Types of transportation claims and how to help prevent them
Large vehicles come with significant risks. Property damage, both on and off the road, and a single serious incident can lead to an insurance claim
Livestock Transportation Insurance
Moving livestock can be a very different animal than other transport tasks. When you hit the road, cattle, pigs, turkeys, and chickens can pose challenges – and so can the rural roads themselves.
The right livestock transport insurance can help cover you from farm to final facility.
What kind of coverage do livestock trailer operators need?
Expensive specialized equipment and an ongoing driver shortage can pose challenges for livestock carriers. The costs and stress can be particularly high because of the expense related to the purchasing and general upkeep of the trailers, and because more intensive training is required for drivers who transport animals.
When can insurance for livestock trailers come to your rescue?
When you transport livestock, you face general and specific risks. For one, you must consider the hazards that come with rural roads and nighttime driving, like poor lighting and deep ditches. Then, there are the animals to worry about: distressful conditions can threaten health and safety on the road.
Your insurance for your livestock trailer should be broad enough to respond in a range of situations that could arise between point A and point B, but also deep enough to ease the costly burden of a covered loss. Here are a few scenarios where specific features can come into play.
Allowance for animal-related accidents
Using the appropriate trailer for the animals is the first step; safeguarding the cargo along the way can be a more difficult task than you had hoped. Considering how heavy livestock can be, winding roads can lead to weight shifts that threaten the stability of your trailer, resulting in damage to your equipment – or to the animals.
If something happens to the livestock while you’re transporting it, cargo insurance can help: it’s designed to cover injury, death, or escape of livestock while it’s in your custody. This insurance can also apply when the livestock is being loaded or unloaded.
Protect your truck from problems en route
Think your personal auto insurance will cover you when you’re hauling livestock? Don’t bet the farm on that hunch.
Imagine you’re driving a load of livestock along the highway, traffic slows suddenly, and your truck accidentally rear-ends another vehicle. This is when you would call on your auto coverage, but your personal insurance is limited in scope. The right commercial automobile insurance can help cover you for physical damage to your vehicle, property damages to the other vehicle, and bodily injury to a third party.
When problems with your livestock create problems for others
Transferring animals can be less predictable than transporting wood, clothing, or other common items. What would happen if your animals escaped the trailer, ran onto the road, and caused an accident? There are other potential hazards to consider that are hiding in plain sight too, right on your business property.
If your business has a warehouse – or even a front stoop – you have potential hazards that could lead to injuries (and lawsuits). The bottom line is that in many situations, you could inadvertently put visitors, partners, or bystanders at risk, and you could be held responsible for any damage or injury that may arise. Commercial general liability insurance (CGL) could help if the injured party was to take legal action against your business.
Assistance at every step of the way
On top of our comprehensive core coverage and exceptional customer service, your business insurance policy grants you access to our Assist Services* for extra peace of mind.
Risk Management Assist
Our team of Risk Services specialists is at your service: customers can enjoy unlimited telephone access to experts who can help mitigate risks with advice and guidance on a range of loss prevention topics.
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Commercial Truck Filings
Proving that you have enough liability insurance to meet all federal requirements isn’t an option – it’s a necessity. That’s why we help complete and expedite federal filings for our customers who do business in the U.S.
Plans change, and last-minute arrangements can be stressful. When you’re short on time, we can get things moving right away, arranging your financial proof of responsibility quickly so you can stay on track without risking a penalty when you cross the border.
Need more? No problem.
We have other handy coverages for livestock trailer operators, like our Livestock Endorsement: this extends coverage to additional perils that can affect a livestock transport operation.
When you deal with live – and sometimes unpredictable – animals, you’ll welcome the features of this coverage, extending to issues like the collapse of loading ramps, accidental freezing, accidental falling out of conveyance, and even roundup of escaped animals. Your broker can walk you through all the advantages of Livestock Endorsement.
Managing Risk
We know that risk differs across industries. We also know that your livestock transports operation is unique, and the challenges you face deserve careful consideration and a personalized approach. Insurance plays an important role, but it’s not everything – you can lean on our industry expertise, library of focused resources, and confident guidance to take your protection and loss prevention to the next level.
The Northbridge Risk Services team is the most experienced in the transportation industry. Our goal is to share with you the tools and resources that will help you identify risks along with opportunities that can add greater value and help improve your bottom line.
Each year, our team conducts over 5,000 risk assessments and service calls for Canadian businesses. We’re committed to serving our customers onsite and offsite, applying our expertise wherever – and whenever – it may be needed.
Risk consulting and advisory is at the heart of our service. Ongoing industry-specific consultations, Collision Trend Analysis, and hazard analysis add significant value to the insurance programs tailored to customers in the transportation industry.
Our High-Risk Driver Program delivers tangible benefits like reduced violations, increased intervention options for high-risk driver management, and the ability to recognize opportunities to change unsafe behaviors.
What happens during a risk assessment? Take a look at what you can expect.
Northbridge offers a number of specialized training courses and programs, from customized Safety Manager Workshops to defensive driving and safety seminars, like our FACTS driving programs.
The Northbridge Risk Services training center has something for every fleet. Connect with our Risk Services consultants for more information about our training offerings.
We know hands-on help is important, but we also want to give our customers the tools they need to help themselves from the very start.
Our library of Risk Insights, along with safety management guides and forms, outline industry best practices and provide safety tips to help you better manage and control risk across your operation.
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* Legal Assist not provided for criminal, personal or insurance issues, do not provide representation in legal proceedings or legal fees coverage, and provided by Assistenza International, through lawyers licensed in your jurisdiction. Risk Management Assist provided by our Risk Services specialists and are intended to augment your internal safety, compliance and risk management practices, and are not a substitute for professional or legal advice. Trauma Assist provided by independent third-party professionals, long-term and specialized counseling not included. Cyber Assist provided by CyberScout services are not included in any cyber extension or endorsements. Services are not an insurance policy, not all policies are eligible, contact us for details.