Specialty insurance
One truck under your own authority or a full fleet, we shop trucking specialists and file your BMC-91 with the FMCSA. Trucking premiums often run $20,000 or more per truck, so the carrier you pick matters.
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The short answer
A for-hire trucking company hauling general freight across state lines needs at least $750,000 in primary auto liability, filed with the FMCSA on a BMC-91 or BMC-91X before its authority goes active. Most also carry motor truck cargo, physical damage on the trucks and trailers, and occupational accident or workers’ comp. Brokers and shippers usually ask for $1 million in liability.
Federal minimum
$750,000 for general freight
What brokers ask for
$1M liability plus cargo
Typical premium
Often $20K+ per truck per year
Filings
BMC-91/91X, BMC-34, Form E, Form H
Most trucking quotes stall on missing paperwork. Send these and we can start shopping the same day you call.
1
USDOT and MC numbers (or the date your authority was granted), the trucks and trailers with VINs and values, and every driver’s license and date of birth.
2
Three to five years of loss runs if you’ve been insured as a carrier, plus the commodities you haul and the states you run.
3
We show you more than one trucking carrier side by side, with the down payment and monthly cost for each.
4
Once you pick a policy, the insurance company files your BMC-91 with the FMCSA. We send certificates to your brokers and shippers.
A trucking policy is several coverages written together. You need some of them by law and others because a broker or lender requires them.
Injuries and damage your truck causes to other people. This is the coverage the FMCSA requires and the one that drives most of your premium.
The freight on your trailer if it’s stolen, damaged or lost. Brokers almost always require it before they’ll tender a load.
Repair or replacement of your own tractor and trailer after a wreck, fire, theft or storm. Your lender will require it on a financed truck.
Liability for a leased owner-operator when the truck is driven off dispatch, for personal use. The motor carrier’s policy covers you while you’re under dispatch.
Medical bills and lost income for an owner-operator hurt on the job. Independent contractors usually aren’t covered by a carrier’s workers’ comp.
Damage to a trailer you’re pulling under an interchange agreement, and liability at docks and yards that isn’t tied to driving.
Federal rules in 49 CFR part 387 set the minimum liability for for-hire carriers running trucks of 10,001 pounds or more in interstate commerce. The schedule depends on what you haul.
General freight (non-hazardous property): $750,000
Oil and most hazardous materials: $1,000,000
Certain bulk hazardous materials, explosives and radioactive materials: $5,000,000
Which filings you need depends on where you run and what you haul. You can’t file any of them yourself: the insurance company’s home office files them, and we chase each one until it shows on your record, because a missing filing is a reason brokers stop booking you.
Proof of your auto liability insurance, filed electronically with the FMCSA. Your operating authority won’t go active until it posts. Every interstate for-hire carrier needs one.
Proof of cargo insurance, required by the FMCSA only for household goods movers. General freight carriers usually carry cargo coverage for their brokers but don’t file it.
Attached to your policy, it guarantees the public gets paid up to the federal minimum even when a claim falls outside your coverage. If the insurer pays one of those claims, it can come back to you for the money, so keep your truck and driver lists current.
The FMCSA is moving USDOT numbers and operating authority into MOTUS, which replaces its old registration system. We check your record there after every filing so a lapse doesn’t sit unnoticed.
Proof of auto liability for carriers hauling inside one state. In Texas the insurer files it with the TxDMV before your intrastate authority is granted. In Georgia it goes with your intrastate motor carrier registration at the Department of Public Safety.
Proof of cargo insurance for household goods movers working inside the state. Texas pairs it with Form I. Tell us your routes and what you haul, and we’ll match every filing to them.
An owner-operator leased to a motor carrier usually needs less than one running under their own authority. Under a lease, the carrier’s policy covers you while you’re under dispatch, and you buy bobtail, physical damage and occupational accident. Under your own MC number, you buy all of it, including the primary liability and cargo, and new authorities pay more until they have a few clean years.
Fleets add up differently. As you add trucks, carriers price more on your loss history and CSA scores than on any single driver. Our fleet insurance page covers what changes as you grow.
Checklist
Premiums often run $20,000 or more per truck a year. These are the things underwriters weigh most.
1
Years under your own authority
2
Driver ages, years of CDL experience and MVR violations
3
Your CSA scores and recent roadside inspections
4
Commodities hauled, especially hazmat, auto haulers and high-theft loads
5
Radius of operation and the states you run
6
Truck and trailer values for physical damage
7
Claims in the last three to five years
Commercial trucking insurance often costs $20,000 or more per truck each year for a carrier running under its own authority. New authorities, young drivers, long-haul routes and higher-value equipment push it higher. A leased owner-operator buying only bobtail, physical damage and occupational accident pays much less. We quote several trucking carriers so you can compare the total and the down payment.
For interstate general freight in a truck of 10,001 pounds or more, the federal minimum is $750,000 in liability. In practice most brokers won’t load you below $1 million in liability and $100,000 in cargo, so that’s where most new authorities start. Hazmat haulers need $1 million to $5 million depending on the load.
Both terms describe coverage for a leased owner-operator’s truck when it isn’t hauling for the motor carrier. Non-trucking liability covers you when you drive the truck for personal use, off dispatch. A true bobtail policy covers the truck driving without a trailer, even on business. Check your lease to see which one the carrier requires.
The insurance company files the BMC-91 electronically once the policy is bound, and it usually appears on the FMCSA record within a few business days. Your authority still has its own protest and waiting period, so bind coverage as soon as you have your MC number. We track the filing until it posts.
Yes. New authorities are some of the trucking accounts we write most. Fewer carriers will quote a company with no operating history, and the down payment is higher, so the shopping matters more. Having driver experience, clean MVRs and a clear list of commodities ready makes the biggest difference in price.
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