Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Chattanooga, TN, Reliance is the fastest organically growing commercial insurance broker in the United States with nearly $500 million in gross written premiums. The Company specializes exclusively in commercial transportation risk management solutions, a unique differentiator within the highly fragmented insurance brokerage industry. Through its deep domain expertise, customer-centric sales approach and innovative technology, Reliance provides access to a full suite of insurance solutions to over 8,000 truck fleets and freight brokerage customers across the United States.

Reliance boasts an incredibly diverse employee base with over 25 nationalities represented and 30 languages spoken, allowing the Company to better serve an increasingly diverse network of transportation customers. Reliance strives to cultivate an entrepreneurial culture that values ambition and drive, providing employees with the tools necessary to succeed and challenge the status quo in the transportation insurance marketplace.

“We chose Carousel because of their partnership approach, our alignment on strategy for growth, and their ability to help us achieve our goal of reaching $1+ billion in premiums in the next 3 years,” said Andrew Ladebauche, CEO of Reliance. Chad Eichelberger, President of Reliance, added, “Our company is at an inflection point, and after getting to know Carousel over the past two years, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with them for both financial support as well as strategic guidance. Their experience fits perfectly with our strategy, where we are today as a company, and where we want to take Reliance over the next decade.”

“We were drawn to this partnership due to the strength of the team, their unparalleled track record of organic growth, differentiated sales strategy, and customer-centric focus. Reliance is the leading domain expert in transportation risk management in the U.S., and is uniquely positioned within a very large and fragmented market. We are thrilled to partner with management and help the Company accelerate and achieve its growth objectives,” said Al Welch, Partner at Carousel Capital. “The opportunity with Reliance and management intersects so well with our past experience in insurance services, insurtech, and transportation,” added Jason Schmidly, Managing Partner at Carousel Capital. “This partnership represents our continued belief in an underlying theme in insurance services – technological innovation drives efficiency and facilitates a better experience for all stakeholders.”

“We are beyond proud of the Reliance team and what they have accomplished over the course of our partnership and are excited to continue as investors to support the business,” said Lamp Post Group Co-Founder Ted Alling.

The partnership was funded with equity from Carousel Capital’s sixth fund. Senior debt financing was provided by Apogem Capital. K&L Gates served as legal advisor to Carousel and Bradley served as legal advisor to Reliance.

About Reliance Partners

Reliance Partners is a high-growth commercial insurance agency in the United States and a top tier provider of a wide range of insurance products and risk management services for the transportation and logistics industry. For more than 10 years, Reliance has been providing solutions for safeguarding the supply chain networks that drive the American economy forward.

About Carousel Capital

Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, Carousel Capital is a private investment firm that invests in companies located in the Southeastern United States. Carousel’s investor base includes institutional investors and an elite group of more than 100 current and former CEOs with deep connections in the region. Since its inception in 1996, Carousel has invested in 49 companies primarily in three targeted growth sectors: business services; consumer services; and healthcare services.

The post Reliance Partners Announces Investment from Carousel Capital appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

On paper, trucking is pretty simple: Carry a load from one point to another. But reality isn’t so easy.

For all the obstacles to overcome and hurdles to jump over, the best way to get from point A to point B safely and on time is through proper trip planning.

Reliance Partners Vice President of Safety Brian Runnels and Director of Safety Robert Kaferle have built careers on improving fleet safety and the well-being of drivers. They stress the importance of starting each day with a plan in place.

“It’s probably one of the most important things to know for this job — knowing where you’re going to be, when you’re going to get there and how much time you’ve got left to keep working,” Runnels said.

Drivers switch jobs or leave the industry altogether for numerous reasons; Runnels suggests that poor trip planning may be a factor. He explained that trucking can be overwhelming and confusing at times and that new drivers may become frustrated if they don’t receive the amount of loads that they expected.

But these are often because of misconceptions. The first rule of trip planning is to communicate clearly with dispatch.

Time and time again he’s seen drivers decline loads because of their inability to meet delivery time frames. For that reason, he advises drivers to never turn down a load that seems impossible without first conveying your abilities with dispatch.

“Talk to dispatch and say something like, ‘I can’t have it there by 10 a.m. but I can get it there by 1 p.m. in the afternoon,’” Runnels said. “With capacity being what it is, they’re more than likely going to try to move the delivery appointment to get that load covered.”

The ability to relay to the dispatcher where you’re heading, your arrival time and what’s left of your hours of service goes a long way in building trust, which in turn, may increase the amount of loads offered to the driver, thus earning them more money, Runnels said.

The second rule of trip planning is to calculate your travel time. Kaferle uses a simple trick: Take your travel distance and divide by your average speed.

Using this calculation will help set expectations for yourself, the dispatcher and for your shipper customers.

