Chartered bus insurance makes sense to ward off all business specific damages and liabilities and edge out competition, but only if you choose the covers prudently.
A chartered bus is a serious investment. It needs to be hedged against accidents and liabilities.
That’s why there is charter bus insurance. Should the bus be damaged, stolen or vandalized, the policy helps you to cope up with the losses, and get your business back on track.
The charter bus policies come in all shapes and sizes to meet all requirements.
Liability Insurance:
Accidents happen, and at times, due to your bus driver’s fault. Should that happen, you have to compensate for all the property damages and bodily injuries, and pay legal expenses if a lawsuit is filed. The expenses are hefty enough to push you out of business and expose your assets.
Here, liability insurance steps in. In fact, this cover is required to keep your charter bus on the road, as it’s mandatory across several states of the union. Here’s what it actually covers:
- Injury: if your charter bus rams into another vehicle causing bodily injury to people within it, the injury portion of the cover is applicable. It pays for treatment procedures, hospital stays, medications, rehabilitation, and recovery, along with lost salaries.
- Damages: Any vehicle or property that sustains damages due to your bus is restored to its former self through the Property Damage portion of the liability coverage.
Bus Damage Cover:
It’s for the bus itself. The insurer is supposed to pay repair and replacement costs without bothering about who’s responsible for the accident. The policy has three portions, including:
- Comprehensive Coverage: It’s for damages sustained by the bus in wake of non-collision accidents or natural calamity. Say, high winds or vandal teenagers caused harm to the bus or a tree fell over it, you’ll receive repair and replacement costs.
- Collision Coverage: As the name gives it away, the Collision Cover comes into play when the charter bus collides with another vehicle or object. All repair costs are included.
- Specified Peril (CAC): The non-collision perils that the bus is exposed to are covered. As the devil is in the details, go through the small print to know what’s exactly covered.
- Medical Cover: Irrespective of whose fault resulted in the accident, the medical cover pays for medical care of the bus driver and passengers sustaining injuries. However, it isn’t available across all locations.
- UMC: UMC (Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Cover) compensates for the damages and injuries borne by your bus and passenger if an uninsured or underinsured driver rams vehicle into your bus.
How to Edge Out competitors through chartered bus insurance?
Let’s face it. Bus accidents are on the rise, taking a toll on life and property. Everybody is getting mindful of it, even your clients. The clubs, leagues, schools, and organizations that count on charter buses are pressing hard for proper charter bus insurance coverage. You have to comply with their demands or else lose business to a more insurance-savvy competitor.
That calls for carefully picking your cover to meet your and your client’s requirements head-on. The liability cover is mandatory and you need it to stay in business. But, your clients will be interested in having a long and hard look at what your liability policy covers. They might insist on general liability insurance cover worth $5 million or more. Many even ask for an umbrella policy to ensure you can pay claims if damages exceed the liability insurance limit.
Bus damage cover is indispensable as well, not mandatory though. It’s more so if your chartered bus is either leased or has pending payments on it. The cover comes handy in getting the bus back into shape and on the road without feeling the financial strain. The Business Property Insurance shouldn’t fly under your radar either, as it safeguards each of your physical business premises and property. That includes garages, garaged buses, equipment, and more.
Your charter bus insurance portfolio is incomplete without the Workers’ compensation cover. Should any of your employees sustain injuries due to on-the-job accidents, the cover will pay for their medical services, hospital stays, rehabilitation and recovery, and lost salaries. In fact, it’s mandatory for bus operators to carry it in most states, including California.
Getting insured does not mean paying more than required for the appropriate covers. The thumb rule to save big on bus insurance is to research the market well, compare coverages and premiums, and choose wisely. Rais Insurance can help you transform your chartered bus into a competitive advantage with the best covers at best rates, backed by friendly, tailored service.
