Does a Trucking Company Owner Have to Be Listed on the Insurance?
Updated: 16 hours ago
A trucking company owner may need to be listed as a driver on the insurance even if they don't actually drive.
The biggest factors are whether the owner can legally drive the truck and the insurance company's requirements.
This can become a serious issue when an owner has a new CDL, a bad driving record, a suspension, or another license problem. In some cases, the owner's license can affect which insurance companies will accept the entire trucking account.
Prefer to watch? Here's my quick video on a common non-CDL insurance issue:
CDL Truck and the Owner Has a CDL
If the truck requires a CDL and the owner has a CDL, most of the insurance companies I work with will want the owner listed as a driver unless they specifically allow us to exclude them.
The owner may have hired drivers and genuinely have no intention of driving. But because they have a CDL, they can legally operate the truck.
That's why simply saying “I don't drive” doesn't necessarily mean I can leave the owner off.
If that owner doesn't meet an insurance company's driver requirements, it can become an issue for the entire account.
CDL Truck and the Owner Does Not Have a CDL
This is usually much easier.
If the truck requires a CDL but the owner only has a regular driver's license, they can't legally drive the truck.
In most cases I deal with, I can provide the underwriter with a copy of the owner's regular driver's license to show that the owner doesn't have a CDL and isn't a driver.
There are exceptions. I've come across insurance companies that require all owners to be listed as drivers regardless.
If the owner doesn't have a CDL, I can't list them as a driver of a CDL-required truck just to satisfy that requirement. That particular insurance company may simply not be an option for the account.
What About a Non-CDL Truck?
With a non-CDL truck, an owner with a valid regular driver's license can legally drive the vehicle.
Even if the owner has hired drivers and doesn't plan to drive, the insurance company may still require the owner to be listed or specifically excluded.
That's an important difference between a non-driving owner who can't legally operate the company's truck and one who can. It can affect how I structure and shop the company's Primary Auto Liability Insurance.
A Real Account I'm Working on Right Now
I'm currently working on an account where the owner doesn't drive. He has hired drivers operating the trucks.
But he got his CDL about a month ago.
That new CDL became a problem with the insurance companies I approached. Even though he wasn't going to drive, I couldn't simply leave him off. In this particular case, his lack of CDL experience eliminated the regular insurance options I had available.
I ultimately had to place the auto coverage through the New York Automobile Insurance Plan.
This is specific to this account. It doesn't mean every trucking company owner with a new CDL will have the same problem.
But it's a good example of something trucking company owners often don't realize: a driver's license can affect the company's insurance even when the owner isn't the person driving the truck.
Why This Matters Before You Shop for Insurance
If you're a trucking company owner who doesn't drive, your license can still matter.
If you have a CDL, tell me how long you've had it and whether there's anything on your driving record I need to know about.
If you don't have a CDL and your trucks require one, that may actually make the situation easier because we can show that you aren't legally able to drive the equipment.
And if you're running non-CDL trucks, don't assume you can automatically be left off just because you've hired someone else to drive.
The way the owner needs to be handled depends on the truck, the owner's license, and the insurance company I'm approaching. If you're preparing to shop an account, my guide to getting a commercial truck insurance quote explains the other information I typically need to get started.
How Can Alex Help?
If you own a trucking company but don't drive, I can determine how your license needs to be handled when I'm shopping your insurance.
If there's a new CDL, a driving-record issue, or another complication, I'd rather address it from the beginning than find out after we've already started quoting the account.
Related Resources
Insurance company requirements vary. Whether a non-driving owner must be listed, can be excluded, or affects eligibility depends on the insurance company and the specific account.
Comments