Owner Operator Insurance South Carolina: The Importance of Cargo Insurance

Trucking is full of hazards. First, there’s the truck itself. Unlike passenger cars designed for good handling, quick braking, and stability, the tractor-trailer rig is designed first and foremost for hauling cargo. It can’t stop on a dime or pull hard turns, both of which are important when avoiding an accident in an emergency. Trucks easily jackknife on slippery roads and can get blown over by strong winds.

The other major hazard is a road filled with distracted and aggressive drivers who may cut off the truck without giving a thought to the truck’s braking and maneuvering limitations. Motorists do all kinds of erratic and dangerous things on the road. An owner operator truck driver can only do his best, and sometimes that isn’t enough because accidents will happen.

However, self-preservation isn’t the only thing on the owner operator’s mind. He also has thousands of dollars of cargo entrusted to his care. Sometimes the cargo is worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Remember that everything used by businesses and consumers were delivered at one point by a truck. This is a big responsibility and if this cargo is lost or damaged in transit because of an accident, the carrier, that is, the owner operator is held liable.

Sometimes fault is found with the driver of the other vehicle in the accident but you can’t count on this always being the case. Sometimes bad weather or road conditions can get the best of you and cause a single vehicle accident. In these accidents, there is only one person at fault: you.

This is why the owner operator truck driver can’t run his carrier business without having good cargo insurance coverage. In fact, most shippers won’t deal with carriers that aren’t insured. Cargo insurance covers freight that gets damaged or lost during transit. This compensates the owner of the cargo for lost or damaged items and shields the owner operator truck driver from financial ruin.

Do you have adequate cargo insurance coverage? To learn more about owner operator insurance in South Carolina, contact us.