It has been well over a year and a half since the first COVID-caused lockdowns and closures were enacted and we are just now beginning to fully appreciate the chaos they introduced into the global supply chains. Frequent unplanned COVID-related closures for both factories and ports abroad combined with large, sudden global shifts in demand are among the two biggest drivers of the supply chain crunch, but these are just two pieces among thousands in an immense and complex puzzle.
One thing the COVID pandemic has done is reveal the extent of problems that have been looming over the horizon for years. Experts warned for years that manufacturing bottlenecks were a major danger if global trade was ever severely disrupted, and we can see how right they were as semiconductor shortages have caused production in thousands of industries to grind to a halt.
A lesser-known problem had also been setting off alarm bells in a vital, but often ignored sector of the economy: logistics. The average age of truck drivers is quickly trending upward, with many long-term career drivers beginning to retire and companies unable to find younger replacements.
Many millennials and the younger Generation Z find the prospect of being on the road for weeks at a time unappealing, leaving many companies scrambling to find drivers and containers piling up ever higher at ports across the country. Those logistics companies who do manage to find themselves with new drivers then find themselves faced with a mountain of paperwork, including insurance requirements, that need to be sorted out before their new hires can get on the road.
Getting Your Fleet On The Road, ASAP
As companies rush to get their new hires ready for the road, many are finding they are fighting an uphill battle with insurance companies. In yet another example of running a business becoming more difficult over the last year, insurance companies are making it harder to procure coverage and the policies they provide are often more expensive.
There are many reasons for this – major insurers pulling out of the commercial trucking market, greater perception of risk, and even the self-fulfilling issue of a lack of experienced and qualified drivers. Regardless of the cause, what it means for logistics companies is higher rates and greater delays as they struggle to find an insurer for their drivers.
This is why insurance brokers like S.W.A.N. are becoming more essential than ever in getting your truck drivers insured. Their extensive contacts with insurance underwriters gives them access to the best rates available on the market and can significantly shorten the wait time between hiring and getting your drivers on the road.
To meet your DOT filing requirements, you are going to need a ton of different policies, all of which can cost you a whole lot of time, effort, and money. The last thing your company needs after months of courting new drivers with higher salaries, better benefits and promises of reduced hour requirements is even more delays fighting with insurance companies over their sky-high premiums.
Let S.W.A.N. Insurance do the work for you so you can get your drivers on the road.
