Insurance eligibility requirements - for professional transport drivers
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
3012-001_ed02E
Insurance eligibility requirements
TM
for professional transport drivers
™ Trademark used under licence from Northbridge Financial Corporation.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval
systems or transmitted in any form by any means – electronic, photocopying, recording or
otherwise – without the prior written permission of Northbridge Financial Corporation.
* Policies underwritten by Northbridge Commercial Insurance Corporation.
2 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers
Table of contents
1.0 How to qualify for insurance coverage
as a professional transport driver 4
• Who is this information for?
2.0 Driver eligibility factors 6
• Convictions and citations
• Work entitlement status
• Qualifying through practical experience
• Qualifying through accredited training
3.0 How to choose the right driver training 12
• Get it in writing
4.0 How to meet Northbridge Insurance’s training requirements 13
• Canadian Trucking Human Resources Council (CTHRC)
• Truck Training Schools Association of Ontario (TTSAO)
• Professional Truck Driving Institute (PTDI)
5.0 Provincially sponsored training programs 14
6.0 Training resources 15
3 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers1.0
How to qualify for insurance coverage as
a professional transport driver
Who is this information for? Based on Northbridge Insurance’s
Did you know?
This publication has been produced publication Let’s Talk Driver Eligibility,
specifically for small fleets, owner-operators released in 2005, this information has been
Northbridge Insurance evaluates a
and new drivers, and outlines specific criteria updated and more detailed information on combination of experience, training
used by Northbridge Insurance™ to establish eligibility requirements has been added. and other factors.*
driver eligibility for insurance.
While meeting the demand for qualified
Our driver eligibility criteria are similar to drivers has become a critical challenge,
the best practices used by top employers trucking companies, in partnership with
in North America’s trucking industry today. their insurance companies, must continue to
We have adopted them to streamline the ensure standards for driver qualification are
driver hiring process and to support you in met, so that insurance remains affordable in
selecting professional drivers who will help the long term.
your business prosper.
For insurance brokers, knowing and
understanding these guidelines will help you
meet your clients’ needs in terms of adding
drivers on an existing policy or qualifying
new drivers more quickly.
4 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of ContentsOver the past decade, the demand for qualified professional drivers
has skyrocketed. Recent industry studies estimate that 375,000
new drivers are required in Canada over the next decade, to serve
our expanding economy and to replace professional drivers retiring
from the profession. As a result, commercial truck driving is one of
Canada’s most in-demand professions.
Did you know?
The advantages for transport companies • Reduced downtime
hiring well-qualified professional drivers
375,000 new drivers will be
include: • Reduced time and expense in required in Canada over the next
recruitment and training decade.
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Reduced vehicle operating expenses
• Improved safety performance
• Improved corporate image in the
• Fewer accidents community
• Lower insurance costs
• Higher driver retention
5 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of Contents2.0
Driver eligibility factors
Four key factors determine driver eligibility for insurance:
convictions and citations; work entitlement status; qualifying
through practical experience; and qualifying through accredited
training. The following pages explain each factor in detail.
A. Convictions and citations Drivers who have fewer convictions than • Failure or refusal to submit to a
On the date Northbridge Insurance stated above may be subject to surcharges. breathalyzer, blood or other sobriety
evaluates a driver’s eligibility, we test, or similar test for drugs or
require that he or she has an acceptable The following convictions or citations restricted substances
conviction/citation record over the will subject a driver listed as a “principal
prior three-year period. Convictions and operator” to surcharges: • Temporary or roadside suspension
citations include those incurred in foreign for consumption of alcohol, drugs or
jurisdictions as well as in Canada. Type 1 – criminal code type restricted substances
convictions or citations
An acceptable record includes: • Criminal negligence or manslaughter • Operating a motor vehicle in a race or
• No Type 1 (criminal code type) committed while driving a motor vehicle speed test
convictions or citations; or
• Driving while intoxicated • Careless driving
• No more than two Type 2 (major type)
convictions or citations; and • Impaired driving
• No more than three convictions or • Driving while licence under suspension
citations of any other type. or disqualified
Drivers who have more convictions than • Dangerous driving
stated above may be denied insurance
coverage.
6 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of ContentsType 2 – Major type convictions or • Carrying person on or in the cargo • Operating a motor vehicle carrying an
citations portion of the vehicle or in a trailer unsecured or improperly secured load
• Crossing railway barrier when unsafe to
do so or in violation of warning signs or • Improper passing of a school bus • Operating a motor vehicle while view is
signals obstructed Failure to produce proof of
• Improper passing within designated insurance Failure to produce a driver’s
• Improper passing/driving school or playground zones licence Driving in a reserved bus lane
• Driving on wrong side of a road • Speeding within designated school or • Operating a motor vehicle while driver
playground zones seat is crowded Vehicle illegally or
• Driving an unsafe vehicle unsafely parked or stopped
• Speeding more than 30 kilometers over
• Failure to yield right of way to vehicle/ the posted speed limit other than in • Improper use or failure to use turn/stop
pedestrian school or playground zones signal device
• Failure to stop for an emergency vehicle • Driving with no insurance • Failure to have proper trailer attachment
• Failure to share the road
Type 3 – Minor type convictions or • Moving traffic offences not listed above
• Failure to stop as required citations
• Breach of speed limits by over 10 If in doubt, please refer the facts to your
• Failure to obey traffic sign/control kilometers per hour over the posted insurance broker who can clarify the
device speed limit other than listed in the acceptability of the conviction/citation
Criminal Code Type or Major Types record with a Northbridge Insurance
• Following too closely schedules representative.
