Modernizing insurance will keep small fleets’ wheels turning

CarrierHQ offers flexible insurance tools to help smaller operations thrive under California’s AB5 legislation

(Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)

One aspect of the transportation industry still stubbornly against digital transformation is insurance. To acquire insurance, carriers often endure a traditional procurement cycle that requires extensive back and forth for providing loss runs. Partly because of the 300% spike in nuclear verdicts, insurance rates for small fleets have doubled over the past few years.

On Friday’s episode of WHAT THE TRUCK?!?, Scott Prince, CEO of trucking insurance-tech company CarrierHQ, shared how his company is modernizing the whole insurance process to help smaller carriers with one to 20 trucks, a segment that makes up 97% of America’s trucking industry.

“Our small fleet program we co-developed with Aon is the trucking industry’s first small-fleet, safe-driving adjustable-rate trucking insurance where if you drive safely, your rates could go down up to 30% monthly in-term,” said Prince. “We also offer qualifying customers a no-money-down insurance option.”

CarrierHQ launched its insurance portal in 2020 and has seen its customers add power units steadily over the past year-and-a-half. But as trucking companies based or active in California face the oppressive realities of California’s AB5 legislation on the hiring of independent owner-operators, Prince thinks CarrierHQ has the tools to keep the wheels turning for small fleets. 

“We help small fleets get started down the path to their own operating authority,” said Prince. “Our services are flexible enough to help fleets looking to move independent contractors to their own authorities as part of a broker carrier approach to complying with AB5. Since day one, we’ve been helping new fleets form their company and get what’s needed, so they can get off and running on a good financial foot with a good solid partner.”

Feedback from customers thus far has been overwhelmingly positive, especially when safe driving can take 30% off insurance rates within a 12 month initial term. As Prince said in the interview ⁠— cash flow is king ⁠— and at a time when the industry needs more drivers and fleets, CarrierHQ enables small fleets to save money and increase profits more quickly.

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Corrie White

Corrie is fascinated how the supply chain is simultaneously ubiquitous and invisible. She covers freight technology, cross-border freight and the effects of consumer behavior on the freight industry. Alongside writing about transportation, her poetry has been published widely in literary magazines. She holds degrees in English and Creative Writing from UNC Chapel Hill and UNC Greensboro.