Another one of those reality checks.
That is the exposure many truck owners take. Case in point, we had a truck two years ago that T- boned a drunk in Michigan which is a no fault state. Not only drunk enough, but had the bottle he was drinking out of on the front seat.
So follow along with me.
We have Progressive and have extra (actually the max daily allotment of 175 per day). I believe that comes in 150 and 125 per day with 5k set as the maximum payout.
Truck was down for over a month. Had another wreck where the front and sleeper were damaged in a Pilot and took over two months to repair. Of course one of those when our drivers were sleeping.
Insurance was paid on repairs, but no loss of income was recovered in those two instances except for the 5k from Progressive.
Don't assume you can always collect that lost income. Since Michigan is a no fault state, you can sue the drunk civilly. For what? Another possibly full fifth of whiskey? Same with the other. But pricey. Figure 10k for starters to chase someone out of state. And they of course have to have something to collect. Winning a judgement is much different than collecting on it. Most insurance companies will gamble you won't put the 10k to 15k up to chase it.
And no, lawyers don't do it for free. You have to put the money up as a retainer and they draw against it for your case.
CIS does a great job but they have their limitations of what they can do and chase. Insurance carrier aren't keen on spending on subrogation cases that is high risk for them to collect on your behalf. Just a reality.
Of major importance. Don't assume a agency or insurance company can collect loss income on your behalf. Once your insurance has collected their loss, you are essentially on your own in most cases. Ask me how I know. lol
My attorneys, basically my everything.
I preach this a lot. When this happens, know your real exposure. Especially if a single truck operator. A fleet owner with numerous trucks is positioned differently as they have a continuous revenue stream from other trucks so the impact is different.
Where am I going with this?
Imagine the above and you have say things like truck payments and bills at home. What happens if your truck is down for several months or longer? That 175 a day up to 5k might cover your truck costs (well maybe not if fairly new and there are payments)) as they keep coming even on a wrecked truck, but what about anything else? Bills at home, insurance and carrier costs, hotels, insurance deductible, travel to and from truck and the list goes on. Can you hire a attorney in addition to those expenses? Just a few thoughts to ponder. Many of truck owners have crashed and burned under these scenarios. Almost like a truck with constant regen issues.