Trucking coverage, explained

Primary auto liability

Pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others while operating your truck. Required by the FMCSA for for-hire carriers: $750,000 minimum for general freight over 10,001 lbs GVWR, more for hazmat. Your insurance company files proof with the FMCSA (BMC-91 or BMC-91X) and adds the MCS-90 endorsement.

EXAMPLEYour driver rear-ends a car on I-5 and three people are hurt. Medical bills, car repairs and legal defense come out of your liability limit, which is why brokers want $1,000,000, not just the $750,000 minimum.

Physical damage

Pays to repair or replace your own tractor and trailer. Collision covers wrecks and rollovers; comprehensive covers theft, fire, vandalism, hail and flood. Usually written on a stated value, so list your equipment at what it's actually worth.

EXAMPLEYour $90,000 tractor is totaled in a rollover. With physical damage at a $2,500 deductible, the policy pays its stated value minus the deductible, and you're back on the road with a replacement.

Motor truck cargo

Pays for the freight you're hauling if it's damaged or stolen. Not federally required except for household goods movers, but most brokers require $100,000. Watch for exclusions, like unattended vehicles or certain commodities. Reefer breakdown covers spoilage when your refrigeration unit fails.

EXAMPLEA $60,000 load of electronics is stolen from a truck stop. Cargo coverage pays the shipper, as long as theft from an unattended truck isn't excluded on your policy. We check that for you.

Non-trucking liability (bobtail)

For owner-operators leased to a carrier. Covers liability when you drive your truck for personal use or off dispatch, when the carrier's policy doesn't apply.

EXAMPLEYou're driving home from the yard with no trailer and hit a parked car. You're off dispatch, so the carrier's policy doesn't respond. Your non-trucking liability does.

Trailer interchange

Covers damage to a trailer you don't own while it's in your possession under a written interchange agreement. Common in intermodal and port drayage.

General liability

Covers bodily injury and property damage that isn't caused by driving, like a slip at your yard or damage at a customer's dock. Contractors and shippers often require it.

Workers' compensation

Pays medical bills and lost wages for employees hurt on the job. Required in California for any business with employees, including employee drivers.

Occupational accident

Medical, disability and death benefits for independent contractors who aren't covered by workers' comp. Common for leased owner-operators.

On-hook towing

Covers a customer's vehicle while it's attached to or loaded on your tow truck.

EXAMPLEA customer's SUV slides off your rollback on a wet ramp. On-hook covers the SUV's repairs.

Garagekeepers

Covers customer vehicles in your care, custody and control at your lot or shop.

Excess and umbrella liability

Extra liability limits above your primary policy, for contracts that require $2,000,000 or more.

Hired and non-owned auto

Covers liability when you or employees use rented, borrowed or personal vehicles for business.

Rental reimbursement and downtime

Helps pay for a rental truck, or replaces lost income, while your truck is in the shop after a covered claim.

Uninsured / underinsured motorist

Covers your injuries and, in some cases, damage to your truck when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough.