Insulated body and fridge unit
Damage to the truck, the insulated panels and the refrigeration plant, which is often scheduled as an item in its own right.
Refrigerated Fridge Truck Insurance
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Refrigerated Fridge Truck Insurance
Cover for rigid fridge trucks running chilled and frozen multi-drop delivery.
A metropolitan fridge truck opens its doors twenty or thirty times a shift, which is a very different temperature problem to a sealed interstate reefer. Most disputes are not about the truck at all. They are about whether the stock in the back was still fit to sell after a breakdown, a long door-open period, or a power failure at the depot overnight.
What is it?
Fridge trucks are rigid vehicles with an insulated body and a truck-mounted refrigeration unit, commonly from Thermo King or Carrier, running single or multi-temperature compartments. Operators include butchers, seafood and produce wholesalers, dairy and bakery runs, caterers and pharmaceutical couriers. Sizes run from small 4.5 tonne bodies through to heavy rigid units with roller and side doors.
What does refrigerated fridge truck insurance cover?
Stock spoilage
Loss of chilled or frozen stock following a refrigeration failure, subject to the service and monitoring conditions in the wording.
Goods in transit
Customer stock carried for a fee is generally handled under carriers liability rather than the motor policy.
What affects the cost?
- Chilled, frozen or multi-temperature operation
- Value of a full load of stock
- Age and service records of the refrigeration unit
- Number of drops and door openings per shift
- Temperature logging and alarms fitted
Worth raising on the call
- Spoilage cover generally depends on being able to show the unit was serviced and the temperature logged.
- Door-open time on multi-drop runs is a common reason a spoilage claim gets questioned.
- Check how stock left in the truck overnight at the depot is treated, because it is often different.
Claims we are commonly asked about
Compressor fails on a hot afternoon
The refrigeration unit stops mid-run on a 38 degree day and a load of produce is condemned by the receiver on arrival. Spoilage claims of this kind generally turn on the service history of the unit and whether the temperature record shows what happened and when.
Collision stops the unit mid-run
The truck is hit at an intersection, the refrigeration unit shuts down and the frozen load warms while the vehicle waits hours for a tow. The vehicle damage and the stock loss are usually assessed as separate parts of the same claim, and the time to transfer the load matters.
Door seal damage causes a temperature breach
A dock bumper tears a rear door seal and the compartment cannot hold temperature for the rest of the run, with the breach only found at the next drop. Whether the resulting stock loss is covered generally depends on how the wording links physical damage to spoilage.
Worth confirming in the wording
- Worth confirming whether spoilage cover requires a documented service history for the refrigeration unit and continuous temperature logging, since those conditions are commonly attached.
- Worth confirming whether spoilage caused by a door being left open, or by a power supply failure at the depot overnight, is treated the same way as mechanical breakdown of the unit.
- Worth confirming whether the spoilage limit is realistic for a full load of high-value stock such as seafood, premium meat or pharmaceuticals, rather than a default figure.
Common questions
Does truck insurance cover stock that spoils?
Not under the motor damage section. Spoilage is generally a separate benefit with its own limit, and it commonly carries conditions about servicing, temperature monitoring and how quickly the load is transferred or salvaged. It is worth reading those conditions before the hot week arrives, subject to the policy terms.
Am I covered if the fridge unit simply breaks down?
Damage to the unit itself from breakdown is usually a maintenance or warranty matter rather than an insurance one, but the resulting stock spoilage may be addressed under a spoilage benefit if the wording allows it and the service conditions have been met. Those are two different questions and are worth asking separately.
Do I need goods in transit as well as spoilage cover?
Often yes, because they answer different things. Goods in transit or carriers liability generally responds to loss or damage to customer stock you carry, while spoilage responds specifically to temperature failure. If you carry other people's chilled stock for a fee, both are commonly relevant.
What does fridge truck insurance cost?
It depends on the operation. Chilled, frozen or multi-temperature work, the value of a full load, the age and service record of the refrigeration unit, the number of door openings per shift, and whether temperature logging and alarms are fitted all feed in. A broker can approach the insurers who understand cold chain work.
General information only. Cover, limits and exclusions depend on the PDS, TMD, eligibility, underwriting and the policy terms. See truck insurance for the wider picture.
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