Truck Talk: Combined Deductibles
The Fall is a busy season for many truckers. In addition to hauling more goods, it is also a common time for insurance renewals. For this month's truck talk, I asked Abby about a topic she has been discussing with her clients during this renewals season. Below is a short interview with Abby in which she gives insights into combined deductibles, which is one way drivers could save money should they have a claim, by reducing the number of deductibles to just one.
Celia: You mentioned for the newsletter that you would like to discuss combined deductible.
Abby: One of the things about combined deductible that's so nice is… So, say that you get in an accident, and you have your truck, your trailer, and then you have your cargo; if all three of those are impacted by that accident, then some companies may charge you a deductible for each. One deductible for the truck, one deductible for the trailer, one deductible for the cargo. If that deductible is $1,000, then suddenly you're paying $3,000 in deductibles for this incident. Whereas with combined deductible, it's regardless of how many things are affected, whether it be cargo, truck, trailer, you're only going to pay one deductible.
Celia: I would imagine that the regular deductible way is probably pretty standard when it comes to insurance. And then, if you want the combined, that's an additional discussion.
Abby: Sometimes it's on the table, but people don't know about it. Some companies will automatically offer it. Whereas others, it's something you have to ask for, but your agent has to know to ask.
Celia: Why do some carriers not offer it upfront?
Abby: For some companies, there might be a charge for it, but the cost could be very minimal. But like with Progressive, it's just an automatic give. I always tell people about it because of one less thing where it's that much less out of your pocket. Then, instead of maybe having a $1,000 deductible, maybe they want to have a $2,500 deductible because of no longer envisioning that they're going to have to pay $7,500 out of their pocket if an incident occurs. It's only $2,500. Then they can have a higher deductible, more savings, and they know that regardless of how many things are impacted, it still, it's going to be $2,500.
Celia: If the company offers combined deductible, is there a chance that they get denied if they ask for it?
Abby: I've not had that happen before.
Celia: It sounds like you think this is something all truckers should know about. If you don't have combined deductible (but it's available from a lot of carriers) you should investigate because, in the case of a claim, it might save you a whole bunch of money.
Abby: Oh, it could save you thousands. I will say thousands because the common deductible that a lot of people will have nowadays is $1,000 for each the truck, trailer, and cargo. Well, if you get in an accident where all three are impacted, and there's a loss for all three, instead of you having to pay a total of $3,000, you only have to pay a $1,000 deductible.
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