Delaware Business Insurance Update from CNC Insurance Associates, Truck Driver Shortaqe in the USA and Why It Matters, 6-24-18

There is a truck driver shortage in the US. The booming economy is requiring more delivery and a greater demand for moving frieght. According to the American Trucking Association, we are 50,000 jobs short. In other words we need 50,000 new drivers to cover the demand. Business owners are now faced with keeping thier current drivers and competing against other businesses for the drivers who are still out there looking for jobs.  Some of the reasons for the shortage is a lot of younger drivers are not qualified and have very little experience driving trucks. Also many drivers do not want to spend their week on the road, staying over night and away from their families.  New hour of service rules keep these drivers away.
The jobs are paying better. The average pay for a commercial driver is over $53,000 a year.  However this is still not enough money to attract people to want to work driving a truck. So why does this matter?  Well the lack of drivers could put a damper on the growing economy. Also business owners will have to budget to increase driver pay as they do not want to lose the good ones they have already.
This is an interesting time in American commerce as a driver shortage has not been seen before.
Only time will tell how this will play out.  Until next time be careful out there and know your risks.

G. Kevin Nemith - CEO  CNC Insurance Associates / The Hilb Group
www.cncinsurance.com
1-877-262-3276 toll free


Popular posts from this blog

Delaware Legislature Preparing To Revisit Dram Shop Liability

Here we go again. Representative Peterson is preparing to introduce limited dram shop liability for consideration. The legislation caps the liability at $250,000 but, as is usually the case, this creates a starting point where limits are eventually increased once it's decided by the powers that be that the current limit is too low. This also puts restaurants, bars, etc, at an increased risk due to the vague wording of the legislation, specifically "reckless" sale of alcohol by the business. Also, you can be sure that if this legislation is passed, that rates will go up commensurately for not only Liquor Liability coverage, but if actual damages begin to be paid out under this law, that insurance rates on the whole will see an increase.
Read more

Get employees back to work quickly to keep work comp costs down

Image
In the past I have spoken to clients regarding a particular workers compensation claim affecting them and have asked if they have brought the employee back to work yet. Too many times the answer is no, they have nothing for that employee to do since said employee is not 100% and unable to perform their specific job prior to their workers compensation injury/claim. The problem with this is that too often employers miss the point that even though an employee can't perform in the position they were in prior to their injury, it behooves the employer to create some type of alternative task/job the employee can do until such time they are able to resume their normal duties. Bringing that employee back to work means that work comp benefits /payments in that particular claim are being curtailed, thereby saving the employer potentially more being paid out, while adding to their experience mod and driving their overall work comp expenses up.
Read more

Important to notify insurance company of potential liability claims

Image
When trying to manage their insurance policies, many business owners make the decision not to turn in potential claims and decide to take care of them on their own. By paying for small claims, such as property damage, etc, they strive to keep claim frequency down and in turn keep renewal premiums down. One area of insurance they should not try to manage though is potential liability situations/claims. Most policy conditions require prompt notification of any potential liability claims to the insurance company and if a claim isn't turned in promptly, the policy language does note that the company can deny a claim due to late notification. It's important to do this early on since information/memories are still fresh and it gives the insurance company time to completely investigate the potential claim. The potential for a liability claim is most likely the small business owner's greatest area of risk, whether they operate a restaurant, cleaning service or any other busi
Read more