About Car Transport Insurance

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        In the case that your car is damaged during transit, you will need to file a claim. The kind of insurance that is protecting your car during the transport will affect how you submit this claim. 

           Carrier responsibility is a bit limited in some ways. Their policy will cover instances where there is an accident based on the value of your car at the time that it was put on the trailer. Acts of God will not be covered such as weather events or things like earthquakes. Other items that will not be covered are terrorism events or accidents that occur due to civil unrest.

          In all cases that your car is damaged while with a carrier, you should be able to reach out to the carrier and start a claim. The coverage for most carriers is around $350,000 of cargo insurance and $1,000,000 of liability insurance. The carrier and their insurance entity should handle your claim, but your own personal auto policy might have to be involved as well in some instances.

         In the case that a broker has extended insurance for your car transport needs, you will have a different process than when dealing directly with the carrier for your claim. Brokers are supposed to make sure that the carriers that they work with have proper insurance, but this may not always be the case.

       As stated above, carriers will have around $350,000 of coverage for losses to the car itself. However, a broker might also add some supplemental coverage in rare instances. This will almost always be secondary insurance to the carrier’s insurance. Besides, you need to be aware that the carrier’s policy is the primary coverage for the accident and losses associated with it.

      You can see that broker insurance might be both beneficial and not helpful to you if the carrier that you are transporting your vehicle with is not properly insured. Trusting a broker to vet carriers can be a time-saver. Nevertheless, you might also find in some instances, that the insurance part of their vetting process was not done correctly.

    You should never skip this step when you are working with a vehicle transport company. Companies who do this kind of work should be able to provide a valid certificate that states what their coverage is and which company it is through. You will need this information if you need to file a claim. Thus, having it on hand takes care of two birds with one stone.

    Handshake deals and verbal agreements are never a good idea. You should always make sure that the insurance information that you were quoted is listed and detailed in your contract. Do not sign anything that does not include insurance information. 

      This is the process that the car transport company does before they take over control of your vehicle. They will look at any existing damage to your vehicle and note it in their documentation. You can also take pictures of your vehicle before the company takes it from you. This is so that you can prove the condition of the vehicle before it was transported if need be. 

     This is the condition report you’re given when you get your car at the end of the transport process. You should make sure that you look your car over thoroughly before you sign off on this bill of lading. Any damage to the engine, undercarriage, interior, paint or other parts of your car that was not present when you handed your car off to the transport company will need to be addressed before you sign anything. You will include the damage that you see on the bill of lading. Also, you can call the transport carrier or broker to determine how you can get reimbursed for these damages.

Be careful not to sign off on a bill of lading if you aren’t sure that your vehicle is in the condition that you handed it over to the company. You will not be able to seek reimbursement after a signed bill of lading that does not mention damages.