Real Costs in Distribution and What it Means To Your Company
Ever feel that all the lawyers in thh Country need to give their lives up for our freedom, by exiting the planet forthwith? Yes, me too. In an article in CCJ-Commercial Carrier Journal entitled "Ticking Away" The Insurance Time Bomb. It discussed how the trucking industry is limiting their insurance expenses by skipping some of the more prevalent coverage. For this reason the trucking companies have begun to add to our service contracts in the service sector, higher limits and more comprehensive additional insured certificates.
All of this just in case a lawyer files a lawsuit. So here you have it one of our most important needs as a society our distribution system being hurt by the legal system, which was suppose to keep us safe. The lawyers are terrorizing the populous and hurting our future as a civilization by hurting our quality of life and high standard of living due to artificial inflation. Yet the same group tends to yield enough political clout to keep this going year after year. Insurance in trucking is up 34% in two years for the basic coverage.
And are you ready for this 87% for the umbrella coverage, which actually trucking accidents and incidents by US DOT statistics is down. So why is this happening? Lawsuits and higher damages and so many frivolous suits are causing the increases in insurance, we all pay this every time we buy something as most of the costs are passed on. This year one accident victim in AZ with a Swift Trucking carrier was awarded 7 million dollars and another for four million, but no one even died and it was not the truckers fault in full. One of the accident's victims had no driver's license and had been suspended and was speeding?
Many trucking companies are asking for 5 million additional insurance certificates for each occurrence when previously 1 million for a service company was high and aggregate was acceptable. These increases in exposure to lawsuits promted the Risk Management teams of these companies to pass the buck to the service companies who raise rates for everyone. One small Onan Cummings dealers has a shop rate of $94.00 and hour for working on portable generators because they average their insurance costs company wide for all services, much of their work is in trucking. The labor is paid $10.00 per hour and it is estimated that $34 for every hour is pure insurance costs? Scared yet? It is still getting worse. And with lawyers spreading reality of responsibility of the lady barreling out of the McDonalds Drive thru who spills coffee to the pourer of the coffee is a bit insane.
If every single mile a truck is driven costs $.20 in insurance then the drivers get less money meaning they quit and newer drivers take over with less experience and Bingo you guessed it you have a self fulfilling problem, due to additional accidents. Now trucking companies will be more dangerous adding to the downward spiral of our current distribution system, with costs passed on and on, on and one, on and on. And do not think this does not effect other forms of transportation like ships and rail, because look at their costs too.
http://nafc.truckline.comCheck it out. It is time to let the lawyers become fallen heroes for saving the free world, they can do this by losing their jobs. We need not create more of them as the legal schools churn out more of these clowns? Over regulation, incessant lawsuits and increased insurance costs are a recipe for disaster which will spill over into all sectors of our economy.
"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance;
www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs