Question
Connie, recently there have been rumors of carriers under insuring their fleet and charging drivers "X" amount of dollars to drive for them.
My question, does a carrier have to specify to the insurance agent how large the fleet is that is covered by Part 387 with the $750K, $1M, or $5M?
My opinion is the carrier would have to specify the size of the fleet, otherwise the insurance premium for the required levels of finacial responsibility would be the same for all carriers.
Would you as an insurance agent issue a blanket 91X to the FHWA stating a fleet was covered regardless of the size of the fleet?
Do you require small fleet carriers to supply VIN's and notify you of vehicles bought or sold? Or are policies sold in stages? i.e. 1-5 trucks, 6-10 tucks, 11-15 trucks, etc?
I may call you on Tuesday 12/26/2001 to chat a while and verify the facts. But any feed back would be greatly appreciated.
Keep the faith.
Mike
Answer
Mike,
I'm going to try to answer your questions here for all to benefit, but some of these require a more detailed explanation which may be best if we discuss in a telephone conversation.
1. The motor carrier should be telling the insurance agent an accurate count with regards to fleet. This can help the agent in determining the best means in calculating premium, ie: scheduled vehicle, gross receipts or mileage.
2. Most agents do not issue the BMC91x, that's usually done by the insurance company, however I personally would not order a BMC91X without knowing the size of the fleet nor would I misrepresent the exposure to the insurance company in order to get the form issued.
3. The insurance companies we work with are supplied VIN's whenever we write a policy. The purposes of Physical Damage all my clients supply the information willingly and notify our office immediately of any changes.
Please feel free to give me a call, as I should be in the majority of the day doing some "catch up".
Happy Holidays!
Connie
Answer
Mike
Nice talking with you yesterday. Hope the info helped. I'll be anxious to see what you come up with on this sensitive issue.
Regards,
Connie