Free Quote

Trucking Driver Requirements

May 10, 2023   |   Posted by: Admin

Trucking Insurance Driver Requirements

Why is it so hard to find a driver for my trucking business? It seems like every driver I send into my underwriter; they say no, or they want a ton of premium. What’s going on? I’m Jeff Blichfeldt, president, and founder, Inspirion Insurance Solutions. And I’ve got a little bit of information for you on trucking requirements.

So, for most trucking companies, the insurance carriers have some requirements for their drivers and it really is for good reason because these are big, heavy machines and they can do a lot of damage if not driven properly. What the carriers typically are looking for is drivers that are the age of 23 to 72. Now you may find some carriers will go a little below 23 or a little above 23, maybe to 25, and the same thing on the other side. They might go down from 72 to 65, but generally we see 23 to 72 and the closer you get to the edges 23 or 72, then you could be looking at a little bit of additional premium by adding those drivers.

The second thing is they want drivers with at least two years of class A experience. The reason for this is that unfortunately, inexperienced drivers cause most of the claims and they cause the larger claims. When you think about it, somebody a little bit inexperienced is behind the wheel, there’s a sudden situation and they don’t know how to react because they don’t have the experience and they react incorrectly.  It can cause more injury or more damage. So, you want to find drivers with at least two years’ experience.

You will be required to have an MVR report.  Our agency runs MVR’s for our trucking companies and we can tell you right away whether this is going to be a fit or not. Carriers want drivers with US state-based driver’s licenses, and they require CDL physicals or medical exams to make sure that the drivers are physically fit to drive these machines.

Here are some of the other things involved in the MVR criteria. They are looking for MVR reports that are as clean as possible. Some limitations are they want no more than two moving violations in the last three years, or no more than one accident and one moving violation in the last three years. Mobile phone violations are considered moving violations. They want no alcohol or drug related violations as those are going to be considered major and will be an automatic decline. Even if you have a DUI or something like that, beyond five years, there’s still may be, some underwriting approval and or additional premium due.

Some of the other major violations that they do not allow in the last three years are:

  • Reckless driving,
  • Speeding more than 25 miles an hour over the limit,
  • Any conviction for driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license,
  • Leaving the scene of an accident or hit and run,
  • Using a motor vehicle in the commission a felony
  • Negligent homicide or manslaughter in the commission of a vehicle.

These are some of the things that the trucking insurance carriers look at. Typically if the MVR looks pretty clean and the driver is within the age range, they are going to get approved with no additional premium. If the driver is right around the minimum age or below the minimum age, maybe it’s 22 with all the other things fitting, then they might be approved with underwriting approval, but there will probably be some additional premium. Hopefully this helps.

If you have any questions, we’d love to answer them for you.

Inspirion Trucking Services

www.itstruckinginsurance.com

(844) 558-7825

 

Inspirion Insurance Solutions

www.iisnv.com

(702) 979-3299