Guides
Trucking insurance: the coverages motor carriers need
What a for-hire trucking company carries: primary liability, physical damage, cargo, trailer interchange and bobtail, plus federal minimums and filings.
A trucking company needs, at a minimum, primary auto liability that meets the federal financial responsibility limits, physical damage on its tractors and trailers, and motor truck cargo coverage if shippers or brokers require it. Most also carry general liability, trailer interchange, workers' compensation and excess liability. The federal floor for for-hire carriers of non-hazardous freight in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more is $750,000, and shipper and broker contracts often ask for more.
The coverage stack
| Coverage | What it pays for | Where it comes up |
|---|---|---|
| Primary auto liability | Injury and property damage to others from the operation of your trucks, plus defense | Required by FMCSA for for-hire carriers; proof is the MCS-90 and an insurer filing |
| Physical damage | Collision, fire, theft and other damage to your own tractors and trailers | Lenders and leases require it; see physical damage coverage for trucks and trailers |
| Motor truck cargo | Loss or damage to the freight you haul | Shipper and broker contracts; see motor truck cargo insurance: how it works and where it stops |
| Trailer interchange | Damage to non-owned trailers in your possession under a written interchange agreement | Intermodal and drop-trailer operations |
| Non-trucking liability (bobtail) | Liability when the tractor is not under dispatch | Owner-operators; see non-trucking liability and bobtail insurance: what each covers |
| General liability | Premises, terminal and non-driving operations | Leases, terminals, brokers; see general liability insurance: what it covers and what it does not |
| Workers' compensation | Employee injuries | State law; owner-operators may use occupational accident |
| Excess or umbrella | Liability limits above the primary auto policy | Contracts and verdict exposure; see commercial umbrella insurance |
| Pollution | Cleanup and third-party liability from spills of cargo or fuel | Some loads, some contracts |
Each of these is a separate coverage, often written by different carriers, and each has exclusions that cut into the others. The trucking-specific work is in the seams.
Primary auto liability
The primary policy is the foundation. For-hire trucking is usually written on the ISO Motor Carrier Coverage Form (CA 00 20), which is built around the way trucking contracts work. The older Truckers Coverage Form (CA 00 12) was designed for regulated common carriers and still appears in some rating manuals and carrier filings. Private carriers, meaning companies that haul their own goods, usually use the Business Auto Coverage Form (CA 00 01) described in commercial auto insurance: what it covers and what it leaves out.
Underwriters rate by power unit, not by revenue alone. The Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers' commercial auto manual defines a trucker as a person or firm in the business of "exclusively or occasionally transporting goods, material or commodities for another," and a risk can qualify for the trucker classifications even if it calls itself a contractor or a hauler (CAR manual, effective March 1, 2026). That matters to a landscaper or dump-truck operator who hauls material for customers: the carrier may price the operation as trucking.
Each unit is classified by size, business use and radius (local, intermediate or long distance), then adjusted for drivers, loss history and the carrier's own view of the account. Other inputs that move the price: commodity hauled, safety record, drivers' experience, the share of owner-operators, equipment age, and the company's FMCSA safety data. How CSA scores and safety ratings affect trucking insurance explains the data underwriters pull.
Federal minimums and filings
For-hire carriers of non-hazardous property in interstate commerce, with vehicles rated at 10,001 pounds gross vehicle weight or more, must maintain $750,000 of public liability coverage under 49 CFR 387.9. Higher minimums apply to certain loads: $1 million for oil and certain hazardous materials, and $5 million for specified bulk hazardous substances and explosives (49 CFR 387.9 on eCFR, amendment history through July 2026). The limits have not changed since 1985.
Proof comes in two layers. The insurer attaches a Form MCS-90 endorsement to the policy, and for carriers needing operating authority the insurer files evidence of insurance with FMCSA on Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X. The mechanics, including cancellation notices and the other forms, are in FMCSA insurance requirements and filings for motor carriers and The MCS-90 endorsement explained: what it guarantees and what it doesn't. Intrastate carriers and private carriers face state rules; check workers' comp and benefits requirements by state.
