Transport Insurance Lawyer

[jonny-chicken]

Hello All,

Wondering if anyone out there can recommend a Lawyer or firm that specializes in Transport Insurance...

I've got some very strange and underhanded things going on with my renewal and I need some legal advice.

Thanks!

 

[Gord M]

Hello All,

Wondering if anyone out there can recommend a Lawyer or firm that specializes in Transport Insurance...

I've got some very strange and underhanded things going on with my renewal and I need some legal advice.

Thanks!

Hi Johnny, we need some good advice too. Have you ever heard of a clause in an insurance policy that void's coverage if we use an electronic load board to find the carrier?

 

[loaders]

Wow, that would certainly be a new one Gord M! Our policy does stipulate that we must have current insurance certificates on file for all of the carriers we use, something I believe is pretty standard. I, along with many others, would sure like to see that clause you are referring to in writing.

 

[jonny-chicken]

Hi Johnny, we need some good advice too. Have you ever heard of a clause in an insurance policy that void's coverage if we use an electronic load board to find the carrier?

Hey Gord M,

Hell no, that's a bit crazy... I guess you are supposed to just call a few dozen carriers directly and hope for a match... hahaa...

What is your broker doing to help you?

Seems to be the way this year, insurance companies dictating to carriers/brokers.

My renewal date recently passed, and I still don't have any pricing... how bout them apples? haahahaa...

 

[NotForHire]

Hi Johnny, we need some good advice too. Have you ever heard of a clause in an insurance policy that void's coverage if we use an electronic load board to find the carrier?

Are you serious ???

 

[TRKINSURE]

Hi Johnny, we need some good advice too. Have you ever heard of a clause in an insurance policy that void's coverage if we use an electronic load board to find the carrier?

Yes. It’s Eagle Underwriting. Is there another insurer doing this as well??

 

[loaders]

Why would they do that? How you find a potential supplier isn't the important part. It is your vetting procedure that determines whether or not you are taking on unnecessary risk. That action seems to display a lack of understanding as to how our industry works.

 

[TRKINSURE]

Why would they do that? How you find a potential supplier isn't the important part. It is your vetting procedure that determines whether or not you are taking on unnecessary risk. That action seems to display an a lack of understanding as to how our industry works.

I agree - it's missing the integral part of finding a shipper or carrier.. how do you exclude it? Presumably they've already passed it by their legal council but I would have disagree with them denying a loss.

There was case law a couple years back where a insurer of a manufacturer denied a loss because the insurance product they bought excluded their Products Completed Operation.... the insured argued the fact that the insurer 'specialized' or at least marketed that they were experts in manufacturing and how could you deny a loss for an operation in which you specialize in. The decision was awarded to the client and payment was made.

Go to Coast Underwriters - I know the team there and they are the best you are going to get in this market right now (for those who are doing 3PL).

 

[TRKINSURE]

Hello All,

Wondering if anyone out there can recommend a Lawyer or firm that specializes in Transport Insurance...

I've got some very strange and underhanded things going on with my renewal and I need some legal advice.

Thanks!

I'm going to share the contacts which I've just shared with Johnny because everyone on this forum should know these people as well;
Richard Lande (expert contract lawyer) - https://www.landelaw.ca/lawyers Talk to Richard about your freight contracts!

James Manson (litigation lawyer) - https://www.fernandeshearn.com/james-manson-fernandes-hearn-lawyers-toronto-canada/

Jodi Burness (paralegal) - http://burnessparalegal.com/services/ Jodi is the best person to have by your side when it comes to fighting tickets. She's very well known in the industry, both trucking & legal.

 

[Gord M]

Wow, that would certainly be a new one Gord M! Our policy does stipulate that we must have current insurance certificates on file for all of the carriers we use, something I believe is pretty standard. I, along with many others, would sure like to see that clause you are referring to in writing.

I will share it with you as soon as the dust settles.

 

[Jim L]

I have heard of cases where insurance companies try to void coverage to freight brokers if they find their carrier on a load board. Remember, this is for the contingent insurance portion where the carrier does not cover the loss. They probably do not want to extend coverage if they feel that your processes do not fully vet the carrier's policy. I am sure if you work with them, you can give them comfort that the load board matched the load with the carrier but you previously vetted them an used them on a previous load so this shouldn't count.

I have recently heard of insurance companies who are considering voiding coverage for theft of loads where carriers are mandated to use 4Kites, Macropoint or similar tracking software because the carrier has no control who has access to the point to point data and their load can be stolen quite easily when a thief knows all the drivers past moves. Take a scenario where the carrier has the driver turn on Macropoint on their phone. The Macropoint data gets collected by the requestor but someone inside the requestors place of business knows that the carrier is hauling and their every move. Lets say someone internally at a very large brokerage could call a thief to update the whereabouts - right to the lat and long. The carrier's insurance would be on the hook for being hijacked/stolen all with the help of the same tool they used to give visibility. Personally I wouldn't blame an insurance company if they place a clause in the contract avoiding this scenario.

 

[Gord M]

Yes. It’s Eagle Underwriting. Is there another insurer doing this as well??

Yes you are correct it is Eagle Underwriting.

 

[loaders]

We have made our records available to our insurer to see for themselves how we maintain control of the carriers we use in terms of valid insurance. Every carrier we use must provide proof of valid insurance with our firm named as a certificate holder. To further tighten things up, our software will not allow our dispatchers to enter a carrier whose insurance is not up to date. I am afraid if that isn't good enough, I really don't know what is.

 

[TRKINSURE]

Hi Johnny, we need some good advice too. Have you ever heard of a clause in an insurance policy that void's coverage if we use an electronic load board to find the carrier?

Gord - PM Me, I'll introduce you to a 3rd party adjuster who's well versed in this kind of stuff. He'll get it paid.

 

[Michael Ludwig]

Once upon a time the industry was on a kick whereby everyone wanted a WSIB clearance cert every 3 months. Possibly insurance companies will want a cert every 30 days to show there has been no gap in either the carrier's coverage or the broker's due diligence.