The Cost of Farm Truck and Semi Tractor Insurance

Depending on your farm’s activities, you may use several commercial vehicles. You could have grain trucks, semi-tractors, or even pick-up trucks for hauling goods and materials, delivering products, or other business tasks. What would you do without these assets? Farm semi-tractor insurance or a commercial vehicle policy for farm vehicles is imperative to ensure your trucks, grain trucks, semis, and more are protected should anything go wrong.

Some of the most popular concerns when it comes to insuring a farm and its assets is the cost. There are enough costs already associated with operating a farm, so it makes sense that one of the most common questions about farm truck insurance is, “What does it cost?” Unfortunately, there’s no one clear answer to that question, as every farm has a different number of commercial vehicles: semis and trucks. Additionally, they all have different values, usage, make, and model.

The best way to gauge how much you will pay for your farm truck insurance is to call on a farm insurance professional at Hitchings Insurance Agency for a quote. Like other insurance products, farm vehicle insurance is based on the individual variables of the thing being insured. In this blog post, we will go over farm truck insurance pricing factors and some examples of average costs.

Farm Truck Insurance Price Factors: What Affects the Cost?

Similar to a personal auto policy, your farm semi-tractor insurance or commercial vehicle coverage is priced differently depending on a broad range of variables. Note that while it isn’t mandatory for some machinery to carry liability, farm trucks and semis are required to have this coverage according to state law. Comprehensive and collision are optional but depending on your farm’s needs it is still worth discussing the purchase of these coverages to protect your vehicles and assets.

Your insurance company may charge you differently based on the following:

• Your deductible amount: A higher deductible may reward you with lower insurance premiums. For example, you may qualify for a slight premium discount by raising your original $250 deductible to $500 or $1,000.
• Your driving record: Insurers may look at your driving record to assess how likely you are to make a claim in the future. This includes any employees who may be driving your farm vehicles. The more violations you have on your record, including speeding tickets, and collisions, the higher your premiums may be.
• Your insurance history: You may pay more for your farm vehicle insurance if you have made many claims in the past.
• Vehicle usage: Where do you drive your vehicles? Are your vehicles used to haul anything? What is being hauled – crops, materials, goods? How often are the vehicles used?
• Vehicle make, model, type: The overall value of your vehicle will play a huge factor in its insurance pricing. Is it a semi? A pickup? A grain truck? Tractor? What’s the model and make? What year is it?
• Vehicle number: Often, farms may utilize several commercial vehicles. You will need to include all the commercial vehicles you want to be insured, as well as their individual details.

Average Pricing for Farm Truck Insurance

Commercial vehicles on the farm have a broad range when it comes to usage, make, model, and value. Farms may have semis, pickups, hauling trailers, and grain trucks. It can be difficult to gauge an average for pricing farm truck insurance simply because there are so many different variables. Listed below are some specific examples of pricing for the liability component (which is mandatory in most states) and separate optional comprehensive/collision coverage for farm vehicles.

Liability

Liability is a must-have purchase if your farm vehicles are being driven on public roads. Many states will have minimum coverages, but it is generally recommended you purchase at least $1,000,000 coverage to protect your assets in the event of a lawsuit.

• As an example, a semi-truck – valued at around $80,000 brand-new that is currently 25 years old, and a trailer, valued at $25,000 brand new and is currently 18 years old – may cost about $800 to $1000 per year in liability coverage that caps at $1 million.
  • A semi-tractor that is similar in price and age but only has $500,000 in liability coverage may cost between $600 to $700 per year.
• A pick-up truck that is 3 years old, valued at around $50,000 to 55,000 may cost about $200-400 per year for $1 million of liability coverage.
• Take a grain truck that is valued at $50,000 and is around 20 years old. A maximum of $1,000,000 liability coverage may range from $150 to $400 per year with an additional $100 for underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage. 
• If hauling commodities for hire/for profit, the cost of the insurance does increase. If you haul for others you’ll want to get in touch with your agent, as the requirements for insurance can be much different than a standard farm auto policy. There are certain state and federal filings that could apply, along with specific commercial trucking coverages that need to be considered.

For public-road vehicles, any of your farm vehicles (such as semis and pick-up trucks) that will be driven off the farm will require liability coverage.

Comprehensive & Collision

Collision and comprehensive coverage are optional, but highly recommended provided the high value of most farm vehicles. Comprehensive coverage may protect your farm vehicles from damages due to perils such as hailstorms, fire, lightning, and falling objects, Collision coverage includes damages due to collisions with another vehicle or a stationary object. Below are some examples of what pricing may look like for collision and comprehensive coverage:

• The same semi and trailer in the above example may cost about $150 to $200 per year in comprehensive coverage. Collision coverage may be around $300.
  • Comprehensive for a similarly valued semi may cost about $150 per year. Its collision may range from $300 to 400.
• The same pickup truck as in the above example may cost about $85 to $100 per year in comprehensive coverage and $200 to $250 per year in collision coverage.
• The grain truck as detailed in the previous example may cost about $10 to $50 per year in comprehensive coverage and $25 to $50 per year in collision coverage.

In total, you may expect to pay between $350 to $1500 for a single commercial farm vehicle with a policy that covered liability, personal injury, uninsured/underinsured motorists, comprehensive, and collision.

The total price per semi-tractor used for hire/trucking could range from $2,000 to $3,500 per year depending on driving record, commodities hauled, and required forms that need to be compliant with the state and federal agencies.

The bottom line? Your farm semi-tractors and vehicles are worth far more overall than they would take to insure, even if the added cost is a concern of yours. For ways to save or further detail on what impacts the cost of your farm truck insurance, consult with a farm insurance professional at Hitchings Insurance Agency.