Commercial Truck Insurance for Australian Operators
Truck insurance arranged by a broker who has actually managed trucks, not just written policies.
From a single prime mover to a fleet of a hundred, we structure cover around how your operation really runs, your values, your freight task, your contracts and where the risk actually sits.
When something goes wrong, we are the ones in your corner fighting the claim. That is the difference between a broker and a form on a website.
Insurance From Someone Who Has Run the Trucks
Most truck insurance is sold transactionally. Fill out a proposal, get a price, write the policy, move on.
That works until you have ten, twenty or a hundred pieces of equipment and a total loss lands on your desk. Then it matters whether your broker actually understands transport.
Before broking, Paul Cohalan managed heavy haulage for BHP across the Iron Ore operation, ran a section of the Roy Hill construction build and moved oversized resource equipment that had never been moved that way before. A decade in insurance since has been built on one purpose: understand the business, build trust, and educate the operator.
Paul leads the firm, and that same standard runs through every specialist transport broker on the team, people who know freight, not just policies.
10+ years
specialist transport broking, built on experience running the gear, not generalist insurance.
Any size
from a single owner-operator to a national fleet, the same standard of advice applies.
1 to 1,000+
vehicles and assets covered, structured around how your operation actually runs.
Who We Arrange Truck Insurance For
If it carries freight, tows a trailer or earns its money on the road, it is our patch. We work across the whole transport and heavy vehicle space.
Owner-Operators
One-truck operators and one-man-band operations who still deserve a broker in their corner.
Small Fleets
Growing businesses running five to thirty trucks, trailers and assets under one program.
Large & Long-Haul Fleets
Fifty to a hundred-plus prime movers, trailers and equipment moving freight interstate.
Refrigerated Transport
Reefer operators carrying perishable and temperature-sensitive freight.
Tippers & Bulk Haulage
Tippers, drop decks, flat tops and tautliners hauling bulk and general freight.
Oversized & Over-Mass
Heavy haulage, oversized loads and over-mass movements with their own risk profile.
Civil & Construction
Civil operators running mixed fleets of trucks alongside plant and equipment.
Agriculture & Livestock
Rural transport, livestock carriers and agricultural freight operators.
Logistics & Warehousing
Logistics businesses, distribution and warehousing operations with vehicles in the mix.
Cranes & Lifting
Crane and lifting equipment, high-risk, specialised, and a space we actively place.
Plant & Equipment
Yellow goods, mobile plant and mining-grade equipment beyond the trucks.
Subcontractor Fleets
Operators running subcontractors who need their cover aligned to the head contract.
What Your Truck Insurance Can Include
A truck policy is not one product, it is a program built from the covers your operation actually needs. These are the lines we place most.
Comprehensive Motor & Physical Damage
Accidental damage, fire, theft and weather to your prime movers, rigids and trailers, including the accessories that can add hundreds of thousands before a truck even turns a wheel.
Third Party Property Damage
Cover for damage your vehicles cause to other people's property, a non-negotiable for any operator on the road.
Public & Products Liability
Protection against claims for injury or damage arising from your business activities, including delivery and handling.
Marine Cargo & Goods in Transit
Cover for the freight you carry, customer cargo, goods in transit and the specialised loads generalists get wrong.
Trailer Cover & Trailer-in-Control
Trailers carry the value and get detached and swapped constantly. We cover your trailers, including non-owned trailers in your control.
Downtime & Business Interruption
Eighty to ninety per cent of your revenue happens when the rubber is turning. This cover helps replace it when a vehicle is off the road.
Plant, Equipment & Machinery
Yellow goods, mobile plant and machinery breakdown for the mixed fleets that run more than just trucks.
Personal Accident & Workers' Comp
Cover for your drivers and your people, because without them, none of the trucks move.
We also place occupational accident, non-trucking liability and ad-hoc endorsements as your operation changes.
