Do You Need Extra Insurance Cover When Carrying Hazardous Material On The Road?
In a nutshell, you need extra insurance cover when ferrying hazardous material on the road. In most countries, hazardous materials refer to any substances or products that pose an unreasonable risk to the health of other people or the safety of the property.
Some common hazardous materials for which you need extra insurance include dynamite, propane or petroleum products, paints, adhesives, poisonous chemicals and cleaning compounds. However, it is important to remember that there are many materials which are classified as hazardous substances. In order to know if you are ferrying materials for which you need extra insurance, it is important that you consult the authorities in your locality.
As a transportation entity, you should also remember that the specific type of insurance that you will need will often depend on your jurisdiction. Insurance laws vary from place to place. When ferrying any hazardous material, you should ensure that you meet all the insurance requirements of all jurisdictions where your products will be ferried across.
In most instances, the type and level of insurance liability that your company will be required to assume will depend on the classification of the hazardous material you have on board. The more dangerous the material, the higher the level of insurance liability that you need to undertake.
In order to transport hazardous materials, your insurance policy should typically cover for the following:
- On-going contamination
- In-transit coverage
- The clean-up of site operations
- Loading of the substances
- Unloading of the hazardous substances
Depending on the classification and type of cargo that you have on-board, you may also be required to have hazmat insurance.
As a transportation firm, it is best that you first consult authorities in your area in order to understand what type of insurance you need in order to be comprehensively covered. You can also consult insurance firms which specialise in covering transporters of hazardous substances. For example CleanGreenCars.co.uk HGV Insurance – due to their experience, they can be able to provide information on the type of insurance required.
It is best that you are always comprehensively insured since you do not know what will happen on the road. Insurance claims can be expensive and the compensation payouts can be astronomically high when hazardous substances are involved. Remember that the risk of severe injuries goes up exponentially when hazardous substances are involved.
Further, it is important that you are fully covered as failure to even have one type of liability coverage can lead to your firm being slapped with hefty fines. Did I mention that failure to comply with insurance laws can also get your and your employees incarcerated? To be on the safe side, find out what is expected of you and fulfil your insurance obligations.
