That’s Delivered Podcast
Welcome to “That’s Delivered” – your ultimate destination for all things trucking and beyond! Here, we take you behind the wheel and dive deep into the world of trucking, delivering stories, insights, and experiences designed to inspire, educate, and entertain.
Our podcast isn’t just about transportation; it’s about reliability, accomplishment, and fulfillment. “That’s Delivered” reflects the sense of completion that comes with meeting promises and exceeding expectations—whether on the road or in life.
Whether you’re a seasoned trucker, a logistics enthusiast, or just curious about the backbone of our economy, this is the place for you. We’ll explore life on the road, uncover how technology is reshaping the industry, and break down the latest regulations impacting drivers and businesses alike.
So buckle up, hit the road with us, and join a community that understands the journey is just as important as the destination. From personal stories to industry insights, “That’s Delivered” brings the best of trucking straight to your ears, promising every mile together will be worth the ride!
That’s Delivered Podcast
Trucking Insurance Experts: How They Keep Drivers Compliant and Protected
Two powerhouse women in the trucking insurance world join Trucking Ray for an illuminating conversation about what really happens behind the scenes of keeping America's freight moving safely. Rylie Jorgensen and Elaine Wewers-Star from United Commercial Insurance Agency (UCIA) bring their unique perspectives—one with deep family ties to trucking, the other finding her calling in commercial insurance—to explain how proper coverage creates the foundation for trucking business success.
The conversation peels back the curtain on what makes UCIA different in the crowded insurance marketplace. Unlike agencies that dabble in multiple insurance types, UCIA's laser focus on trucking means deeper knowledge of regulations, requirements, and real-world challenges drivers face. Their educational approach becomes clear as they walk through common misconceptions—like new owner-operators not realizing vehicles must be insured before DOT filings can be completed—and explain how clean inspection histories and safety scores dramatically impact insurance rates.
What truly sets this discussion apart is the practical advice about emerging industry challenges. From cargo theft prevention to broker verification services like Freight Validate, the guests offer actionable strategies for risk management. They explain why cutting corners on coverage can be catastrophic: "If it's going to save you a couple thousand a year versus losing your whole business, what's the weighing factor there?" As they discuss regulatory changes including states increasing liability requirements to $1.5 million, listeners gain valuable insight into staying ahead of compliance needs.
Beyond insurance talk, there's a refreshing authenticity as these women discuss building credibility in a traditionally male-dominated field. Rather than focusing on gender, they emphasize knowledge, reliability, and genuine care for clients' success. As Elaine notes, her perspective on truckers completely flipped from annoyance to admiration once she understood the essential role they play in our economy. Whether you're a seasoned fleet owner or considering your first authority, this episode delivers practical wisdom and a reminder that with the right support team, you're never alone on the highway to success.
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Hi everyone.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to that's Delivered. I'm your host, Trucking Ray, and we have a real good treat for you. Today we're going to have a live episode of two great women that have dedicated themselves to trucking. I knew that they would make a great show. We have Riley and we have Elaine. They're two women that have serious work that they do behind the scenes to keep the industry moving safely and confidently.
Speaker 2:Riley I met her at Mid-America Truck Show. That's Matt's Within minutes. I knew that her connection with the trucking industry was a real deal and she also has family in truck show. That's Matt's Within minutes. I knew that her connection with the truck industry was a real deal and she also has family in trucking, so her personal history really shapes how she shows up for drivers today. And Elaine she's a powerhouse with United Commercial Insurance Agency UCIA for short where both of them help truckers get protection they need to grow their business and stay in compliance. We're talking with family ties, career paths and real stories on the road and how insurance can be more than just a policy. It can be peace of mind.
Speaker 2:So let's jump right in all right, glad to have you guys on the show. It's been nice to have a new uh flair here with the live episodes, so I appreciate you guys taking part in that. I mean, I think that's huge man. So how's everybody doing today?
Speaker 3:good, good, thank good. Thank you for having us. I'm Riley Riley Jorgensen. So yeah, I got to meet at Matt's and kind of start building an initial connection, which was really great. So really excited to be on the show.
Speaker 4:Nice. Yeah, I'm Elaine. We were. Matt's was a bit chaotic so I didn't get to meet you there, so I'm excited to meet you this way. Awesome, yeah. Yeah, Matt's was a bit chaotic so I didn't get to meet you there, so I'm excited to meet you this way.
