First Guard Insurance Company Announces Winners of 2010 Fleet Safety Award

Truck insurer First Guard Insurance Company (rated A by AM Best) announced today the winners of their 2010 fleet safety awards. Four trucking companies were selected for the awards. The winners were chosen based upon their claims experience over the past year. Their superior commitment to safety also played a significant role in the selection. Each winner has owner-operator fleets.


The winners of the 2010 fleet safety awards are listed below.

• Baggett Transportation Company (Birmingham, AL)
• Butler Trucking Company (Woodland, PA)
• Schwend, Inc. (Dade City, FL)
• Turner Brothers Trucking (Oklahoma City, OK)

Of the four winners, Baggett Transportation previously won the award in 2008.

“We’re very proud of our association with these outstanding trucking companies,” commented Ed Campbell III, Chairman of First Guard Insurance Company. “Despite a very challenging economic environment our best customers continue to invest in safety. These companies clearly recognize the correlation between safety and the bottom line,” he added.

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About Baggett Transportation

Located in Birmingham, Alabama, Baggett Transportation hauls explosives for the Department of Defense. They also have a less-than-truckload division that hauls a variety of general commodities within the state of Alabama and other Southeastern states.

About Butler Trucking Company
Located in Woodland, Pennsylvania, Butler Trucking handles a variety of freight types and operates with owner operator and company trucks.

About Schwend, Inc.
Located in Dade City, FL, Schwend Inc has been servicing the agricultural industry since 1977 with the use of hopper-bottom grain trailers and pneumatic trailers.

About Turner Brothers TruckingLocated in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Turner Brothers is a heavy-haul and specialized transportation company serving the needs of the industrial, wind, energy, power, oil and gas markets.

Truck Insurer 1st Guard® Puts Chairman on Front Line for Satellite Radio Campaign

Venice, Florida – January 4, 2011 – Truck insurer 1st Guard has just inked a deal with Sirius XM satellite radio to air commercials for the 2011calendar year on Road Dog (Sirius 147; XM 171) and Fox News (Sirius 131; XM 121). The commercials star 1st Guard’s Chairman, Ed Campbell, III. Mr. Campbell is pulling the curtain back and unveiling the truth about the truck insurance business in a series of commercials entitled “Gut Check.” While many CEO’s do not engage publicly in advertising campaigns that put themselves on the front line, 1st Guard believes the best spokesperson for this series is the Chairman. “Mr. Campbell is compassionate about the American Trucker and who better to deliver our message,” stated Courtney Wilson, 1st Guard’s Marketing Director.

The Gut Check campaign uncovers truck insurance secrets not commonly known by the consumer. For example, many physical damage policies have a limit on towing expenses. Unfortunately, truckers do not know this fact until it’s too late and they’re forced to pay the difference which could ultimately put them out of business. Owner operators should know the policy terms up front and not be swayed by a dirt cheap rate. A 1st Guard® physical damage policy; however, will pay towing in full after the deductible is paid. Themes similar to this one are the center of the Gut Check campaign. “Creating awareness amongst the owner operator community along with saving them money on t heir truck insurance costs are the main goals of this campaign,” added Wilson.

1st Guard is a pioneer in advertising on satellite air waves. Dating back to 2004, 1st Guard was the first truck insurer to run commercials on XM satellite radio and then quickly followed suit when Sirius satellite radio entered the trucking market in 2006. Now the two companies have merged – Sirius XM – but commercials air respectively on both satellite networks. 1st Guard is also a sponsor of the Dave Nemo Show (www.davenemo.com), a popular talk show geared towards the trucking community.