Motor Truck Cargo Insurance is a policy that truckers purchase for the protection of the goods that they are transporting. This is because the transportation industry has put the responsibility of both the care and security of the loads on the trucker the minute the load has been entrusted him. This form of truckers insurance provides a policy coverage that caters for the costs of damage or loss of goods while being transported.
The main aim of motor truck cargo insurance is protecting truck drivers who are on transit against the liability of the cargo they are carrying. The coverage policy is available to a number of individuals like contract carriers and the general public common carriers who transport goods under contract terms from specific entities.
Common carriers refer to truck drivers who offer the public with transportation of their goods in their cargo trucks. The cargo truck can operate interstate or intrastate depending on the scope with which it has been authorized. Contract carriers on the other hand offer their services to specific shippers with whom they have negotiated a contract. This makes their services not to be available for the public in general. Recently, carriers have the opportunity to offer services as contract and common carriers.
Motor truck cargo insurance has enabled common carriers not to be liable to any damages that might occur to a cargo in the event of transportation. Earlier on, truckers were exempted from liability only if the damage was because of unavoidable circumstances like tornado, hurricane, war acts, shipping flaws, extreme climate conditions, product spoilage, or confiscation of the cargo by the authorities. Contract drivers however had their conditions specified on the contract the time when the carrier will be liable to any damages.
There are requisites that a trucker must have before filing for a claim. One of the documents is a copy of the lading bill that lists the items in the cargo, the destination where the cargo was to be delivered, and the dollar value. A contract driver on the other hand has the information included in the terms of contract.
The duration in which the coverage policy is valid starts immediately the trucker is in possession of the cargo and ends when he has made his delivery. Other lading bills allow the carrier to be liable to the cargo even after the delivery has been made though for a short while (not more than 72 hours) to allow the cargo to be taken by the owner.
Motor truck cargo insurance coverage policies vary from one insurance company to the other. Some policies have high deductibles that could force the carrier to pay some portion of the claim amount from his pocket. Premiums too do vary depending on goods that are hauled. There are schedule coverage that provides each truck with specific coverage and composite coverage whose policy covers a whole fleet.