Speaker 2:Yeah, awesome, yeah, it's great to have you on the show. Your personal connection with trucking means a lot and, riley, we'll kick things off with you. What's in your story you shared at Matt's? Your family involved with trucking. What do you have to say?
Speaker 3:My husband's grandfather was a truck driver for many years. Actually, like my husband and I have been together since high school and he was still trucking. It was like 40 years. He was still doing it when we met in high school, so just knowing how important it is for him and like how he was able to raise a family, that was his um. You know how he brought home the money and so always want to make sure you know there's that personal connection nice.
Speaker 2:What was it that? What was it like growing up with the truck and the family. You know what was that?
Speaker 3:um, it was definitely interesting. Um, not something, I guess, like if, if you don't know, you don't realize all the people like you might see the trucks out on the road, but sometimes you don't really think of them as like people. Or I mean, you know, if you see other people, you're not worried about what they're doing, you're just wondering how it's affecting you and so, uh, just knowing how important it was, you know for him and you know important for us to get all of the everything you know, if it wasn't for truck drivers, we wouldn't have anything, you know.
Speaker 2:That's it. I mean, I think a lot of people share that same passion, that same desire when they talk about someone they know in the family, or or even someone that they knew grew up with a truck driver. Maybe it was a neighbor you know. So, yeah, that's great. Also, elaine, I know your path into the space looks a little different. You've worked across insurance and financial services, but somewhere along the line you found yourself diving in deep into trucking. What's something that you want to share about the industry that drew you to it?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So it definitely wasn't a career path that I was thinking of when I got out of college, but I started there after I graduated and sort of kind of went up the ladder, started CSR, account manager, personal lines and then moved to the commercial side and the commercial trucking. That's what really stuck with me. I just really enjoy it. It's definitely more fulfilling than just doing the personal lines, because you're helping people actually build their business and start a company of their own, which is pretty fulfilling. So that definitely helped me stay in the trucking industry and it's cool to help these guys that are. I mean, obviously, like Riley said, if there's no trucking industry, you're not getting any goods. So it's really important.
Speaker 2:Awesome. So let's talk about UCIA, what it really does for truckers. Who wants to speak on that? I know you talk about United Commercial Insurance Agency agency and what's one thing you know that mostly people don't know, or you can emphasize their education and support, maybe on those areas with the dlt and small fleets. Um, you, you walk, you know, talk with people and your requirements, step by step. What's, uh, what's one thing you can break down for them?
Speaker 4:yeah, I can take this one over, um, as the owner started it, he started it just primarily for commercial trucking and his background, his brothers, are in compliance and his dad was in drug testing, so his family comes from a long line of trucking industry companies.
Speaker 4:So that's why it was set up as commercial trucking and so from that, at the beginning, we really focused on just helping brand new companies, new DOTs. When it's really hard to get insurance, the rates are a little rough and the education portion of it is really important. So that's kind of like our baseline model is just really educating these brand new companies and then from there we've started branching off and working with more experienced companies. People have been in business just trying to help anyone that we can. But we really do focus on the education and service part so that we're there from step one letting them know these are the regulations that you need to follow, the coverages that you need to have. These are some hiccups you might find along the way and not to freak out, but we're here to help out. So that education piece is really important for us.
Speaker 3:To add on to that one of my favorite stories. Our owner, brandon, started out so he knew there was definitely a need for like a commercial insurance agent and he said he sold his first policy and it took him a whole entire day to figure out how to send a certificate because he was so brand new and now we can bust those out in like 10 minutes. And so I think that's just like so true, for like UCI is like we might not know like the answer if it's something that's changed or something you know new to us, like we're very dedicated in learning to also help you. You know, have a better experience as well.
Speaker 2:Now. So what does the onboarding process look like? Kind of walk us through that.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it kind of depends. So I work a lot with like the brand new DOTs new venture. So we work with some compliance companies, we have some partnerships, so I'll focus very much on that, just getting their information, you know, going to all my, all my available markets and then, you know, seeing what is going to be the best fit for them based off of their, their business plans. You know, obviously budget plays a part but there's some that might not be correct based off of the budget that they're wanting to pay. And then elaine does more of, like, the existing people that have been in business for, um, you know, two years or a few years.
Speaker 4:Yeah, yeah, I know, with a couple years at renewals it takes a little bit longer. It's definitely important to have all the documents in a file like keep it all there readily available. Lost runs are important to have. If does all that stuff, your agent's going to need to be able to shop you, so the more readily available that you have, the easier the process. A lot of people like to store those away. Once you get them you kind of forget about it because it's all done. But insurance wise that's part of the documents that we need, so it helps to make our process a little bit easier. Get quotes back to companies a little bit quicker too.
