From the Front Lines: Trucking

Why trucking?

It was a family thing. I started in trucking insurance because of my father; he started the Nationwide Testing Association, a drug and alcohol testing association. They’re one of the largest. When I came out of college, I started to help my parents, and of course, I had a lot of flexibility. I like trucking because I feel like I’m helping the truckers every day. I’m servicing people and helping people with something they have to have. I don’t feel like I’m out beating the pavement and selling something they don’t need.

Biggest trucking challenges?

There’s always change going on. I remember I would ask for a trucker’s license and they would pull out a string of them. They might have 20 or 30 from all over. That way, they were able to put their tickets and stuff on a different license, so their North Carolina license would always be clean and their insurance would cost less. Then commercial driver’s licenses came about in ’88, so they couldn’t do that anymore.

The challenges come from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and regulatory updates. There are a lot of changes with the government, and motor carriers have to abide by them. They have to have a lot of knowledge, and they’re busy running the truck, so they need someone who’s qualified—someone who understands their files and log books and behind-the-scenes stuff, like if they cross the state line.

Advice for a fellow trucking agent?

Know what the requirements are for these truckers. Know the stuff they have to deal with: fuel expense, mileage, how much it costs for them to run. We have a high profile on Google, so we get a lot of clients that come in that are starting new businesses. And that’s a struggle. Anytime you start, it takes a year or two to get off the ground because there are a lot of expenses. When they’re starting a trucking business, we need to educate them. They don’t realize how much stuff they need to know. A lot of times, financially, they think, “I’ve got a truck and I’m going to drive it.” Their insurance is going to run $10,000+ a year for each truck they have, and they don’t realize that a lot of times. I would tell agents they need to know what the trucking industry is about. Contact the FMCSA. Learn the rules and Department of Transportation requirements.

Future of trucking insurance?

I’ve been doing this for more than 35 years. We have to have truckers—they bring us produce and supplies from all over the country. We need them to move the commodities. I think we’re going to continue to see growth in that. However, the drivers are old school. A lot of the younger men and women are not saying they want to be a truck driver when they grow up.

I hope trucks don’t become driverless. Maybe I’m old school, but I hope not. If I have a big truck behind me, I want to make sure there’s a driver in that seat. I want to make sure they’re awake and alert and knows what’s going on.

Favorite success story?

We’ve written truckers and had their insurance from the time I was just out of college until they passed away. We had them for a long time, and I think that comes from being able to know their business. They’re on the road, and they trust us to take care of that. So I’ve got a lot of clients who trust me. They call me at Christmastime. They become your friends and working partners. It’s not like they just call when they need something. They depend on us to take care of their insurance.