Say you’ve got to travel 300 miles. When divided by 50, you can expect your trip to take roughly six hours.

But remember to be realistic with your estimates. Though the dispatcher wants the load delivered ASAP, your goal should instead be to get it there as soon as safely possible.

Kaferle said drivers, especially younger ones, often set ambitious goals for themselves. So instead of dividing by 50 miles per hour, they’ll instead use 60, assuming they’ll be speedier. They fail to consider traffic, weather and stops they may take.

“Proper trip planning isn’t just about distance and time, it’s being ready for the unknown,” Kaferle said. “If you’re traveling anywhere in the Midwest, Upper Midwest or in the winter or the Great Lakes around upstate New York and you’re not prepared for ice and snow, then you’re going to be in trouble.”

In addition to checking the weather forecasts each day, it’s also worth studying your routes in detail. Drivers need only to turn to their oldest travel companion: the road atlas.

The third step is to familiarize yourself with the route ahead of you.

It may sound antiquated, but studying maps and a road atlas is a great investment of your time. Runnels strongly suggests this practice as drivers not only learn their routes more intimately but will gain a deeper understanding of road signs, weight requirements, restricted routes, truck stop locations, among other details that GPS doesn’t provide.

However, GPS and web mapping platforms like Google Maps come in handy for researching the closest truck stops to your destination. What’s more, drivers can learn a great deal about the traffic patterns of any city at any particular time. When finding a place to unwind, Runnels suggests using these insights to choose a part of town that will keep you from traffic, as he said there’s nothing worse than having to endure gridlock first thing in the morning.

Runnels doesn’t use maps often these days, but that’s only because the maps are imprinted in his head as he spent his early years carefully analyzing each route.

“Everybody has a gift of some sort in their brain; mine is the ability to remember places and how long it takes you to get there,” he said.

Runnels attributes his trip-planning techniques to his father, describing him as a great planner. Both father and son spent countless hours together on the road as the pair actually received training and ran a team operation during Runnels’ first year in the industry.

Kaferle finds it frustrating that a lot of fleets assume their drivers already know how to plan, assuming their drivers are joining their fleet with prior experience. But he said that trip planning often isn’t addressed during your typical orientation.

He advises those just starting their truck driving careers to take things slow, explaining that it takes about a year or so to figure out what you’re capable of handling as well as discovering your limitations.

It often goes that new drivers develop a healthy fear of the road as they take in the nature of the job, but Kaferle said it doesn’t take long for drivers to gain confidence in their abilities, which is fine but it’s also where some feel comfortable in taking risks.

“When you rush, delivering your load early is the only good thing that can happen, but a lot of bad things can happen too,” Kaferle said.

The post Trucking 101: Trip planning makes all the difference appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

Cross-border shipping is a tricky business, there’s no getting around it. But with a reliable and knowledgeable partner at your side — and proper insurance protecting your products — your cross-border anxieties will greatly diminish.

Mark Vickers, Reliance Partners’ executive vice president of international logistics, recently connected with Ryan Jones, president at NUAGE Logistics Inc., to dive into cross-border logistics.

Jones shares his thoughts on what it’s like shipping into Mexico from the perspective of a Canadian-based freight brokerage. NUAGE Logistics, based in Quebec, Canada, primarily serves the food and beverage industry, hauling dry and refrigerated freight between the United States and Canada. However, the freight brokerage hauls a considerable amount of heavy machinery from Mexico to the Canada work sites, specifically rural mining sites.

Comparing the U.S.’ northern and southern borders, Jones gives the nod to the Canadian border for being simpler to work between. For starters, the northern border has a lot less criminal activity, he said, and it helps that both countries share English as a common language.

In addition, Jones points out that the vast majority of freight carriers hauling across the U.S.-Canadian border are Canadian in origin. He said these carriers are very familiar with the border and have the tools in place to navigate through its processes.

This pales in comparison to the Mexican border, where Jones said visibility is often not assured. Even real-time freight tracking south of the border will only get you so far.

“It seems like there’s 17 different parties involved with any shipment crossing into Mexico and there are different ways of working, different company cultures that clash,” Jones said. “You’ve got agents, shippers, carriers, brokers and freight forwarders — it can really be a circus of finger-pointing if something goes wrong.”

Vickers said that one of the most frequently asked questions shippers have for brokers is what type of visibility they can expect when their shipments are in Mexico. Jones said that NUAGE surrounds itself with carrier and insurance experts to better handle their clients’ Mexico shipments.

“Our carriers in Mexico have proven themselves through their dependability and accountability,” Jones said. “When we have a new lane that we’re bidding on, we turn to that same network; we rarely if ever source a Mexican spot market carrier.”

