Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/85445
BUSINESS Using a high deductible to cut costs claim can significantly affect your monthly premium. For something as simple and low-risk as home insur- If you haven't looked closely at your insur- ance deductibles, you could be missing an opportunity for savings. Whether it's a trucking- related or personal policy, that front-end amount you pay on a move trucking-related policies to one provider if the price is right. Likewise, home and auto. Review your truck value. If it's depreciated enough since your last appraisal, it might be time to change coverage. Review your operation. If freight, lanes or type of trailer have changed in significant ways, you might need more or less coverage. See if you qualify for a discount. Accident-free oper- ation or other factors might merit a lower premium. Shop around. Check competitive prices, especially if you bought insurance through your carrier because it was convenient at the time. ance, you might be comfortable with the largest deduct- ible and lowest premium. Trucking can be more complicated, especially if you're an independent. One bad wreck could mean you've got to cover cargo and damage deductibles, as well as costs such as downtime and legal fees. Make sure your overall protection, including your normal level of emergency cash for meeting deductibles, is such that finances will not prevent you from getting back on the road as soon as possible after an accident. Here are other ways to save on insurance: Bundle policies for a discount. If you haven't already, GAUGES For the first time since January, all three segments saw a decline in July on the heels of a month in which dry van topped $2 a mile for the first time since load-matching service Internet Truckstop began keeping records in 2005. Flatbed dropped just a nickel, but reefer dropped 18 cents and dry van rates dropped 15 cents, possibly in response to July's lower fuel prices after the spring's diesel price spike. DRY VAN $2.50 $2.25 $2.00 $1.75 $1.50 July 2010 July 2011 July 2012 most DEF availability Diesel exhaust fluid — the key to the selective catalytic reduc- tion systems found on most trucks built since 2010 — is steadi- ly making its way to fuel islands nationwide. In a list, published this spring in research firm Integer's DEF Tracker, Texas had the most locations, 54, with Indiana and Illinois as the runners- up, with 32 and 26, respec- tively. The highest and lowest average price per gallon by state: Texas leads as state with DON'T OVERLOOK COST OF TRUCK WASH If you wash your truck at home, you can claim the cost of household water and detergent for washing the truck as a business expense at tax time. Be sure to document the date and time. If you use commercial truck stop washes, that cost is deductible as well. This tip comes from the 2012 Partners in Business manual, produced by Overdrive and the consultants at ATBS (atbsshow.com). The program is sponsored by Shell Lubricants, Ryder System and Bridgestone Bandag Tire Solutions. See OverdriveOnline.com/pib for information. 22 | Overdrive | September 2012 Fleet loyalty 2 4-5 6-7 9% 11% 3 Though some owner-operators change leases more than 10 times in their career, many are not so quick to jump from carrier to car- rier, says a 2011 University of How many different carriers have you contracted with as an independent contractor? 2 17% 15% 22% 25% 1 8+ Arkansas report. During the five years prior to the report's forma- tion, 75 percent of respondents had been leased with just one or two carriers. FLATBED REEFER Rising rates reverse in July West Virginia $2.64 Maine $2.99