If you own a company that offers non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT), you are legally required to have insurance on all of the vehicles in your fleet, and having transportation insurance is something that is of the utmost importance. If you do not have NEMT insurance, you could be held liable for any damages that occur in your vehicles. You can also achieve this objective by engaging with transportation insurance brokers who will represent your interests when interacting with transportation insurance companies. This is another way in which you may accomplish this aim. On the other hand, ensuring that all of the vehicles are in good working order can be an expensive endeavor, and the procedures that you are required to adhere to in order to maintain the safety of your fleet and ensure that your drivers have received the appropriate training are challenging and typically take up an excessive amount of time. In addition, you are required to adhere to the processes that you are required to adhere to in order to maintain the safety of your fleet and ensure that your drivers have received the appropriate training.
In the event that you are new to NEMT or if you are looking to increase the number of vehicles in your fleet, you may have a few questions regarding NEMT insurance for vehicles and what it entails as your company grows and expands over time. This is especially true in the event that you are looking to increase the number of vehicles in your fleet. In this post, we will give additional information regarding NEMT insurance for automobiles as well as provide answers to some of the issues that have been raised before.
Businesses that offer NEMT services, including those that are employed under contracts awarded by the federal government, are frequently subject to the laws of the states in which they conduct business. This is the case regardless of whether or not the federal government actually awards the contracts. The vast majority of the time, owners and operators of NEMT services are obliged to secure at the very least the state’s mandated bare minimum level of insurance coverage. Non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) businesses that carry patients and have an agreement with the state’s non-emergency medical transport program administrators are obliged to have extra coverage in addition to what is already required of them. In any event, non-emergency medical transportation insurance is beneficial, and it gives policyholders a number of choices about the coverage they get for their transportation insurance.
Even though they are operating under contracts given by the federal government, NEMT firms are nevertheless required to comply with the rules of the states in which they do business since this is the standard procedure. The majority of the time, owners and operators of NEMTs are obliged to get at the very least the bare minimum level of insurance coverage that is specified by the state in which they do their business. This is the case the great majority of the time. In addition to this, NEMT firms that contract with state NEMT insurance program administrators for passengers are usually required to secure additional insurance coverage. This is the case for NEMT passengers.
An anxious businessperson has the option to choose from many different coverages relating to vehicles that are covered by NEMT insurance. These plans provide basic fault insurance for each vehicle, in addition to supplementary coverage that protects your fleet even further against damage of any sort and provides further protection against liability claims.
It is probable that you have noticed a rise in the cost of the premiums for your own car as a direct consequence of the overall rising trend in the cost of vehicle insurance premiums that have occurred over the course of the previous decade. In 2009, the mean price of a car was $785, which serves as an example of the range of prices. As a direct consequence of this price rise, the cost will be more than $1,300 by the year 2020. Although the yearly cost for full coverage vehicle insurance is estimated to be $1,630 in 2022 for a motorist who has a respectable history as a driver and a great credit record, it is anticipated that this rate will decline significantly to $1,600 during the next few years. Even the little breach of the law, such as earning a ticket for speeding, may rapidly increase that average cost far past the threshold of $1,790.
The following is not a full list of the factors that are considered when calculating the price of NEMT insurance; however, it does contain some of the most significant ones:
- Auto Type
- Aspects relating to the maintenance of autos as well as issues about their safe operation
- The whole quantity of automobiles that make up your company’s fleet
- The number of unique racecar drivers who are part of your squad
- The levels of experience that drivers possess, in addition to the record of safe driving that your firm as a whole has maintained over the years
- Requirements set by the state and any appropriate municipalities, which may include geographical conditions and any other possible hazards that may be presented by the route
- The number of previous insurance claims that were submitted might include incidents in which the policyholder was determined to be at fault in addition to other kinds of issues
- Your company’s strategy to reduce risk, which may include things like driver training and coaching, retraining, and attestation, reduces the possibility of accidents and other forms of challenges
When it comes to career-driving services, such as those supplied by NEMT providers, additional factors may be taken into account. These factors have the potential to have an impact on the cost of NEMT insurance that you purchase. Tools for safety and other norms linked to safety are examples of these extra aspects that must be considered.
Factors That Affect Your Insurance Premiums
Your NEMT insurance rates might go up as a result of a variety of factors, including a history of bad driving and a large number of claims made in the past, both of which have the potential to have a negative impact. This is similar to the situation with the insurance coverage for your own vehicle.
On the other hand, operators of NEMTs face certain risks that might result in an increase in the cost of their NEMT insurance premiums. This holds true despite the fact that their driver may or may not have a clean driving record, as well as in the event that there have been no previous claims in the past. In order to further demonstrate this notion, let’s have a look at a few examples.
When it comes to cars that are able to accept wheelchairs and stretchers, it is important to have in your fleet automobiles that can be readily accessible by wheelchair. For example, vans or buses are good examples of vehicles that fit this description. It’s possible that your rates will be more than those of competing transportation companies since you don’t use vehicles that are fitted with stretchers from the get-go. These companies carry people in more conventional automobiles and a variety of other vehicle types.
It is not the case that a van that is specifically designed to accommodate wheelchairs has an increased risk of being involved in an accident; rather, the risk is associated with operating a vehicle of that sort in general. It will take additional training as well as the use of specific equipment for you to be able to transport wheelchairs securely inside your vehicles. During transportation, it is possible for the wheelchair to flip over, fall, or get dislodged if the rider’s wheelchair is damaged in any way, or if the wheelchair is not attached to the vehicle in the correct manner by your driver. Because of this, the rider as well as the driver are in danger of having their safety jeopardized.
The same conditions apply to ambulance vans that carry patients on stretchers. Patients who use wheelchairs and stretchers are likely suffering from other serious health conditions, which raises the bar for your risks—and, as a result, the potential liability of your insurance company—while transporting them from one location to another. Additionally, patients who use wheelchairs and stretchers are likely suffering from other serious health conditions.
Another element that might have an impact on the price that you are charged is the ratio or balance that exists between the number of cars you own and the number of drivers you have. This ratio or balance can be thought of as the proportion between the two. If you have a bigger number of drivers operating your vehicles and a greater number of automobiles on the road at any one time, then there is a greater possibility that your rate will also be higher.
The following are some essential principles that could be of help to you in cutting down the cost of your insurance premium; however, the details of how much your premium might be lowered depending on the particular insurance carrier that you choose:
- It is very necessary for you to provide your drivers with constant training and, where it is suitable, certification in order to guarantee their safety. This may involve instruction on how to drive in a defensive and safe manner, how to avoid possible hazards, how to avoid driving while distracted, and maybe even how to drive while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
- You should do routine or regular training for your drivers, and when it is suitable, you should also check that they have the necessary credentials. This will allow you to protect the health and safety of your patients. This might include the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), how to manage a medical emergency, how to deal with blood-borne viruses, how to adequately secure wheelchairs and stretchers, what to do in the event of an emergency, and how to keep patients safe.
- You should work with a single service provider to handle all of your insurance plans and consolidate them.
- Make sure that all of your cars go through their regular maintenance, and that you maintain track of all of the paperwork that is required for such operations.
- Installing anti-theft systems in each of your cars is an excellent way to protect them from being stolen.