Vickers has outlined the various disparities in freight liability between the U.S., Canada and Mexico in previous articles with FreightWaves. He draws attention to Mexico’s nearly nonexistent carrier liability that leaves shippers on the hook for the majority of damages. In fact,  Mexico only requires carriers to be liable for 2.5 cents for every pound transported. Contrast that with the United States, where U.S.-based motor carriers can be liable for up to $1 million in cargo loss. What’s more, Canada-based carriers have a maximum liability of $2 per pound of freight.

“Through the All-Risk coverage we have with Borderless Coverage, it sits in front of both [the primary and secondary policies] as sort of a primary all-risk coverage, which has been a blessing for us,” Jones said, describing the difficulties in processing claims, even domestically, as insurance companies and carriers pin the blame on each other for damages or cargo losses. He added that Borderless Coverage takes the guesswork out of the process.

“Borderless Coverage has been fantastic for us, and that’s why we use it for any shipment in Mexico inbound or outbound,” Jones said, explaining that even in a worst-case scenario, NUAGE knows that their customers’ freight will be painlessly covered.

Before partnering with Borderless Coverage, Jones said it was difficult to find a risk-mitigation solution for Mexican freight, explaining that for the past few years, many carriers have danced around the topic.

Jones suspects that recent turmoil at the Mexican border may be why carriers have withdrawn their Mexican in-line coverage.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a lot of brokerages or carriers out there that think that they’re covered under their policy that in fact aren’t,” Jones said. “That is scary because you never want to find that out after something’s happened.”

Jones said that his customers are very receptive to all-risk coverage after hearing it’ll cost them next to nothing to implement. He added that the amount of dollars NUAGE spends on coverage pales in comparison to the risk that the freight would be subject to moving without coverage, let alone standard coverage.

“It has really allowed us to provide an option to our clients that gives them confidence,” Jones said of Borderless Coverage’s All-Risk insurance. “They’re appreciative of that insight.”

The post All-Risk coverage a must-have for cross-border shipping appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

Reliance Partners’ professional safety team proactively helps motor carriers resolve compliance-related issues and, in turn, exceed risk-management expectations.

The rapidly growing commercial insurance agency goes above and beyond what’s expected of trucking insurance brokers, providing safety consulting on retainer, consisting of risk assessments, driver meetings, mock DOT audits and CSA score reviews and monitoring.

Developing a safety-first culture isn’t easy, but it is doable as long as you have the proper training and guidance. Motor carriers are leaving this tedious but necessary task to the experts, more specifically with Brian Runnels, Reliance Partners’ vice president of safety, and Robert Kaferle, the director of safety. The duo lead Reliance Partners’ newly expanded loss control and safety services team.

“Brian and myself bring two different things to the table,” Kaferle said. “He’s an extremely good networker; he is very personable and knowledgeable when it comes to the trucking side of things and helping carriers work through their safety issues. I do that as well, but my skills are more geared towards developing the processes and procedures internally, helping carriers from the ground up by improving their safety program.”

Reliance Partners aims to provide its clients access to industry-leading safety content, regardless of size. Since joining the team earlier this year, Kaferle has advanced these goals, ensuring that Reliance’s clients have access to its safety content, whether it’s receiving support from the loss control team or utilizing its online materials.

Despite one’s knowledge or scope of services, a safety expert is only as useful as his or her communication skills are strong. Kaferle said that many in the industry are well-rounded when it comes to regulations and how to address violations from an administrative perspective, but they lack the ability to communicate their insights.

“If you can’t get people to buy into your vision or get people to understand what you’re talking about, nor convey that they’re going to see results from what you’re telling them, then you’re not going to be successful,” Kaferle said. “Not only do you have to have the knowledge, but you have to communicate it in a way that is productive. That’s one of the things that I’ve been successful at in my safety career.”

The safety team works alongside each facet of the agency to ensure everyone’s on the same page, as Kaferle said insurance is all about mitigating risk in every way that you can. He explained that the overall safety of a trucking organization is impacted not only by driver recruiting but also by maintenance, dispatch and operations.

Kaferle joined Reliance Partners’ safety team earlier this year with a background in over-the-road trucking and held truckload carrier leadership roles in operations and human resources. Runnels joined over a year ago, bringing more than 20 years of long-haul trucking experience — and nearly 2.5 million safe-driving miles in his career.

“Robert has more of an operations background than I have, as he was a vice president of operations for a large trucking company for many years,” Runnels said. “I come more from a driver training and safety culture background, helping build good safety cultures within an organization starting at the driver level.”

Through onboarding, orientation and driver training, Runnels noted Reliance’s ability to improve the driver life cycle throughout employment. He spends a considerable amount of time visiting with clients nationwide to provide firsthand driver training and culture building. Based in Indiana, Runnels most recently met with companies in California.

