With truck insurance costs rising, how are truck drivers adapting?
Recent research by the American Transportation Research Institute found that liability insurance premiums increased nearly 19% from 2021 to 2024.
This increase coincided with a decline in heavy-duty truck crash rates across the industry.
Based on the data, ATRI highlighted a sharp rise in crash claim expenses in determining the increase in insurance costs.
Per-mile liability losses were up 33% among respondents, while premium costs for excess coverage rose at an even higher rate.
Increases in the $5-10 million and $10-15 million insurance layers point to rampant litigation aimed at inflating claims costs, ATRI said.
The study indicated certain risk management strategies led to successful outcomes.
A combination of premium reductions and aggressive implementation of safety initiatives by fleets was among those strategies.
“ATRI’s report gives us invaluable visibility on the changing liability insurance landscape and how fleets are navigating it,” said Lynette Woodie, ArcBest Manager of loss prevention and administration. “Good fleets don’t just react passively to rate increases each year: they take the initiative by analyzing data and working closely with their insurers to craft a holistic risk management plan that improves safety and reduces costs.”
OOIDA continues its fight against efforts to increase truck insurance minimums.
“This increase would cause insurance premiums to skyrocket and would be absolutely devastating for small businesses,” OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh wrote in opposition to proposed insurance increases in 2024. “As a way to afford this increase, some truckers may cut back on maintenance and repair costs, which jeopardizes the safety of their operations.”
The full ATRI report is available online.
Supreme Court ruling
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court ruled that freight brokers can be sued for putting unsafe carriers on the road.
The ruling means brokers can no longer rely on federal preemption as a blanket defense against negligent hiring claims.
Going forward, justices said economic fallout could be significant. LL
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