Insuring Your Home Away from Home

Life on the road is hard. . . long hours and days away from family and friends.  It’s no wonder that many truck drivers these days try to duplicate some of the comforts of home in their truck.  And it goes well beyond staples such as clothing and food.  It is now common for a long haul trucker to carry his laptop, portable printer, television and DVD player in the tractor with him.

But what happens in the event that your tractor is stolen or involved in a serious loss that also damages such personal possessions?  Can you make a claim on your truck insurance policy or do you have to chalk it up to a loss?  The good news is that there are a number of ways to insure such possessions in the event of theft or damage. 

Many insurance companies now offer endorsements to add Personal Contents coverage.  Personal Contents coverage provides limits up to a specified amount (usually in the ballpark of $2,500) for a driver’s personal possessions.  These endorsements will require the insured to pay a small deductible (such as $250) on any claims paid. 

Another option is to purchase an Inland Marine policy.  This policy can be purchased separately from the Physical Damage policy (which means you can buy it even if you choose not to carry Physical Damage on your truck.)  The coverage will follow your property everywhere it goes and also requires a deductible to be paid per covered loss.  Deductibles normally range somewhere between $250 and $1,000.  Benefits of the Inland Marine policy include the ability to schedule the items you are insuring and being able to purchase higher limits than what are available on the Personal Contents endorsement available through a Physical Damage policy.  Also, claims made on the Inland Marine policy do not show up on the Physical Damage loss history, which is nice in the event that you experience a theft of your personal contents, without having damage to the truck.

One final option that we often see overlooked is to endorse a coverage for your personal belongings in your truck to your Homeowners or Renters policy.  That can work, too. 

As with all policies, you will want to carefully consider the terms, conditions, exclusions and cost of these options before making a final decision.  If we can help, give us a call at (800) 596-TRUCK (8782).  We’d be happy to help you out any way we can.  All of us at the Navigator Truck Insurance Agency work hard at being accessible, helpful and result oriented. 

Until next month,

Jeffery A. Moss, ARM

President

 

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