Fleet shutdowns, rising settlements, and insurer exits are reshaping the role of the trucking broker
Skyrocketing premiums, legal unpredictability, and insurer exits are upending the trucking insurance market – and brokers who don’t adapt are putting clients at risk.
According to Kenny Planeta (pictured), a transportation broker at Heffernan Insurance Brokers, the old playbook is no longer working. “The rate squeeze is dramatic,” Planeta said. “Insurance rates have skyrocketed while driver pay, equipment costs, and fuel costs have all increased. Freight rates, on the other hand, haven’t moved much.”
That margin pressure has become existential for many fleets. “I had a 10-year client recently decide to sell his business,” he said. “That kind of call comes in monthly now.”
Legal uncertainty driving settlements and premiums
Planeta pointed to a liability environment where unpredictability – not claim severity – is inflating costs.