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Do I Need Special Insurance if I Use an Auto Shipping Service?

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Home  |  Car Transport   |   Do I Need Special Insurance if I Use an Auto Shipping Service?

Your vehicle is a valuable asset, so you want to make sure it is protected during shipment. Although it is not common, accidents can and do happen from time to time. That’s why it’s important to make sure your vehicle is properly insured when you are shipping it from one place to another. The last thing you want to deal with is costly expenses due to lack of insurance.  Although the industry standard insurance provided by most auto shippers will cover your vehicle against damage and theft by the transport company, there may be some exclusions. Here are a few things you should know to ensure your car is protected from any potential issues. 

What Insurance Do Shipping Companies Provide?

Auto shipping companies are required by law to have insurance coverage for the cars they transport. Most companies have liability and cargo insurance, meaning any damage would be covered that occurred during transit. However, it should be noted that this insurance only covers the vehicle itself, and not anything inside the vehicle. This is why you should always remove personal belongings from your vehicle prior to shipment. Furthermore, you should always ask the shipping company for proof of insurance and always get any special agreements in writing. 

How Much Coverage is Provided?

Although auto shipping companies are required to have insurance coverage, the amount of this coverage varies depending on the company. This is something you need to inquire about when choosing a shipping company. In some cases, the total coverage amount for your vehicle is based on the lowest Kelly Blue Book value, so additional coverage may be needed. A few questions to ask the shipping company include: What type of damage is covered? Is there a deductible? What is the limit of your coverage? Is there an option to purchase additional insurance? You should also be aware of any limitations to the policy provided by the shipping company such as “acts of god” including earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, etc. 

Does My Own Auto Insurance Cover Shipment?

Depending on your policy, your own auto insurance company may cover your vehicle while it is in transport. Be sure to inquire with your insurance company about your coverage plan and whether or not you need to supply them with any form of notification from the auto shipping company. 

Auto shipping insurance is fairly standard in the industry and should be provided by any reputable auto transport company. Just be sure and find out all of the insurance information prior to shipment and make sure to get a copy of their coverage plan. In the unlikely event that your vehicle does sustain damage during transport, be sure and document it immediately upon pickup and file a claim as soon as possible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Honest Answers to Your Car Shipping Questions

Yes, we always ask for your specific pickup and delivery addresses, if the carrier can get right to the addresses you provide, they will. If the addresses that you give us are not safely accessible for a Multi-car carrier, however, you will need to make arrangements with the driver to meet at a nearby location where the carrier can safely get in and out.

People do it all the time (rarely for free) but the official answer is no.

Not what you wanted to hear, we know, but that is the honest answer.

We are not licensed to broker the shipment of household goods and, likewise, no car carrier that operates in the USA is licensed to transport them from state to state either. Despite what you might be being told by other car shipping companies you may speak with.

Remember, at the end of the day we're all salespeople, and the true answer to this question is not a great selling point.

You will hear a lot of companies tell you that you can put up to 100 pounds of items in the trunk, but that is not entirely true. That fact is that items of that amount are fairly common and the department of transportation is probably not going to split hairs and fine the trucker over items of that amount, provided they are not over their weight limit. They could fine them, however, if they see a vehicle stuffed full of personal items so the car carrier will most likely try to negotiate something with you to cover themselves against any costs they could incur. It's not something we can build into your contract though.

We have a short and helpful video on this topic in our user videos.

Only in rare cases and car carriers will usually charge a premium to make it happen.

All dates given by car carriers are typically estimates and projections.

For this reason (and to keep your cost down) we ask that you build in some flexibility and give us the earliest possible date you would be WILLING to release the vehicle, even though it may not be your preferred date.

We'll put you in direct contact with your car carrier and the driver will also typically call you the afternoon or evening before your pick up and delivery (they won't just show up unannounced, and if they do we want to hear about it). However, car carriers are out on the road battling traffic, weather and any number of other factors that can and do throw them off of their pickup and delivery projections from time to time.

If the projected dates we give you come and you are unable to make contact with your carrier, please call our office immediately so that we may help resolve the situation.

The average transit time from pick up to delivery on any vehicle going coast to coast will average 7 to 10 days. From there you can figure your transit time based on how far your vehicle is traveling, i.e. from either coast to the Midwest might average 3-7 days.

Yes!

Even better, we do not even ask for payment until we have you confirmed for pickup by a safe, reliable, fully insured, direct car carrier. If for any reason you do not ship your car with the carrier that we arrange for you, there is no fee.

The fees paid directly to the carrier however, (in most cases, their fees are not paid until your vehicle is delivered) are not directly controlled by us, so any requests for a refund of the carrier's portion would need to be addressed with the carrier directly.

Of course! And you are always backed by our Damage Free Guarantee policy.

Part of what you pay us for is to verify that the car carrier that we put you on is covered by the proper amount of insurance and that everything is up to date.

There is never any additional cost to you for this coverage, and their insurance is always primary.

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