Do you know what your automobile liability carrier requirements are to hire commercial drivers? You should!
Part of your driver qualification process should be checking the hiring requirements; you can obtain a copy of your insurance company’s hiring requirements from your insurance agent.
So what are some of the requirements? Usually, there is a minimal age and minimum years of commercial driving experience. Your insurance company may have some motor vehicle report (MVR) guidelines, so look at those closely. Typically, there are items in the requirements that prohibit you hiring a driver. These can include factors such as reckless driving, driving under the influence, or excess speeding to name a few.
A good hiring process should include reviewing the requirements, reviewing the MVR, getting approval from your insurance agent, and obtaining an approval from the underwriter. If you pull an MVR and the driver has some violations and/or accidents, then you should definitely get approval from your insurance agent and the underwriter prior to making a hire offer.
Underwriters have the ability to approve a driver, exclude a driver, and place a driver under suspension. Good communication with your insurance agent should help keep you out of trouble with your insurance company. If you change insurance companies, always ask for the driver hiring requirements prior to binding coverage or renewal in case the new hiring requirements don’t align with your hiring efforts. Your insurance agent should be able to obtain this information to give you an opportunity to make informed decisions.