Most of his clients fall within the 20- to 200-unit size, but regardless of size, they share similar issues. He said that it’s common for the owner, probably a driver themselves, to have a hard time managing the safety aspects of the organization.

“We can relate to them maybe more so than someone else just because we understand their plight,” Runnels said. “Getting the right people and culture in place can be overwhelming, so being able to understand their business and where they’re wanting to go gives us a huge advantage.”

The post It benefits to have a partner in safety appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

Talks of labor shortages and truck driver safety are common themes at industry conferences, in newsletters, editorials and even watercooler conversations — with good reason.

But it’s almost as if labor and driver safety were inversely related: On one hand, relaxing regulations to make trucking easier to enter is decried as a threat to safety. On the other hand, the industry can’t grow unless drivers have more freedom.

Can’t both issues be addressed at the same time?

The Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE-Safe) Act looks to accomplish just that, by promoting better supplemental driver training while hopefully putting a dent in the driver shortage.

The DRIVE-Safe Act proposes a two-step apprenticeship process for drivers once they receive a commercial driver’s license (CDL). The training would require drivers to complete at least 400 hours of on-duty time and 240 hours of driving time under the supervision of an experienced driver riding shotgun. In addition, drivers would receive training on trucks with the latest safety technology, including active braking collision mitigation systems, forward-facing video capture, and a speed governor of 65 mph at the pedal and under adaptive cruise control.

The DRIVE-Safe Act was introduced in 2018 but was reintroduced with bipartisan support in the U.S. House and Senate last month. It primarily focuses on allowing drivers ages 18 to 21 to participate in interstate commerce, which this demographic currently cannot do.

This has squandered many opportunities for young drivers, according to Brian Runnels, Reliance Partners’ director of safety, who believes carriers could benefit greatly from loosening the leash just a bit.

Runnels argues that opening the door to interstate commerce doesn’t necessarily mean that younger drivers will be granted long-haul jobs. Rather, he makes the case that it’ll actually present more opportunities close to home.

“Carriers as a whole would feel much safer with a younger driver in a closed circuit, a relatively short distance like shuttling or hosteling trailers, or moving freight from one facility to another, not necessarily crossing state lines,” Runnels said. “But if the freight is destined for out of state, [young] drivers can’t take it from a manufacturing facility to a warehouse just 2 miles down the road; they’re not allowed to touch it.”

This means that truckers under the age of 21 operating in and around “state line cities” such as Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee; Cincinnati; Charlotte, North Carolina; and St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, for instance, aren’t allowed to even deliver local loads just because they originated in or are destined for across state lines.

“More local options would be open to 18- to 21-year-old drivers if they drop the intrastate rules, as weird as that sounds,” Runnels said. “These drivers pick up out-of-state loads dropped off in their area and can deliver them or bring them to a drop yard destined for wherever, which right now they can’t do. This would put these drivers in a more controlled area than just letting them run all over the country.”

So far, more than 120 companies and trade associations have joined a coalition in support of the DRIVE-Safe Act. One supporter is The Next Generation in Trucking Association, a nonprofit education accelerator with the goal of promoting CDL driver and diesel technician programs in high schools and community and technical colleges across the United States. Runnels serves on its board of directors.

Next Gen helps better prepare drivers with preliminary training before they actually work toward obtaining their CDLs. Its founder, Lindsey Trent, hopes the passage of the DRIVE-Safe Act would help further her efforts to introduce high school- and college-age students to the trucking industry. Next Gen’s efforts have already come to fruition in some schools through a senior-level course, entailing 219 hours of classroom instruction and 75 hours behind the wheel of a truck.

“Next Gen isn’t going after every teenager; these young participants are interested in driving at a young age and are serious about their truck driving career,” Trent said. “Not only are we trying to push the passage of the DRIVE-Safe Act, but we ultimately want there to be more trained and skilled young drivers out there.”

“There’s over $1.1 billion of federal funding every year that goes to technical education; the trucking industry is missing this,” Trent said in a previous FreightWaves interview. “We are competing against welding, construction and woodworking, but interestingly enough, a lot of those industries need CDL drivers.”

However, not everyone in trucking is on board with the DRIVE-Safe Act. In fact, a coalition of trucking and safety organizations argues that catering to younger drivers would “needlessly endanger the public.” The coalition stated that commercial drivers 19 to 20 years of age are six times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than all other truckers. It also argued that the industry has a retention crisis on its hands rather than a driver shortage.

Whether younger or older drivers are safer remains up for debate; it really all depends on how you interpret the statistics, Runnels suggests.

For instance, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) statistics from 2018 show that the age demographic with the highest percentage of fatal crashes involving large trucks is drivers 46-55 years, at 26.4%. Drivers in the 36-45 age group came in second at 21.8%, followed closely by 56- to 65-year-old drivers at 20%. In fact, only 6.6% of fatal accidents involved drivers 18-25.