The Gaps That Catch Operators Out
These are the things we see go wrong, the ones that turn a bad day into a financial hit the business cannot absorb.
Not Knowing Your Values
A truck can be worth half a million in accessories before it earns a dollar. If your declared values are out of date, you find out at claim time, when it is too late. We tell operators to check or get valuations done three to four months before renewal, not the week of.
Insuring the Truck, Forgetting the Trailer
Plenty of operators insure the prime mover and overlook the trailer, where a lot of the value and cargo sits. Trailers get detached and swapped, and a non-owned trailer in your control is still your exposure.
Underestimating Downtime
If a truck is off the road for weeks, that is revenue gone, not just a repair bill. Without business interruption or a replacement plan, the loss compounds while margins are already tight.
Subcontractors and Chain of Responsibility
Logistics and transport runs on subcontractors. Without aligning their cover, the principal's indemnity and the contractual obligations to your tier-one and tier-two contracts, the risk lands back on you.
Treating Insurance as Transactional
Anyone can fill out a form and write a policy. The value is in understanding your fleet, your history, your activities and your contracts, then putting the best version of your risk to the market.
Set-and-Forget at the Wrong Scale
Going from five vehicles to twenty makes you a different business with a different risk profile. Cover that fit last year does not automatically fit the operation you have become.
Get Your Truck Cover Right With Paul
“Everyone can fill out a form and write a policy. Understanding your values, your contracts and where the risk actually sits, that is a completely different game.”
Paul Cohalan
Founding Principal Broker
Call Paul on 1300 78 78 25A Real Claim, Handled the Right Way
Claims advocacy is easy to say and hard to prove. Here is what it looks like when a broker manages the claim instead of just lodging it.
A Delivery Run, a Gum Tree, and a Claim That Didn't Blow Out
A young driver on a local delivery clipped a gum tree at low speed in a rigid truck and tore up the whole front end. Nobody was hurt, but it left a real repair bill, and a client who had already had a couple of claims and could not afford his premium climbing again.
Left on autopilot, the insurer defaults to a brand-new repair. It is the most expensive path, and the one that hits hardest at renewal.
Instead we went back to the insurer's own repair manager and worked out a smarter outcome, a sound second-hand replacement that does exactly the same job for the truck. The claim cost stayed contained, the truck got back on the road earning, and the client's renewal was protected.
That outcome does not come from a call centre. It comes from a broker who knows the insurer, knows the repair side, and picks up the phone for you.
Illustrative example based on a real claim handled by our team. Client details anonymised and figures approximate.
Why Operators Use a Broker, Not the Direct Market
The direct market handles the small, simple end well enough. Once you have real fleet, real values and real contracts, you need an advisor, not a transaction desk.
We Fight Your Claims
We had a client copped a total loss the insurer wanted to pay at under fifty per cent of the insured value. We called it out, pushed for proper valuations and got it settled at the full amount on the fleet. That is claims advocacy.
We Know Your Values
We work the values, the accessories and the unique kit with you before renewal, so what is on the policy reflects what is actually on the road.
We Up-Manage the Insurers
There are only a handful of insurers who write the bigger fleets and unique plant. Knowing them, and holding them to account, gets you a better outcome.
We Actually Understand Transport
We have managed fleets, run convoys and sat in the operator's seat. That experience is why insurers know we know our stuff at renewal time.
Backed by Australia's Leading Heavy Vehicle Insurers
We place truck and transport business with the specialist underwriters that actually understand heavy vehicle risk, under a brokerage licence backed by Steadfast.
Prevention Is the Key
The number one thing that keeps a fleet's premiums down is not a clever policy, it is prevention.
Maintenance, the pride you take in the equipment, safe systems of work, the processes, the training and the onboarding of drivers. Get those right and you are not just safer, you are a better risk to the market.
Our job as a broker is to understand the industry, help you mitigate the risk, transfer what we can, and put you in the best possible position if something does happen, so we can get you back to where you were.
