Claims Experience Letter (CEL) w/ Richard Tino
As noted in last month’s article, a major challenge when insuring a newly hired driver is the claims experience letter (CEL). Issued by the insurance company, the CEL is an official letter that provides details of a specific policy and is required to prove a driver’s commercial driving experience. Essentially, it is a formal “proof of experience”.
Typically, a CEL will include the policy number, the policy holder, length of time the policy was in effect and any claims made during the term of the policy. Upon request, a CEL can also include specific details about the policy like the different classifications of vehicles insured, which drivers were listed on the policy, and types of commodities hauled by those drivers.
Regarding transportation, construction, and fleets in general, the insurance companies with the most competitively priced and lowest restriction policies will require a copy of the business’s CEL before they will provide a formal quote, and most require a CEL for each driver to ensure both the company and the drivers possess adequate experience within the specific operations they’re insuring.
Depending on the insurance company, the minimal experience required can range between three to five years of driving either similar commercial vehicles, similar commodities hauled and/or performing similar operations.
As important as the CEL is, you’d think it would be easy to obtain. Unfortunately, insurance brokers cannot issue CEL’s and can only obtain them with formal authorization of the business owner or the driver whose experience is being disclosed. This gets complicated when requesting a CEL for policies that were facilitated by a previous broker. Often times the new broker faces the challenge of discovering the missing policy information required to request CEL’s.
This is why business owners should make a habit of requesting a CEL from their broker every year prior to renewal and as a courtesy, one for each drivers exit package prior to their departure from your company. Due the difficulty in finding experienced drivers, companies often rehire drivers and providing CEL’s will assist dismissed drivers find employment elsewhere and maintain a consistent record of driving experience.
If you’re a driver or business owner needing assistance obtaining a CEL or are interested in learning about how Leibel Insurance Group can help you, please contact us trucking@ligroup.ca
Until next time, keep on Trucking!
Richard Tino
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