blue Book value of the car, this is an important one!
- Can I purchase more coverage if I feel I need it?
These are common questions you can ask your carrier and they are obligated to answer you. Auto transport insurance will take precedent over any personal insurance, but it’s always a good idea to talk to your insurance company and find out what you can about their insurance coverage during transport, just in case. Every carrier we work with is covered and insured and conforms with all applicable federal, state and local law. Auto transport insurance, on the whole, is mostly ceremonial – less than 5% of all cars transported in a given year report damage, and the last thing that any carrier wants to deal with is a damage claim. They work hard to make sure that your vehicle is completely secured and safe before they begin to transport it, but accidents do happen.
You can fill out our free online auto transport quote request form and receive a free quote in your e-mail that was calculated with precision and care by one of our experienced staff members, or you can take the initiative and give us a call directly at our toll-free number. You can call up any time during normal business hours and speak to one of our live agents, who can help calculate your quote for you as well as answer any questions you may have. So call us or e-mail and we’ll do what we can for you – it’s what we do here at Cruise Control Auto Transport.
