As a car owner, the insurance coverage during the transit is one of the major concerns when you decide to ship your car Is insurance valid during the entire journey. It doesn’t matter if the car being shipped is a luxury vehicle, a classic car, or your usual ride, it is essential that your vehicle stay safe during the shipping process. However, is the insurance effective throughout the whole shipping process?
This article is an insurance guide during the car shipping process, explaining what coverage is available and the precautions that need to be taken to ensure that your vehicle is safe from pickup to delivery.
Understanding Car Shipping Insurance
Insurance is a very important package in the whole transportation of the car. It is usually the shipping company that gives the insurance, however, the extent of the coverage and what it includes can be different depending on the service and the type of transport you choose.
Types of Car Shipping Insurance
There are two main types of insurance that typically cover a vehicle when it is shipped:
Carrier Insurance: This is the minimal insurance that comes with the shipping company as a standard. In it, the car is secured against damage or theft while it is in the transport phase.
Additional Coverage: There is also an option for you to take out a supplementary policy on your car in situations, say, of a luxury car; then the idea is to make sure the car is covered for its full value.
What Are the Coverages of Carrier Insurance?
The typical insurance for carriers usually cover the following:
Damage to the Vehicle: The damage to the vehicle that led to the transit is included in the coverage, no matter if that damage is the result of an accident, solid wastes on the road, or the vehicles handling during loading or unloading.
Theft or Vandalism: In case of theft or deliberate damage of your vehicle while the shipping company holds it, carrier insurance normally takes care of that too.
Limits of Carrier Insurance
Though carrier insurance provides security, it is not a complete guarantee in all cases. Most standard policies come with particular limitations, for instance:
Coverage Limits: The insurance may go only part of the way to cover the car, if it is a high-end luxury or a specially made vehicle.
Exclusions: A few things like the personal treasures of the car or letting the car be damaged further because of the old problem may not be able to be covered by the insurance.
It is always good to start by knowing how much your car is worth and then seeing if the basic insurance is enough or not, in order to be fully covered.
Will The Insurance Cover You From Start To Finish?
After you get to know the usual coverage from the insurance, it is also very essential to clarify the biggest doubt: Is the insurance the whole trip?
Continuous Coverage from Pickup to Delivery
In most cases, insurance is responsible for your car from the hours of the vehicle’s pickup until it is handed to you. The insurance coverage includes all the stages such as:
- From Loading: As soon as the vehicle gets to the shipping company and is loaded on the shipping truck, the insurance takes place.
- While on the Way: The insurance is still active and covers the car that is in transit from the location of loading till the place of delivery.
- Delivery: Until the delivery process is done and the car is handed over to the recipient, the insurance continues to be in effect.
Though, a point worth mentioning is that the coverage of the insurance may be defined by the terms of the transport, route, and the carrier’s policy. For instance, the transport by the use of a closed van may add more coverage for the vehicle, and some routes may expose the car to different kinds of hazards which can affect the insurance coverage.
What Happens if Something Happens After Delivery?
Usually when the delivery of your vehicle is done, and you sign the delivery documents, the delivery companys responsibility ends. If a damage is discovered after delivery, or the owner of the car faces some issues, then it becomes quite a challenge to claim under the shipping company’s insurance.
That’s why it is always recommended that you inspect your vehicle thoroughly upon delivery and check for any damages before you sign any document. In this case, if you find the vehicle to be damaged even after unloading, you will still be able to make a claim with greater confidence.
What Additional Insurance Coverage Options Do You Have?
People that want security packages transport particularly if the are valuable or unique cars, so it is very important for them to know what their coverage options for additional protection are. So, here are some of the ways in which your vehicle can be protected more;
Purchase Additional Insurance
Most car shipping companies usually offer insurance that covers basic risks. Additional insurance, however, can be purchased from the car shipping company or a third party. The insurance may consist of:
- Full-Coverage Insurance: This shields the vehicle against any type of damage, disappearance, or robbery, going by any cause.
- Agreed Value Insurance: In the case of shipping a valuable or unique car, this kind of insurance makes sure that you are insured for the entire worth of the vehicle.
Also, it is necessary to ask the shipping company what extra coverage they have and how much it will cost.
Look at Your Car’s Shape
The shape of your car helps figure out what kind of cover you need. If your car is: In Good Shape: Usual cover might be enough, more so if the car looks great. A Classic or Fancy Car: You might pick more cover to keep your car safe. This holds true for cars with custom changes, old cars, or top-end cars. If you’re not sure if you need more cover, it’s smart to talk with the ship firm or a cover pro.
How to Keep Your Vehicle Totally Safe While Getting Shipped
If you want your car to be totally safe during shipping, you may consider the following ways:
Selecting the Most Suitable Shipping Method
The use of open or enclosed trailers is among the different means of auto transport. An enclosed car carrier provides a higher level of safety for your car, thereby being an excellent option for luxury or vintage cars. It keeps the car away from weather conditions, dirt, and other tiny particles that can harm the car during its journey.
Read the Shipping Contract Carefully
Before your automobile is taken away, it is advisable that you go through the shipping contract in detail to know what the insurance coverage is and its limitations. If you think the provided insurance is not enough, then definitely you would want to have extra coverage.
Document the Condition of Your Car
Get the current status of your car recorded before the pickup with a photo shoot. Take pictures of the inside, the outside as well as the parts that are already damaged. This evidence will protect you against the situation of getting new damages or if there is a shipping dispute.
Inspect Upon Delivery
Unbox your car and check all the details before you approve the delivery. If there is any damage that has happened during the shipping period, etc., you have to compare the cars condition with the photos taken before the shipping. This way, if you are not at fault, you will have a safety file to make a claim.
How to Keep Your Car Safe During Shipping
Knowing about the insurance for car transport and being certain that it is valid for the whole way from the pick-up to the delivery, is a must-have skill for any car owner who has to ship his car. Usually, the insurance is put in place to cover the car from the moment it is picked up till the delivery, but you should always be sure of the details of the carriers policy. If the car is very valuable, it is better to take the extra insurance to be sure that it is fully protected.
Car Shipping Auto is our company and we are the ones who offer the best car freight insurance to the customers to make sure that their cars are covered fully during the shipping process. It doesn’t matter if it is a luxury vehicle, a family car, or a non-running vehicle, our team will collaborate with you to find the most suitable coverage for you. Get in touch with Car Shipping Auto.