• Pedestrian cross-over violation • Operating defective equipment
• Failure to report an accident • Operating a motor vehicle while in
violation of seatbelt regulations
• Failure to give name and licence
number in the event of an accident to • Operating a motor vehicle in excess of
police or other persons entitled to such permitted weight
information
7 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of ContentsB. Work entitlement status
All drivers must be qualified to operate
the insured vehicle in each jurisdiction
required by their employment, and possess
all applicable licences and permits. They
must also be legally entitled to work
according to all provincial and federal laws
pertaining to age, medical condition, drug
testing requirements and immigration or
work entitlement status in each jurisdiction
required by their employment.
Did you know?
Drivers must meet legal
requirements and standards in all
jurisdictions.
8 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of ContentsC. Qualifying through practical High hazard driving scenarios Did you know?
experience In certain high hazard driving scenarios,
Northbridge Insurance requires a minimum For high hazard scenarios
To qualify for insurance coverage based on
of one year† of practical experience driving Northbridge Insurance requires one
practical experience, a driver being hired
vehicles of the same configuration and year of similar experience.
to haul most types of general freight must
load types, over an equal or greater radius
declare and be able to confirm a minimum
of operation.
of one year of experience† driving vehicles
of similar configuration, defined as:
This standard applies to hauling:
1. Tractor/trailer experience for jobs
requiring tractor/trailer operation; or • Bulk liquids
2. Straight truck or tractor/trailer • Train, float or drop-type trailers
experience for jobs requiring straight
truck operation; or • Logs or pulp wood
3. Experience driving vehicles of similar • Anything in the woodlands
configuration—includes international
experience. • Anything in the oil fields
To confirm eligibility on the basis of practical • Chemical products
experience, Northbridge Insurance requires
the driver’s full name, licence classification, • Sand, gravel, stone or earth
and details of driving positions held during
the preceding one year, indicating the type • Steel products
of vehicle configurations each assignment
involved. Employment reference letters may • Oversized loads
also be required.
† These rules DO NOT apply in
In addition to this basic information, your
Newfoundland and Labrador. Please
broker and Northbridge Insurance may
contact your broker for further
access other sources of information to
information.
validate the driver’s experience as well as
the driver’s at-fault accident record. Your
broker will advise you on how to proceed
with your application.
9 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of ContentsD. Qualifying through accredited • Proof of successful completion of the • Proof of successful completion of the
training Ontario Voluntary Apprenticeship Ontario Voluntary Apprenticeship
Program, the Alberta Professional Driver Program, the Alberta Professional Driver
In the absence of sufficient practical
Certificate Program, or the Quebec Certificate Program, or the Quebec
experience—which is the case for all
certificate program. certificate program.
entry level truck drivers—Northbridge
Insurance often accepts evidence of a
In the case of high hazard driving
driver’s successful completion of qualifying To confirm whether a program
scenarios, Northbridge Insurance will
accredited training. satisfies Northbridge Insurance’s
only extend insurance coverage to
drivers who possess a minimum of one equivalency requirements, call us toll-
Tractor/trailer or straight truck with
free at 1.855.620.6262 or e-mail us at
trailer hitch configuration year of similar experience. Under such
circumstances, training alone— regardless info@nbfc.com
In most instances, Northbridge Insurance of the accredited training completed—is
will insure a driver hired to operate a insufficient.
Did you know?
tractor/trailer or straight truck with trailer
Straight truck or light commercial
hitch configurations used to haul most vehicle Professional transport drivers and
types of general freight when the driver
their employers demonstrate a
meets the following criteria: In the case of a driver of a straight truck or
light commercial vehicle, the driver must lifelong commitment to ongoing
• At least one year of experience driving have: training.
any automobile with an acceptable
conviction/citation record. (See page 4.) • At least one year of experience driving
any automobile with an acceptable
• Proof of successful completion of the conviction/citation record (see page 4);
Canadian Trucking Human Resources and
Council (CTHRC) Earning Your Wheels
training program provided by a CTHRC- • Proof of successful completion of a
accredited training facility, a certified certified PTDI training course, or a
Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI) course run by a TTSAO accredited
training course, or a course run by a facility that meets the equivalency
Truck Training Schools Association of standards of the Northbridge Insurance
Ontario (TTSAO) accredited facility Straight Truck Diploma training
meeting the equivalency standards of standard; or
the Northbridge Insurance AZ tractor-
trailer diploma training standard.
