Commercial Auto Carriers

[JCK818]

Hey guys. Who would you recommend to use for commercial auto in the Southern California area? I do many artisan contractor GL's and usually get their commercial auto policy with it. I've been using Cal-Regent (they us State National), they have been amazing with their pricing, but the servicing is terrible. They are really slow. Who would you recommend?
I already have Progressive, GMAC, Victoria, they are not really competitive in this field.

 

[Soaringagent]

Have you tried Mercury for commercial auto?

 

[JCK818]

Have you tried Mercury for commercial auto?

Mercury I do not have. I'm trying to get an appointment, but it is soooooo long. 3 people have called and interviewed me over the phone already, still no luck.

 

[Guest]

Mercury I do not have. I'm trying to get an appointment, but it is soooooo long. 3 people have called and interviewed me over the phone already, still no luck.

IN AZ Merucry doesnt have Commerical auto YET, they say its on the way, not sure if its released everywhere yet....

I had my Appt with them within 1 week of calling the rep

 

[Scottyj]

One Word... AMCOM... they are really good with commercial fleet and pretty darn competative. Just dont go head to head with Financial Pacific for a sand and gravel hauler... you will loose every time.

 

[Bertolinoins]

Century National, Mercury, Golden Eagle, Allied, Sequoia, FP and Commerce West offer pretty good rates in CA.

 

[JCK818]

One Word... AMCOM... they are really good with commercial fleet and pretty darn competative. Just dont go head to head with Financial Pacific for a sand and gravel hauler... you will loose every time.

I tried looking up Financial Pacific, didn't have much luck. Had never heard of them.

 

[Scottyj]

Financial Pacific was recently aquired this time last year by United Fire Group... so you will need to visit the UFG site to read up on them. As far as sand & gravel haulers go... you will not beat them... especially in So Cal... they write their Sand and gravel on a commercial auto form where other companies use a truckers form so their rates are a lot lower. For example... a company out of So Cal with 8 trucks doing 2 mill worth of receipts and $49k payroll (commission) was paying 22k for just the comm auto through Progressive. FP quoted it with the comm auto plus the Truckers GL for 3k less per year. We have financial pacific and UFG and write them all the time. They honestly Rock.

As for the Century National suggestion... you may want to hold off... they will be taking a 15% rate increase at minimum with this next years renewals because they got hit hard from buying business with low rates over the last several years. Also Great West is taking an AM Best rating decrease so those companies my not be the greatest choice right now.

I would suggest. Financial Pacific, and AmCom.... Eventually I would assume UFGs underwriting practices will make its way into FP since they are such similar companies, and there is talk of FP ultimately becoming UFG... UFG will let you apply up to a 25% credit manually, and if the loss runs are clean up to 40% on bigger stuff to really help you smash the comp.

Also I was talking to my transportation underwriter with Burns & Wilcox... you may want to check them out... Scottsdale and Sutter through them have been killing Great West, Century National, Unitrin, Progressive in the long haul classes... especially in So Cal... the San Diego B&W have been writing a ton of Sutter lately... even on the normal business auto(non truckers) they still come in competitive enough to where you can tack on a decent Broker fee and still save them a ton !

 

[JAM1]

Fleet size is important . Allied wont do fleets under 10 units and not to competitive on standalone. Travelers is good for large fleets as well. Mercury rocks!! The problem with the non standards is that they dont offer blanket waivers.

 

[NATLALAN]

[FONT=Arial","sans-serif]Hi Jack, I noticed your post and wanted to introduce myself. I represent National Interstate Insurance Company, which is rated "A" (Excellent) IX by A.M. Best Company, and is based in Richfield, Ohio. We're currently looking to expand our agency base by actively seeking direct appointments for agencies of all sorts and sizes to offer our Commercial Vehicle program in the states of California, Texas, Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee … with more states coming later in the year.[/FONT]

[FONT=Arial","sans-serif]We're best known for our long-haul transportation and alternative risk programs, but our Commercial Vehicle program features competitive rates for a variety of businesses, including contractors/tradesman, food service, landscaping/firewood delivery, as well as various service and retail-related industries. We even write certain for-hire risks including dirt, sand & gravel, refrigerated goods, and retail/wholesale delivery! [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial","sans-serif]If you're still looking for a competitive Commercial Vehicle market I think we may be a nice fit for you. Give me a call and we can discuss.[/FONT]

Alan Hosaflook (800) 929-1500 x1522