No matter how experienced you may be, every business comes with certain risks, and this especially refers to people who are dealing with tow trucks every single day. One of the reasons why people obtain tow truck insurance is precisely because of this.
They simply seek every form of protection they can get whenever something bad and unexpected happens. If you are new to this and relatively inexperienced, it’s of huge relevance to get yourself familiar with everything and know what you are up against.
There are numerous risks that can strike you if you’re working in the tow truck industry. To help you get a clearer picture of potential risks that you may stumble upon, we’ve rounded up a couple of important things you simply must know.
Common Tow Truck Risks
You And Your Drivers May Have An Accident
Everyone knows that being careful while you’re on the road is of extreme relevance, however, since you or your drivers are constantly driving, you can never predict what is going to happen. So what if you or one of your co-workers gets into an accident?
You might injure a person, and you could potentially cause some pretty serious damage because at the end of the day a tow truck is quite a large vehicle. So if this occurs, you are going to be the one who is responsible.
What happens next then? You will have to take care of the costs of other driver’s medical expenses, along with vehicle repairs. And keep in mind that the driver can also sue you, and then you will have to think about other legal costs too.
When you put things this way, it seems like a vicious, never-ending circle. If all this information seems a bit too much and scary, then you should maybe consider having auto liability insurance. If you’re not sure how it works, you can always check out this guide to coverage from Balsiger Insurance to get more details. Here you will get thorough info regarding this topic, but to sum it up, this type of insurance is going to help you cover all legal duties to the other driver.
Property Exposures
If your company refuels or fixes vehicles, then the property exposure is extremely high. Many risks are typically associated with fires, as there are a plethora of things that might be prone to burning.
For instance, flammable liquids, such as diesel and gas are perceived as a potential threat. On the other hand, activities like welding can also cause serious risks. Why is that? Well, it’s because the high level of heat can cause a fire. So, are there any solutions for this? Here’s how you can decrease property exposures:
- Have divided areas for any form of liquid that is susceptible to fire and repair work that includes a lot of heat, such as welding.
- Make sure you have a secured, ventilated booth intended for spray-painting
- Ensure that your underground fuel tanks are properly maintained. If they have any issues, fix them.
- Continuously remind yourself of all the potential fire risks that can arrive straight from the stored stuff that belongs to your clients.
- Make sure the area is clean, clear, and relatively easy to navigate in case something bad happens. Firefighters need everything to be spotless so they can act fast and efficiently.
More Dangers Truck Business Can Experience
Premises Risk Exposures
Fortunately, in this case, the risk of something bad happening is pretty low since people typically aren’t allowed to be on your property. On the other hand, off-premises dangers are normally lined with the utilization of the trucks. So how can you avoid any premises liability exposures?
- Put a fence around your area
- Have a plethora of open-air lighting
Your Truck Could Get Stolen Or Ruined
Generally speaking, wreckers and trucks are anything but cheap. They can be very expensive actually. And if anything occurs to your vehicle, it would be an issue because you rely on it to keep the business running the way it’s supposed to.
Physical damage insurance can help you fix the problem quickly if it’s damaged because comprehensive damage and collision are part of the damage insurance. So how can it help you?
- Collision coverage can either replace or fix your vehicle if you’ve experienced an accident or you collided with something else, such as a telephone pole.
- Comprehensive insurance is going to cover all your losses that are not caused by an accident or a collision, such as vandalism, falling objects like trees, fire, and theft.
Crime Exposures
One of the most common exposures of this type is worker dishonesty, which is when one of your co-workers steals from your company, or even from your clients. Securities, as well as cash, are also perceived as exposures since they can also be stolen. How can you reduce it?
- Make sure to have all background checks on your workers, especially the ones who are dealing with cash. Look into their criminal records too.
- Have different employees supervise various tasks such as ordering supplies, deposits, billing, etc. All these activities revolve around money.
- It’s of huge relevance to hold consistent external and internal audits.
Natural Hindrance Exposure
The environment and fuel are not exactly the best combination in the world, therefore, ecological disability exposures can happen frequently as a result of underground stockpiling sections used for either diesel or gas.
Client’s Car Is Ruined While You’re Towing It
So what if you’re towing a vehicle and something occurs to his or her automobile while you are towing it? For instance, if you are towing a vehicle and you have an accident that causes a client’s car to get wrecked.
Who is responsible for that? Unfortunately, the answer is you. Why is that? It’s because you didn’t do everything to ensure that the automobile is protected while it is hooked to your tow truck.
As we mentioned at the beginning there are a lot of dangers that a towing company can come across on a daily basis. Hence, it’s important to understand what you’re going into. That’s why it would be recommendable to read all these facts carefully to prepare yourself for potential negative occurrences.