10 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of ContentsNot all training programs
are the same
Go Back to Table of Contents3.0
How to choose the right driver training
Over 200 truck driving courses are available across Canada
today—from short refresher classes to introductory courses
to comprehensive programs that include extensive classroom
theory and behind-the-wheel training.
However, due to many factors—including Get it in writing
substandard curricula, insufficient classroom Because of the absence of common
instruction, inadequate behind-the-wheel training standards, Northbridge Insurance
instruction, and unqualified instructors— recommends that prospective students
many of these programs do not meet receive written confirmation from their
Northbridge Insurance’s minimum eligibility school, stating that the course being
standards for training in lieu of necessary considered is accredited to meet the
practical experience. minimum standards established by the
CTHRC’s Earning Your Wheels Program,
This uneven approach to driver education or is certified by the PTDI, or meets
and training is due largely to a lack of Northbridge Insurance’s equivalency
uniform federal and provincial regulations for requirements.
truck driver training schools.
When considering enrolment in a truck
driving program, it is important to
understand that not all training programs are
the same.
12 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of Contents4.0
How to meet Northbridge Insurance’s
training requirements
Canadian Trucking Human Resources The CTHRC is an incorporated not-for- Professional Truck Driving Institute
Council (CTHRC) profit organization led by a volunteer (PTDI)
board of directors representing the
The CTHRC’s Earning Your Wheels Canadian trucking industry. For more Some truck driving courses in Ontario have
program is an entry-level driver training information on the CTHRC, the Earning been certified by the Professional Truck
course designed to cultivate the Your Wheels program, and a current list Driving Institute. PTDI is credited with
professional skills, knowledge and attitudes of facilities offering this program, visit the developing the first voluntary curriculum
required by today’s professional truck CTHRC website at www.cthrc.com. and certification standards recognized
drivers in North America. Regardless of by both the trucking industry and the
which certified training school one attends, Truck Training Schools Association of US government. PTDI certified courses
successful graduates of this program Ontario (TTSAO) meet Northbridge Insurance’s equivalency
will receive a Certificate of Program Registered private vocational schools requirements.
Completion signed and issued directly by and organizations specializing in truck
the CTHRC. driver training make up the Truck Training
Schools Association of Ontario. One of
Combining both highly developed TTSAO’s principle objectives is to ensure
classroom studies and practical behind- that all drivers entering that profession
the-wheel training, this program meets all maintain a minimum level of knowledge
the requirements set out by the National and ability, consistent not only with the
Occupational Standards for Professional needs of their employers but the safety
Truck Drivers. of the general public. TTSAO maintains
a list of accredited schools that meet its
standards and Northbridge Insurance’s
equivalency requirements.
13 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of Contents5.0
Provincially sponsored training
programs
Ontario Québec Alberta
The Tractor-Trailer Commercial Driver The Quebec Ministry of Education certifies The Professional Driver Certificate Program
Apprenticeship program provides entry- schools to deliver the minimum curriculum takes students beyond a Class 1 licence
level drivers a firm foundation of skills content and hours, as well as minimum to meet the requirements set out by the
and knowledge, while also providing requirements for facilities, vehicles and National Occupational Standards for
trucking companies a well- trained, safety- instructor qualifications. Professional Drivers. The program was
conscientious employee. designed to bring together the person
The Société de l’assurance automobile du seeking a career and carriers looking for
Graduates from this program meet Québec (SAAQ) manages the accreditation qualified drivers.
Northbridge Insurance’s equivalency process for schools delivering training
requirements. resulting in issuance of a drivers licence Graduates from this program meet
for heavy transport drivers. The standards Northbridge Insurance’s equivalency
www.drive4apprenticeship.com include minimum requirements for instructors’ requirements.
qualifications, hours of training, types of
equipment and facilities required. www.rdc.ab.ca/trades/professional_driver/
Graduates from this program meet
Northbridge Insurance’s equivalency
requirements.
www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/lourds/ecoles_
conduite.html
14 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of Contents6.0
Training resources
For information on recognized driver training courses, please
consult the following websites:
Northbridge Insurance has provided
National this information for your convenience.
Canadian Trucking Human Resources Northbridge Insurance does not
Council recommend any particular training facility
www.cthrc.com and is not responsible for verifying
that any course selected will meet
Professional Truck Driver Institute (PTDI) industry standards or will meet federal,
www.ptdi.org state, provincial and/or municipal laws,
regulations and ordinances.
Ontario
Truck Training Schools Association To confirm whether a specific training
of Ontario (TTSAO) program satisfies Northbridge Insurance’s
www.ttsao.com equivalency requirements, call us toll-free
at 1.855.620.6262.
Voluntary Truck Driver Apprenticeship in
Ontario
www.drive4apprenticeship.com
Alberta
Red Deer College
www.rdc.ab.ca/trades/professional_driver/
Québec
Société de l’assurance automobile
www.saaq.gouv.qc.ca/lourds/ecoles_
conduite.html
15 | Insurance eligibility requirements for professional transport drivers Go Back to Table of ContentsYou can also read
