You know…it’s hard to get moving insurance when you’re a new moving company…
And the guys that are starting out without having moving trucks…well, that…is almost impossible.
Or it seems.
But you can get moving insurance…
Yes, it difficult…and you’re going to need to jump through some hoops.
But, it can be done.
So keep reading and I’ll tell you how to get it done.
Find a New Insurance Agent
To get moving insurance, especially as a new moving company with no trucks is hard. I’ve found that the best, easiest way to do that is to work with a new commercial insurance agent just getting started.
These agents are hungry to build up their clientele.
You have to understand, as a new insurance agent you are paid by commissions.
They’re not paid by the hour, and if they are, it’s a low. Low. LOW hourly amount. Their check is determined by commissions. And their commissions are determined by the number of clients pay each and every month.
A new agent will work their ass off for you. They’ll go to bat and actually sell the insurance companies to give you insurance…
Yeah…you can do it yourself.
But you already know how rough that is.
Get a Moving Truck
Now that you’ve found an agent you ‘re going to need a moving truck to insure.
If you have the money, you should buy a good decent moving truck.
Need to know where to buy these trucks at. No worries I got you here a list of good places to buy good used moving vans that are worth it:
Truthfully, I wouldn’t buy anything less than a $20K truck. If you don’t have $20,000 to buy a truck then you’re going to need to get creative so that you can get moving insurance.
Can’t Buy a Truck, then Lease
Now, if can’t buy a truck because you don’t have $20K then you can lease.
As long as you have decent credit and some money to put down (around $5000 or so) you can lease a fairly new truck.
When you lease you are going to want to lease the truck for at least 3 to 5 years.
Negotiate the best that you can. The better your credit the better the terms you’re to get.
The biggest thing that’s going to bite you in the ass is the mileage. You will have to dicker and deal to get that mileage cost as low as you can.
Some of the guys in the 7 Figure Moving Academy membership (if you’re not a member then you should be. It’s only $10/month fer Pete’s sake.) only have to pay about $.10/mile and have up to 10,000 miles a month limit.
That’s damn good.
Short Term Leases
For those you that buy or lease, then only other option is a short term truck lease.
Now this underground hillbilly strategies but it works.
You have understand…to get moving company insurance for your moving business the insurance companies are looking to see if you own, and if you don’t own, that you control a truck for more than 30 days.
The keyword is “control.”
If you lease a Penske or a Budget (or whomever your leasing from) for only 30 days or less…then in the insurance company’s eyes you are only renting.
Insurance companies will NOT insure a rental moving truck if that’s your primary truck.
So what you do is…you rent the truck for thirty ONE days.
Give the VIN number to your agent and then get your insurance.
See what I did there!?
Super Secret No Money Down Method to Leasing Trucks
So what you do is:
You develop a great relationship with a local truck provider…have them write you a lease agreement for 31 days. Get the agreement paper from them all signed up and everything. Then have your local dealer immediately CANCEL the agreement in their system.
Now…you can’t tell your insurance agent that the agreement is cancelled to make this work.
Give the agent the agreement paper. It’ll have all the info that he needs. And have them insure this truck for your moving business.
And be sure to tell your agent that you need to have the insurance able to cover you in case you have rent trucks.
Get the insurance and you’re in like Flynn.
Another Low-Cost Way to get Moving Insurance
There are times when the above no cost method doesn’t work (usually because you opened your stupid mouth and said something that you shouldn’t have).
What to do now?
Another easy approach is to buy a cheap used mini-van or pickup. It doesn’t even need to run.
Get it registered and titled in your company’s business name.
A pickup and/or a van are legitimate moving vehicles used in the moving business. So you can get moving insurance with these two type of vehicles.
Once you have the car(s) titled and registered in your company’s name then use it to get your moving insurance.
Again…make sure your agent gets you coverage in case you need to rent moving trucks. Which you will need to do…obviously.
Moving Company Insurance Requirements
What Kind of Moving Insurance Do I Need?
Great question…
The answer is simple…whatever the DOT and your state require. Some states like California require more than what the Federal government does. I.e. California demands a minimum of $20K Cargo coverage, but the Federal Government only requires $10K Cargo.
But in just in case you can’t find that info easily I’ll list the coverages that you need:
- Auto Liability/ Physical Damage
- General Liability
- Umbrella/ Excess Liability
- Cargo Legal Liability
- Workman’s Comp
- Property (company property)
- Business Insurance
For more info then I suggest you check out this great article.
Of course, you could get away with NOT having some of the above coverages…but I don’t recommend it.
How Much Does it Cost to Insure a Moving Company?
Again, great question.
This largely depends, again on your state and local requirements. It will also depend on how much coverage you get and what your deductibles are.
But using the above list of coverage you can expect to pay between $15,000 to $20,000 each year.
A cool thing about this is, as long as you keep claims and damage to null or a minimum, you can get those premiums to come down each year.
Make Sure your Agent Sends the H and E Forms.
This got me into trouble once so believe me when I tell you you have to be all over your insurance agent to send in the H and E forms to the government.
These forms have to be sent by your insurance company. And they are sent electronically.
They are forms that prove that you have coverage and the right amounts. Without these forms listed in the system you will be considered to be without insurance if you’re ever stopped.
I speak from experience on this one.
Connect with Your State and Federal Movers Associations
I already mentioned this above…
But every state may have different rules and regulations, and sometimes they even differ from what the FMCSA requires.
So it’s very important that you connect up with your state’s mover association to ensure that you meet all the requirements for being legally insured in your state.
The FMCSA has a great resource list that has a link to every state that has a movers association.
If your state doesn’t have a mover’s association then default to have the DOT says.
Another great resource is AMSA which is the national mover’s association.
To Summarize
This is NOT an end-all be-all article.
It’s just a simple tutorial to help you, the new moving company owner, get the moving insurance that you need.
I know that it can be tough…frustrating…even maddening sometimes.
It seems like diabolical Catch-22 that just goes around and around and around. Where ever it stops nobody knows.
Hopefully…if I did my job right with this article, I’ve shown you how to stop that merry-go-round.
Thank you for reading this, this far.
No go do something great today!