One could argue that younger drivers are safer based on these figures alone, but further insight offers a different perspective.

Both Trent and Runnels say most drivers entering the industry today are 38 years old. Further, the median age of commercial drivers is 46, compared to 41 for all other workers. As the majority of commercial drivers predominantly skew older, the fact that they see more accidents seems only logical.

Regardless, the advancing age of truckers is one of the top concerns the industry can’t ignore. Next Gen states that trucking companies will have to hire 890,000 new drivers this decade to keep up with growing freight demand, so all signs point to attracting younger drivers as a viable option.

“I honestly think that it’s going to be an uphill battle. But it’s a matter of starting high school programs and career awareness programs in each state,” Trent said. “There’s a [driver] shortage, and it’s going to continue to increase the prices of consumer goods because there’s not enough people to transport those goods. We’ve got to do something, and in order to keep our economy moving, we have to have more truck drivers.”

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Planning to haul intermodal containers and chassis?

Remember to secure basic coverages before heading to ports or railheads. Reliance Partners Vice President of Sales Arvin Castellanos and Senior Account Manager Kelly Teg detail the insurance basics involved in intermodal hauling.

Intermodal refers to the transporting of freight via an intermodal container using more than one mode of transportation: ship, rail and truck. This freight is most often made up of large-scale boxes stacked on trains or boats and brought to their locations via trucks.

Through this process, freight is not actually handled while changing modes, as it remains enclosed in the intermodal transport container. This makes this form of transport highly secure and less susceptible to damage.

It should be noted that coverage tailored to intermodal requires auto liability coverage to include hired auto, trailer interchange, and general liability with additional insured or blanket additional insured included. Cargo coverage must also have intermodal containers listed as types of commodities in order to satisfy the varying UIIA endorsement requirements of insurance carriers.

Once coverage is in place, the next step is to purchase a Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA) certificate. Motor carriers without this certificate, risk denial into a port or rail yard.

What is UIIA? It’s a standard industry contract among truckers and drayage companies, water and rail carriers, and leasing companies (equipment providers). The program is administered by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) and covers liability and other issues related to the interchange of intermodal equipment between the two parties.

It’s common for insureds new to intermodal to choose the most affordable insurance carrier, but Castellanos warns that the lowest price isn’t always advantageous. He advises fleets and owner-operators to carefully assess whether the plan satisfies UIIA requirements.

“When it comes to UIIA, you need to find an insurance agent that knows what they’re doing, because not all insurance companies can do UIIA,” Castellanos said. “[Without proper guidance], it’s easy to make a mistake, but it’s hard and costly to correct it once it is bound.”

Furthermore, an additional insured or UIIA endorsement must be included with trailer interchange coverage, as Castellanos notes that many equipment providers require that drivers meet certain coverages and stipulations before hauling their chassis.

Teg recommends that insureds obtain a Standard Carrier Alpha Code (SCAC), a four-letter code used to identify your company in both the UIIA and Equipment Providers (ocean carriers/railroads/leasing companies) databases. She said that providing this code to insurance agents allows them to fill out the UIIA certificate with the necessary insurance information on behalf of the motor carrier or owner-operator.

UIIA offers a quick reference guide for completing paperwork for its agreements, which can be accessed here. Motor carriers can use the Form 5C equipment provider list to specify whom they plan to work with. Teg suggests filling this out helps the insurance provider determine trailer interchange limits during the quoting process, as limit requirements vary from company to company.

Castellanos also makes it clear that shippers in UIIA prefer not to associate with risk retention group carriers.

“One Hundred percent of the time they prefer A-rated carriers,” Castellanos said. “You can get away with working with a B or B-plus carrier, but when it comes to risk retention companies, the client is going to limit itself to only a select few equipment providers. When that happens, they lose opportunities to make more money, because they’re limiting themselves working with only certain carriers and equipment providers.”

He continued, “If you go with a risk retention group as your carrier, then know that you’re going to be limited to work with only these companies. However, if you get an A-rated carrier, it might cost you $1,000 to $2,000 more annually per truck, but you’re going to have a higher chance of working with other companies that’ll accept you without any questions asked, as long as you have the minimum limit requirements that they’re asking for.”

Questions surrounding UIIA registration and requirements are common among new insureds, according to Castellanos. However, Teg directs her clients to IANA’s frequently asked questions (FAQs) section, stating that it does a good job of answering most basic questions.

After securing proper insurance and a UIIA certification upfront, you’ll be ready to hit the road. But keep in mind that intermodal hauling has many quirks, which means that learning how to mitigate its countless risks is crucial throughout your career.