- Maintenance and equipment care
- Safe systems of work and processes
- Driver training and onboarding
- Understanding where the risk sits in your supply chain
How We Arrange Your Cover
A straightforward process built around understanding your operation before we talk price.
Understand Your Operation
Your trucks, trailers, freight task, contracts, history and how the business actually runs.
Build the Risk Profile
We find the gaps, work your values and put the best, most accurate version of your risk to the market.
Arrange the Right Cover
We place the program with the specialist insurers who understand heavy vehicle risk, not generalists guessing at it.
Renewals, Claims & Ongoing
We manage renewals, fight the claims and handle the mid-term changes as your fleet grows and shifts.
What Shapes Your Truck Insurance Premium
There is no flat rate for truck insurance. Your premium reflects your operation, and a broker who understands it can present your risk in the best light.
We do not quote a number off a website. We build your risk profile properly and put it to the market, request a custom quote and we will work it through with you.
- Fleet size and the declared values of your vehicles
- Vehicle types, prime movers, rigids, trailers, reefer, tippers, plant
- Your freight task and operating radius
- Claims history across the fleet
- Driver experience and how you onboard them
- Subcontractor exposure and contractual obligations
- Maintenance, in-house or outsourced, and how it is run
- Where your fleet is based and garaged overnight
Related Cover
Transport operators rarely need just one policy. These are the covers most often arranged alongside it.
Talk Trucks With a Specialist Broker
No call centre, no generic form. A broker who understands transport and will be there at claim time.
Get a Truck Insurance QuoteGet Truck Insurance Sorted Properly
Whether you run one prime mover or a hundred, the right truck insurance starts with a broker who understands your operation and will be there at claim time.
Tell us about your trucks, your freight and how you run, and we will build cover that actually fits.
Truck Insurance FAQs
A truck insurance program can include comprehensive motor and physical damage, third party property damage, public and products liability, marine cargo and goods in transit, trailer cover, downtime and business interruption, personal accident and workers' compensation. The right mix depends on your operation, your freight task and the contracts you run under.
For most heavy vehicle operators, motor and public liability are the two must-haves. Motor protects the vehicles; public liability protects you against claims for injury or property damage arising from your business activities, including delivery and handling.
Trailers carry a lot of value and are constantly detached and swapped between trucks. Trailer-in-control cover protects you against liability for damage to a non-owned trailer while it is in your possession and used for work, even if it is not registered in your name.
A fleet policy brings multiple trucks, trailers and assets under one program, which usually simplifies management and can sharpen pricing. As you scale from a handful of vehicles to twenty or a hundred, your risk profile changes and the program needs to be structured, not just stacked.
Fleet size and declared values, vehicle types, your freight task and operating radius, claims history, driver experience, subcontractor exposure and how your maintenance is run all move the number. A broker who understands transport can present your risk accurately and in its best light.
Yes. We work across reefer, tippers, drop decks, flat tops, tautliners, oversized and over-mass movements, civil and construction fleets, cranes and lifting, and mixed fleets running plant and equipment alongside trucks.
We place marine cargo and goods-in-transit cover for the freight you carry, including specialised and high-value loads. This is often where generalist policies fall short for transport operators.
Downtime is lost revenue, not just a repair bill, because most of a transport operator's income happens when the vehicle is moving. Depending on the program, business interruption, increased cost of working or a replacement vehicle can help keep the revenue coming while the claim is managed.
Once you have real fleet, real values and real contracts, you need an advisor, not a transaction desk. A specialist broker structures your cover, works your values, holds the insurers to account and fights your claims, like the total loss we pushed from a 48 per cent offer up to the full insured value.
We place business with Australia's specialist heavy vehicle insurers, including NTI, Global Transport (Allianz), HMIA, Zurich, QBE and UAA, under a brokerage licence backed by Steadfast.
Compliance Disclaimer: This information is general in nature and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Please consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making any decision.