Speaker 2:Nice, that's awesome. So from business development, you're often the first point of contact for people. What are you hearing from carriers and owner-operators when you reach out to them?
Speaker 4:We're definitely not the only ones reaching out. Definitely in the last actually, since COVID agencies have grown the amount and just with any other industry I mean factoring companies, brokers, compliance companies there's so many companies now for each department that everyone's getting bombarded as soon as they get that DOT number. So it is a bit more difficult. As soon as we reach them. We try to. I mean, you just got to gain that trust firsthand and on that first call and be educational and knowledgeable about the insurance and other parts of the industry so that we can kind of give more resources than just the insurance side.
Speaker 2:That's great. Are there any common gaps or misunderstandings that you've noticed that, especially when it comes to insurance and or staying legal on the road? Is there anything you have to clarify for individuals? Maybe we can clarify those right now.
Speaker 3:One thing that I've noticed quite a bit working with people that have, like, just signed up for a DOT is they don't always understand that you have to have the vehicle insured. They want to get the FMCSA active, but you have to have a vehicle to have a policy and you have to have a policy to have the filings. So I feel like a lot of the times they think it's insuring a business rather than the vehicle itself. So that's one thing I personally have to clarify a lot with my brand new guys.
Speaker 4:Thanks, I would say for existing companies for trying to help with your renewal as much as possible. The inspection history that you have and your safety scores it does come into play a lot more than people expect. They think it's just claims, driving history, but insurance companies, they want to look at your business as a whole. So those inspections that you have, if you're keeping them clean, it's going to show the company that you have you're responsible and running your business and obviously things happen. You can't avoid everything. So just keeping it clean as possible it's always going to help.
Speaker 2:So just keeping it clean as possible is always going to help. Nice, great work, guys. So addressing industry risk and real challenges, let's get real for a second. The industry has a ton of risk baked into it. You're always seeing accidents, cargo theft, dot audits, raising premiums, and I know that UCIA is trying to help clients be proactive rather than reactive. So, elaine, what are some of the biggest risks you've seen right now for trucking clients?
Speaker 4:Yeah, definitely, cargo theft is something that we've been hearing about more and more and brokers being able to verify brokers. A lot of times I'll hear people say they haven't been paid because it may not be an actual broker and they might have gone with a company that isn't legit. So there are a lot of companies out there now I know Freight Validate. There's a couple other ones that we work closely with that can verify these DOTs and show that it's a legit company, that you're going to get paid, and I mean cargo theft. That's tough to avoid. I mean you just have to try to be as diligent as possible, try not to obviously leave anything overnight Park in good areas, which I know parking is a hard topic as well right now. So you just got to try as hard as you can to eliminate that loss where you can. Just got to be top of mind.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Are there any shifts in regulations or insurance rates or claims that carriers should be paying attention to?
Speaker 4:The regulations are more. It seems some states are increasing the liability to 1.5 million. I don't see anything right now. I know New Jersey just switched theirs last year. I don't think there have been any other state changes with tariffs. It's hard to say what will come with that. I'm sure some more regulations will come about, but nothing right now.
Speaker 2:I saw you on your website you offer things like umbrella insurance or contingent audio liability, which is not every agency you know even talks about. Can you explain those coverages and can you make a break to business? Is that something that they really need and can you make a break to business? Is that something that they really need?
Speaker 3:You know. So Elaine and I don't really focus a lot on the umbrella. We'll definitely do that if we have a client we work very closely with. We have a business team, katie and Annalise, that will do a lot and will help with. They'll try and shop umbrella or contingent cargo or even like we'll try workers comp. We just they were really two great ladies and they just, you know, that was an extra tool that we could have to. You know, if you have an agent that offers more than just the liability, you know, if you can try and shop workers comp, that's just an extra tool that we were able to add to set us apart.
Speaker 2:Nice, and Riley, you're out there in the field, able to add, to set us apart. Thanks, and Riley, you're out there in the field, connecting and going to conferences. Like Matt, how do you explain the value of risk management to folks who might not be thinking about? You know they may want to go the cheaper route.
