Smart Haul is a discount program Progressive offers that used the ELD in your truck or can provide one to you that offers an initial 5% discount and can go up to 18% for the year! You're probably already using an ELD but not taking advantage of savings for the behavior you are ALREADY doing. 

Often Radius of Operations is listed for much more than you are actually driving. I had a client recently listed at a 500-mile radius and he was actually only driving 250. So we adjusted that on his policy and were able to lower his premium. When new ventures are starting, Progressive may list your radius at 500 miles or unlimited. Make sure to check your radius of operations each year as often in the early years you are adjusting your brokers and business which can lead to overpaying for insurance if your radius isn't accurate.

Progressive offers a Prior Insurance Discount which many don't think about as they are getting trucking insurance for the first time. With that said, what many don't know is that you can use your personal auto insurance as proof of prior insurance to get this discount. Check to see if this discount is applied and ask if you can take advantage of it.

This point is simply to make sure you have your vehicle value properly listed as that can impact pricing. Costs for vehicles may vary and if you don't clarify the details/cost of the truck you could end up with the Progressive policy listing it for too much or too little. This can result in overpaying premiums or limiting your protection in a claims scenario. Check the value of your trucks and trailers to make sure they are accurate.

The last point deals more with proper Risk Management as opposed to just looking at pure premiums. What I teach clients is to consider the long-term impact of claims and not just the premium of today. For example, if a client has a $3500 claim and files it on their policy which has a $1000 deductible, you will have $2500 of the claim covered by the insurance company, but what many don't think through is how will that claim impact premiums for the following 3-5 years. Often the increase in premiums due to the claim for the coming years is much more than $2500. It doesn't mean you always increase deductibles but it does mean you should have a conversation with your agent about what your claims strategy will be regarding cash reserves, deductibles for all lines of coverage, and what your process will be when you encounter a claims scenario and have to determine how you will proceed. 

This Article was Written by  Stewart Hudspeth, Commercial Lines Insurance Advisor at Advisors Insurance Agency