TOWING CHARGES AND WHAT’S COVERED? By Chris Huff
Towing, storage, and cleanup costs?
AGENCY CORNER
I
t seems that in recent years the towing and cleanup charges assessed when an accident occurs have been skyrocketing. We have seen outrageous charges across all states in the southeast where we conduct business, but it is applicable nationwide. Sometimes as much as $50,000 to $100,000 is due to many different factors, and there are other things we as insureds can do to try and mitigate the cost.
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FMIC 1ST QUARTER 2022
The first issue we deal with is non-consensual towing when there has been an accident on a roadway. Law enforcement officers must act quickly to get the road cleared and accessible to the public. The officers are working off a rotation list for that area and directly call one of the local towing companies to remove the accident. At that point, the trucking company has no control over which towing company will show up. However, suppose you can get to the accident in time or instruct your driver to discuss with the officer. In that case, you may be able to use a towing company you have an ongoing relationship with.
It is always good to build a relationship with a towing and recovery company to call in these situations. That relationship may save you a tremendous amount of money on towing, storage, and cleanup costs incurred. Beyond the actual towing of the units damaged from the scene, the next significant expense is the cleanup of the load, which could include fuel spillage. In the forest industry, a truck rollover can be costly due to the type of logs or chips spilled. Suppose the towing company must call in additional equipment to remove debris. In that case, there will be an additional charge, driving up the cost. continued on next page