Remember that you’re hauling leased equipment, so always inspect the chassis for damages before carrying it away. Hauling inoperable equipment risks racking up vehicle maintenance violations, which can reflect negatively on your Central Analysis Bureau (CAB) score — and may also result in increased renewal premiums the following year, Teg and Castellanos explained. The last thing you want is problems upon leaving the yard, so don’t be afraid to voice your concerns with the lessor.

The post Insurance basics: Hauling intermodal appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

It can happen in an instant — you’ve hit a patch of ice and lose control of your vehicle. As you instinctively press the brakes to no avail, the sudden loss of traction leaves you feeling helpless. Hopefully no one’s in your path as you careen down the highway.

Frigid weather can precipitate precarious situations like this on almost any road, as evidenced by last week’s ice storm that swept across the southern United States.

Freezing rain iced over highways across North Texas, spurring a series of fatal accidents that claimed the lives of nine people. One of those accidents is what firefighters are calling a “mass casualty incident,” as a 100-vehicle pileup on a Fort Worth freeway left six people dead and 36 people hospitalized.

It’s hard to prepare for such events, but the magnitude of these accidents can be mitigated.

Reliance Partners’ Director of Safety Brian Runnels encourages both commercial and noncommercial drivers to slow down and give themselves extra following distance when temperatures approach below freezing.

“There were plenty of cars and trucks involved in those accidents,” Runnels said. “If people in general would give themselves the time that they need and the distance that they need to stop, there would be a lot less vehicles involved.”

It should be noted that Runnels is not accusing any drivers in particular for the recent string of icy accidents. Rather, he suggests that these situations could be a lot less severe if all drivers take precautionary measures when conditions worsen.

“The problem is that everyone believes they’re the best driver out there, while everyone else is an idiot,” Runnels said. “It’s a situation where you’re only as safe as the worst driver on the road.”

The truth is that ice renders even the most experienced drivers powerless. You can throw the laws of physics out the window when the roads are slick.

Under ideal conditions, it takes 525 feet — nearly the length of two football fields — for a fully loaded, 80,000-pound semi-truck traveling 65 miles per hour to come to a complete stop. Comparably, under the same conditions and speed, a 3,000- to 4,000-pound passenger vehicle requires 316 feet to stop.

Remember, these are the best-case scenarios when conditions are good. A driver’s perception of hazards and subsequent reaction time is critical too. However, road conditions can deteriorate quickly; inattentive drivers have even less time to react.

Runnels states that the only way to bring your vehicle safely to a stop is to disengage the accelerator and resist jamming the brakes. It’s only after the vehicle begins to slow down that the brakes be gently applied to prevent a lockup.

A veteran driver himself, Runnels recalled a brush with ice while driving northbound on Interstate 25 through Trinidad, Colorado. Making his way downhill, he noticed that traffic was building up toward the bottom of the pass. He gently applied the brakes but they kept locking. The downhill struggle continued until Runnels regained traction by tailing the right-side trailer tires into the roadside gravel, then applying the brakes.

What’s notable about his experience was that he was able to recover because he approached the downhill terrain at considerably safe speeds of 10-15 mph. He asserts that he wouldn’t have been so lucky if he was pushing 40 or 50 mph instead.

Falling precipitation in the form of rain, snow and sleet are indicators of winter weather, but sometimes the signs aren’t as obvious. Runnels suggests keeping an eye on your vehicle’s outside temperature gauge for additional warning.

While water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, be on alert for icy conditions even slightly above those temperatures. The roads may still be slick even as temperatures begin to rise.

Black ice can form on any road surface and may appear invisible to speeding motorists. It’s common knowledge that bridges tend to freeze first, but Runnels urges drivers to also beware of ice below underpasses too.

“I’ve seen so many cars and trucks spin off into the ditch immediately after passing under an overpass,” Runnels said, asserting that drivers often forget that the areas below bridges can freeze just as fast.

It’s imperative for all drivers to do their part in keeping the roads safe. At the onset of worsening conditions, Runnels encourages commercial truck drivers especially to put extra space between themselves and the vehicle in front them. The combination of ice, speed and a heavy payload coupled with the inhibiting lag time of air brakes means that semi-trucks must cover an exorbitant amount of distance to lose momentum.

For speeds under 40 mph, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recommends that drivers calculate their following distance by leaving one second for every 10 feet of vehicle length. For commercial vehicles, this results in around four seconds between you and the vehicle in front of you. Speeds over 40 mph require an additional second. However, FMCSA encourages drivers to double their following distance in adverse conditions.

“When you’re on the freeway, especially when the weather’s bad, are drivers traveling putting any additional distance between each other? The answer is no,” Runnels said. “I hear so many people say, ‘I can’t keep the distance and drivers will cut me off.’ While it’s true that drivers will cut in front of you, it’s your job to get that distance back and you have to be going at a speed that will allow you to make those adjustments, especially on ice.”