The federal minimum is a floor for the injured public, not a measure of risk. Contracts routinely require $1 million, and a serious crash with a loaded tractor-trailer can produce a claim many times that. See trucking verdicts and the cost of auto liability for what juries have been awarding and why commercial auto insurance keeps getting more expensive for what this has done to pricing.
Cargo, trailers and the rest
Motor truck cargo insures freight in your care. Federal regulations do not require cargo insurance for general freight (only household goods carriers have a federal cargo filing requirement, $5,000 per vehicle and $10,000 per occurrence), but brokers and shippers do. The coverage has exclusions that surprise carriers: unattended vehicle, refrigeration breakdown, theft from trailers left unsecured, and a limit that applies per vehicle. The cargo guide covers them.
Trailer interchange covers physical damage to a trailer you do not own that is in your possession under a written trailer interchange agreement. Without it, a carrier pulling a customer's or a leasing company's trailer under an interchange agreement can be responsible for damage the standard policy does not pay. Intermodal equipment has its own endorsement, the Uniform Intermodal Interchange Endorsement (UIIE-1).
Non-trucking liability and bobtail matter when owner-operators lease onto a motor carrier. The carrier's liability policy responds when the tractor is under dispatch, and bobtail or non-trucking coverage fills in when it is not. owner-operator insurance: leased vs independent authority covers the leasing relationships.
Pollution. The ISO business auto and motor carrier forms exclude most pollution losses. Broadened pollution coverage is added by endorsement CA 99 48, according to a form listing at InsuranceXDate, and the MCS-90 has its own environmental restoration obligation for the commodities it covers.
Workers' compensation. Drivers are usually employees and need workers' comp under state law. Owner-operators and misclassification questions are a major issue, covered in independent contractors and workers' comp: the misclassification risk. Occupational accident insurance sometimes substitutes for true independent contractors, but it is not workers' comp.
A hypothetical new carrier
Say a new carrier plans to run three tractors and four dry vans hauling general freight across five states for brokers. The startup list:
- Get a USDOT number and operating authority (the steps are in FMCSA insurance requirements and filings for motor carriers).
- Buy primary auto liability at no less than $750,000, though the first broker contract asks for $1 million. Compare the contract requirement, not the federal one.
- Have the insurer file the BMC-91X and attach the MCS-90.
- Add physical damage on the tractors (the lender will require it) and the trailers.
- Add cargo at the limit in the broker agreement, and read the exclusions before you sign.
- Buy workers' compensation for the drivers, and general liability for the yard.
- Ask about an umbrella.
- Set up a safety program and driver files, because the first renewal depends on them.
Brand-new authorities often pay more and have fewer markets. That is a function of the missing track record, not a penalty. Specialty trucking programs and surplus lines markets exist for this reason; see excess and surplus lines insurance explained.
Underwriting questions to be ready for
- Years in business, current authority age and fleet size.
- Commodities hauled and the percent of each.
- Radius and states of operation.
- Driver list: license, age, experience, MVRs, and hiring standards. See Driver selection, MVRs and your commercial auto premium.
- Owner-operators: how many, what the lease says, and who insures what.
- Telematics, cameras, speed governors and maintenance practices.
- Five years of loss runs and the FMCSA safety rating and inspection history.
Key takeaways
- Trucking insurance is a stack: primary liability, physical damage, cargo, trailer interchange, bobtail, general liability, workers' comp and excess.
- For-hire carriers of non-hazardous freight in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more must carry at least $750,000 of liability, proved by an MCS-90 endorsement and an insurer filing with FMCSA.
- Contracts, not regulations, often set the real limits: $1 million of liability and the cargo limit your broker or shipper asks for.
- The seams between coverages, such as trailer interchange, non-trucking use and cargo exclusions, are where uninsured losses occur.
- Underwriters price units, drivers, radius and safety records. A documented safety program and a clean FMCSA profile are your leverage.