How to Lower NEMT Insurance Premiums

NEMT insurance rates only seem to go up. John shares insider info on how yours don't have to.

John touches on the basics of NEMT insurance but focuses on specific ways that even the most experienced NEMT owners can get better rates, including:

• 1. What's actually driving your premium — and what you can control The underwriting factors that matter most (loss ratio, fleet composition, driver profiles, territory) and which levers operators should focus on.


• 2. How to build a "submission narrative" that gets you better quotes What should you be packaging up (training records, camera policies, maintenance logs) and how does it actually influence what underwriters offer you?


• 3. The real math on deductibles, self-insured retentions, and excess policies When does a higher deductible or SIR actually save you money vs. just shifting risk you can't afford?


• 4. Claims management mistakes that are quietly raising your rates Open loss reserves, slow reporting, not contesting questionable claims — what should operators be doing throughout the policy year?


• Getting the most out of telematics and camera programs Which carriers actually discount for dashcams and telematics, and how much can NEMT owners expect to save?


• Renewal strategy: when to start, what to prepare, and how to avoid common traps. Timing, what documents to have ready, the danger of shopping with multiple brokers simultaneously, and when (if ever) a midterm switch actually makes sense.

State insurance floors and broker bars vary widely. For California's (a $750,000 statutory floor, and the $1 million combined single limit brokers actually require), see the insurance section of our guide to starting a NEMT business in California; for Florida's (a near-zero state floor for non-taxi vans, county minimums of 125/250/50 in some counties, and the roughly $1 million combined single limit brokers enforce), see the Florida guide's insurance section; for Georgia's ($100K/$300K/$50K floor, with a reported $1 million broker bar for Verida credentialing), see the Georgia guide's insurance section; and for Texas's (no state floor above the ordinary 30/60/25 auto minimums for a typical van, with a roughly $1 million combined single limit bar set by the transportation vendors), see the Texas guide's insurance section; and for Colorado's (a $300,000/$600,000/$50,000 floor in the state Medicaid rule that the statewide broker repeats word for word, a $100,000/$300,000/$50,000 certificate for any wheelchair-loading vehicle, and a $500,000 PUC tier only for carriers that hold PUC authority), see the Colorado guide's insurance section; and for Minnesota's (a $500,000 combined single limit per vehicle in MnDOT's special transportation rule, filed by the insurer on a Form E, against the $1 million auto and $1 million general liability that MTM requires, with workers' comp a condition of the state certificate itself), see the Minnesota guide's insurance section.

If you want to discuss your insurance needs with John, you can email him at john@jgparker.com
If you want an NEMT dispatching software built to help you grow, go to Duet website.

By James O’Donnell, Cofounder & COO at Duet