The post Don’t skate past safety precautions on icy roads appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

The trucker life isn’t for everyone and the same is true for trainers. Arguably, a driver’s performance on the road is a reflection of the quality of training he or she receives, which is why it’s important for carriers to make equally sure that the ones holding the clipboard are road-ready as well

Reliance Partners’ Director of Safety Brian Runnels urges fleets to focus internally when it comes to safety and risk mitigation, suggesting that a greater emphasis should be placed on “train-the-trainer” programs.

He argues that companies with driver training programs need to put just as much, if not more, effort into training their trainers as they do with drivers new to industry. This entails setting up internal training the trainer programs that align with the values and safety expectations of your company.

When it comes to safety, companies must practice what they preach. Each carrier is responsible for instilling a culture of safety throughout its ranks, which means that it shouldn’t be just the drivers on the hook. Runnels adamantly believes trainers play an integral role in driver development and are the first line of defense when it comes to fleet safety.

In his nearly 30-year career in transportation, Runnels enjoyed tenures both behind the wheel and as a trainer and consultant. All told, he recorded 2 million safe driving miles as well as designed and managed training courses for entry-level drivers in addition to train-the-trainer programs.

“Trainers are an extension of the safety and human resources departments …,” Runnels said. “It’s important for the safety department or whoever’s putting the program together within the company to establish a program that covers all facets of your operation, because the more the trainers know the, more information they can pass along.”

Runnels explained that an effective train-the-trainer program wires trainers to think, “OK, that didn’t work. Let me try this.”

For instance, when he received trainer training, the carrier encouraged each driver trainer to exchange phone numbers and to regularly stay in contact with one another.

“We were able to bounce ideas off each other, asking, ‘Hey, I’m trying to get this guy to turn better and whatever I’m saying is just not getting through to him. What do you think?’” Runnels said. “Being able to share those ideas and best practices many times solved the problem. A couple of us are still in contact today.”

Runnels noted that it was important for him as a trainer to not only teach drivers the skills to drive the truck, but also how to live on the road, manage downtime and trip plan. He cites the inability to trip plan as a significant contributor to burnout and turnover among many drivers.

“The trainer is the person that’s going to make or break a student’s transition,” Runnels said. “Many of them have always liked the idea of becoming a truck driver, but when it actually comes down to it, it’s quite a lifestyle change.”

For trainers, the end goal should be the same — ensuring that each driver receives the same standard of instruction. However, Runnels suggests this doesn’t mean each driver should be taught the same way. In fact, he asserts that trainers should remain patient with each student and be willing to adapt their methods according to the driver’s skill level and learning style.

“Sometimes teaching two different people the same identical thing doesn’t work for one of them,” Runnels said, explaining that something as simple as teaching how to turn the steering wheel to get the trailer to go the way you want can be difficult for some drivers to grasp.

Most importantly, Runnels believes that what distinguishes an extraordinary driver trainer from an average one is the trainer’s motivation for teaching altogether. He says the role should be held solely by those with patience, a passion for teaching and a desire for safer roadways.

A passion for teaching, Runnels said, often stems from trainers’ firsthand experience with a trainer themselves, whether it be good or bad. He suggests that many take up teaching positions to pass along the excellent training that they once received. Inversely, others are driven to make sure that future drivers don’t receive a subpar learning experience like they did.

While he doesn’t necessarily consider it a bad thing to incentivize payment based squarely on students’ performance, Runnels said that he doesn’t want individuals to become trainers for the wrong reasons.

Regardless of one’s reasons for becoming an instructor, Runnels asserts that what makes a trainer truly special is his or her willingness to bond with drivers beyond their instructional duties. A driver can ace the fundamentals of driving but struggle adjusting to a life of solitude on the open road — an experience that drivers are seldom prepared for.

“A good trainer should be everything from instructor, mentor, trainer, psychologist and friend,” Runnels said.

The post Are your driver trainers road-ready as well? appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

When buying insurance, it can sometimes seem as though premiums change on a whim.

But the truth about changing rates comes from a fluctuating insurance market that is cyclical in nature.

In a soft market, business owners can take advantage of broader terms of coverage, increased capacity, higher available limits and competition among insurance carriers for new business. But in a hard market, buyers are faced with increased premiums, diminished underwriting appetite, restricted coverage, and less competition.

While many business leaders have enjoyed the benefits of a soft market for years, several factors are causing commercial truck insurance rates to rise. Among them are catastrophic losses (such as floods, hurricanes, and wildfires) and higher than normal claim costs due to nuclear verdicts. In turn, underwriters that are struggling to overcome losses tend to exercise caution.

All in all, insurance buyers are facing difficult decisions regarding their insurance coverage. Here are 6 steps you can take to stay ahead of rising insurance rates:

Related Post: The Next Generation of Cargo Insurance: Real-Time and On-Demand.