Speaker 3:Right, it's definitely one of those things that I tell you know, insurance, if it's gonna, you know obviously we want the lowest rates. You know that's what everyone wants to pay less. But at the end of the day it could really make or break your business if you don't have enough coverage, and obviously we're not planning on anything happening to where we need to use insurance. But that's what it's for and so you know, if it's going to save you a couple thousand a year versus, you know, losing your whole business, like what, like what is the you know, weighing factor there? That's, if you think you can afford to pay out of pocket, then I guess we can go for the lower rates. But you know I say more coverage is always better.
Speaker 4:Nice yeah, and I will add on to that it's like you said before, it's always better to be proactive than reactive. And another part of risk management is again making sure that you're staying on top of all the inspections, doing your pre-trip inspections, so that you can, from the start, try to just avoid as much loss as possible, so that for the future you'll hopefully get better rates and things will become a little bit easier nice.
Speaker 2:So women leading and trucking. Now let's switch gears and talk about leadership, especially on women and in the industry. Elaine, what has it been like for you and now, over the past years, uh, being, you know, an agency partner? Uh, is it? It's not a small thing in the industry like this. Um, what's helped you to build credibility and trust, especially with trucking clients who may be used to dealing with the guys?
Speaker 4:Yeah, it's something that I don't think about as being a female-male thing, especially because our office is honestly 90 women. So I work with women every day mostly. So, um, it's not like top of mind for me, but I everyone always says I mean women are supposed supposedly more trustworthy. So that may lend to some of that. But I think also just being knowledgeable about what it is like, about the coverages that we're helping these companies get, about what sort of losses could come about and how to avoid that, that's honestly that's what any truck driver wants to hear any owner about how to avoid it, how to best help those circumstances. So I think that's what's most helpful.
Speaker 2:What advice would you give someone looking to start a career, maybe in the transportation industry or insurance? What would you say to them?
Speaker 4:I would say not all agents are created equal. So it's definitely important to find a good agent or good agency that really values that knowledge and the education piece and has the full picture of the trucking industry, because there's a lot of agencies out there that do the personal insurance, the business insurance, the trucking, so they have a lot of knowledge or a little bit of knowledge about a lot, whereas we have a lot of knowledge about just the trucking, which helps because there's so many different regulations and things that come up daily that we have to stay on top of how about you, riley?
Speaker 2:um, what would you say?
Speaker 3:no, that definitely makes sense.
Speaker 3:I was gonna say, you know, it's something that we kind of like nerd out a little bit with like new, like regulations or like reading, like listening to different podcasts or reading different articles about trucking and so, like, like elaine said, if you're kind of you know a little bit of knowledge on all different things, you know you might not know you know what's going on in the industry. So you know, just finding someone that you know is passionate about helping you and helping your business, but going to help you do the right thing, and not just get your money and you never hear from them again.
Speaker 2:And that kind of leads to the next thing Beyond insurance, building relationships is a big part of it, something you know you want to build that trust. You know. I know you want to write those policies. But I saw that you work with everything from tow companies to fleets, freight brokers. I mean you do the whole network. I mean how do you guys build those long-term relationships and help them grow?
Speaker 4:Yeah, I think in the past couple years we've really focused on building relationships outside of just the truck drivers and truck owners. So we work with factoring companies, other brokerages. We work with factoring companies, other brokerages, the freight validate logistics guys. So just to kind of build our resources up and to be able to also help us stay on top of any new news in the industry as well. From what they're hearing Truck parking as well that helps us to kind of be able to keep these customers longer and just kind of help see their company grow along with that.
Speaker 2:Nice. Is there any areas where you guys check in with? You know, do a pulse check, maybe after an audit or maybe after bringing an expert on to help them grow? Maybe there's some areas there that you guys check in with them. How do you guys handle that, that, you guys?
Speaker 3:check in with them. How do you guys handle that? Yeah, I know myself I like to have like a six month check-in after a policy is either sold or renewed. You know kind of just see how things are going, cause you know you have those customers that they need something you know more often. And then there's those customers that they're just out on their own, they're doing their thing, and so kind of checking in, like as Elaine said, as a reminder keep your IFTAs, keep this on file. This is going to help us, you know, come time for your renewal, is there anything you need from me right now? And then that way too, it helps kind of build that relationship to know I didn't forget about you just because you know you don't need much right now. You're just kind of on the road, um, so yeah, just kind of trying to do some check-ins as often as I can nice.
Speaker 2:So marketing and outreach has really been growing, especially in linkedin trade shows. What are you working on now to help the agency grow and connect more with uh directly with the truckers out there?
Speaker 3:I'm gonna take this one because I know we're definitely trying to be more active on linkedin um. Our manager, jamie, posts a lot on like instagram, but our boss, brandon, loves making youtube videos. So we do have a united commercial youtube page and we have videos of um. We'll do some of like interesting, like claims that we have read about or, if there's an interesting article, some more informational, but then we also do like some funny little clips just to kind of show that we're not just, you know, going to be boring. We can talk to us and be and be real with us. We're real people.
Speaker 3:So yeah we're doing a lot of YouTube videos and I say our boss always tells Elaine, you have to be in this video. I'll write the script for you.
Speaker 2:Get out there, man. There's nothing wrong with that. And people like that, you know, original, you know, not too packaged, you know, because otherwise they're like man. Is this even real? Right, it puts a face to the name Shows that we're real humans, exactly.
Speaker 2:So the bigger picture, why this works, matters, you know. You know it makes a big difference. Like I said, give that peace of mind Whether your career path is out there. You know you're not sure what to do, but I think the insurance and the things that you guys do help keep trucking going is a very important factor. I know you may focus on the driver, but there's so many things that go on behind the scenes. What keeps you guys going? What keeps you motivated in the truck industry?
Speaker 4:Yeah, for me it just helps me. I mean I know obviously without the trucking industry there would be no goods for us to buy, no commerce, nothing at all. So knowing that I'm helping someone start a new company, build a business to be able to help their family out, and if that's their dream, I'm helping in a small way for that. So I mean, growing up I saw I traveled place up with Riley and I'd see so many truck drivers on the road and we would curse them and hate they're on the road. And now it's a totally different perspective because I know how hard all the drivers work and all the owners work, and so it's a different perspective for me to actually be able to help in a positive way and just have a flipped 180 of that perspective from. I'm happy to see drivers out there, I'm happy to see these owners out there, cause I I'll do whatever I can to help make their lives easier in whatever way I can. Nice.
Speaker 2:Wow, as a you know, as a, as a podcaster too, I love hearing that. Um, just writingcaster too, I love hearing that. Um spreading that message. I think that's huge. Um, what about personally? Um, maybe uh someone. Have you seen anybody getting inspired by, uh, the trucking industry that you know of and maybe a story you want to share, or anything like that?
Speaker 4:No one personally, I mean, I've met. I went to Matt's as well and I met a lot of people there that had really cool stories, but no one personally, I mean, I've met. I went to a math as well and I met a lot of people there that had really cool stories, but no one personally in my life, unfortunately. I wish Cause I would geek out on that.
Speaker 2:Inspired to get you can, you guys can get your own CDL.
Speaker 4:So yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker 2:So, man, you guys are great. That's where you're at. So, yeah, it's awesome. So, man, you guys are building those connections. It shows in your personal life, it shows in your behavior, the way you guys treat people. I mean it's awesome. You guys are very bubbly and I think that's contagious. So I think a lot of people are going to love that when you guys offer them that protection also, along with that care. So that's great. So, in closing, what's next and where can they connect with you guys?
Speaker 4:Anything coming up in the future in the pipeline that they need to look out for. Keep an eye out for For this year, I don't know. The next event we'll do will probably be Trucker Appreciation Week. We'll probably be out at one of the truck shops here locally in Boise Not sure which one yet. So definitely look us up on LinkedIn. That's where we are a lot YouTube as well. And then, yeah, just go to our website and that has a bunch of information about us as well.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. So, yeah, I mean, that's social media, that's a website. All those things are places where people can connect with you guys. So that's great. You guys are putting it out there, yeah, yeah. So I want to put a huge thanks out to you guys for being on the show today. Join us with the live show. I love a conversation like this. We've got to have more of them kind of give a face to all that hard work that goes on behind the scenes. So we're here to get you know your heart and the hustle behind everything that goes on in trucking and keep trucking alive. So thank you guys so much for showing up on the show.
Speaker 3:No.
Speaker 4:Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and so if you're out there listening and you want to know more, please inquire and give us a comment. Do a review, that's fine. Just inquire and give us a comment. Do a review, that's fine. Just know this You're not alone out there. Whether you're hauling freight or just figuring out your first steps and first year of business, maybe there's a lot of people like UCIA who's done the work and they have your back. So please check those guys out. We have the information in the notes. So that's another episode of that's Delivered. Stay safe, keep moving and we'll see you next time. All right?
Speaker 4:Thank you Thanks.
Speaker 2:You got it.