1) Understand your insurance program.

You don’t need to be an expert on your coverage—that’s the role of your insurance broker—but you should always check to ensure your policies account for your business’s greatest exposures. A firm understanding of your coverage also ensures you’re not overlooking any exclusions. This knowledge will help you secure the right policy for your business. Ask your agent or account manager to review your policy with you and get the guidance you need on making adjustments as needed, especially during a hardening market.

2) Refine your risk management efforts.

Where possible, take the time to double down on your record management and loss control data. Doing so will make your business more attractive to insurers. Motor carriers without a safety manager or documented safety procedures can have a tough time securing favorable quotes. But your broker should be able to help you review existing policies and procedures. Ask your agent to make suggestions on how to get the information underwriters will need in order to get you the rates you deserve.

3) Know your loss history.

In a hard market, underwriters will be especially critical when reviewing loss trends. As a follow on from step 2, be prepared to explain the factors contributing to a specific loss. You’ll also need to clearly explain the steps you’ve taken to mitigate future losses.

Related Post: Do I Need Trailer Interchange or Non-Owned Trailer Coverage?

4) Budget wisely and plan ahead.

In some cases, premium increases are unavoidable. Even in a soft market, business leaders ought to take insurance costs into account alongside their other normal expenses. Best practice dictates that the more time you allocate for the quoting and the renewal process, the more options you’ll have. Your agent will also have a better chance at pricing the right solution and fine-tuning your policy if you’re being proactive.

How do you know whether you’re planning well enough ahead? That’s based on your fleet size. As a rule of thumb, you should be reaching out to your agent at the following times:

• 1-9 trucks or power units: 45 days from your policy’s expiration date.
• 10-50 trucks or power units: 90 days from your policy’s expiration date.
• 50+ trucks or power units: 120 days from your policy’s expiration date.

5) Work with the right insurance agency.

Motor carriers too often shop for insurance quotes like they shop for fuel. But changing agents and insurance companies each time you get a cheaper quote elsewhere are big red flags for underwriters. The reason? Insurance companies don’t want to insure instability—they’re always more willing to insure businesses that can demonstrate stability. That’s why it’s vital to have a trusted insurance professional advising your business. Partnering with a broker that has strong carrier relationships and undisputed knowledge of your industry can mean the difference between a hard stop to your operations and sustainable business growth.

6) Communicate early and often.

In order to understand how a hard market might affect your business, it’s imperative to keep the communication channels between you and your agent open. Starting the renewal process early can also give your agency more time to secure the best coverage for your business.

Business owners who proactively address risk, control losses and manage exposures will be better prepared in and out of a hardening market than those who do not. Work with your broker now to prepare your business for changes down the road.

The post The 6 Steps to Staying Ahead of Rising Commercial Truck Insurance Rates appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.

America’s fastest-growing commercial insurance agency for the transportation and logistics space is also one of the most innovative and disruptive companies across the freight industry. 

CHATTANOOGA, TENN. (October 24, 2019) – FreightWaves, the industry-leading provider of 24/7 news, data and analytics for the global freight and logistics markets, announced Reliance Partners as one of the winners of the 2020 FreightTech 100 Awards.

The FreightTech 100 highlights the most innovative and disruptive companies across the freight industry, featuring both cutting-edge upstarts and top-notch traditional powers. This year’s list includes 70 returning companies from last year’s awards and 30 first-timers.

The 2020 FreightTech 100 list is the result of over 1,200 nominations for 255 unique companies. The company that received the most nominations this year was nominated almost 225 times.

“This is not a ‘pay to play’ competition; the companies that make it into the FreightTech 100 do so because they are changing the freight industry in new and dynamic ways,” FreightWaves CEO Craig Fuller said. “We want to recognize the most innovative and disruptive companies out there.” 

Companies named in the FreightTech 100 will be judged by an external panel of industry experts, with voting conducted and overseen by accounting firm Katz, Sapper & Miller (KSM). Each member of the panel ranks the top 25 companies on a 1 to 25 point basis. The companies generating the most points comprise the FreightTech 25.

“Data has always been used to calculate driving and safety metrics,” Reliance Partners President Chad Eichelberger said. “But leveraging telematics and integrating with supply chain networks, directly, allows Reliance to prioritize the customer experience, achieve better rates, and secure on-demand cargo insurance products for shippers, carriers, and logistics companies, alike. We’re honored to have been selected for the efforts we’ve placed into upgrading the commercial insurance industry.”

The winners of the Freight Tech 25 will be announced at FreightWaves LIVE Chicago.

The post Reliance Partners Named on 2020 FreightTech 100 List. appeared first on Commercial Transportation & Trucking Insurance - Reliance Partners.