What is Trucking Insurance?
Trucking insurance covers motor carriers and owner-operators — primary liability, physical damage, and cargo — built for the road.
Who needs it
- Contractors, trades & small businesses
- Owners needing a COI today to win a job
- Growing companies adding crews or trucks
🚛 Trucking Info Sheet — do it yourself, or call it in
One secure form for your company, trucks, drivers, cargo & coverages — and we run it through your trucking markets — Progressive, Cover Whale, Insur-Fi, biBerk, THREE and more. Takes a few minutes on a private, secure page. Prefer to talk? Call and we'll take it right over the phone.
🔒 Open the secure trucking info sheet → 📞 or call 573-594-5148Truck insurance coverages, explained
Trucking is its own world — a personal or standard commercial auto policy won't cut it, and the big online quoters auto-decline older rigs and new authority. A real trucking policy is built from these coverages, and we mix the right ones for how you run:
Primary Liability
The coverage the law and the FMCSA require — it pays for bodily injury and property damage you cause to others. Federal filings for interstate authority typically require $750,000 to $1,000,000 in limits (more for certain cargo). This is the filing that puts you "in compliance."
Physical Damage (Comprehensive & Collision)
Pays to repair or replace your truck and trailer after a crash, theft, fire, vandalism, or weather — comprehensive for the non-collision stuff, collision for impacts. Usually required by your lender or lessor if the rig is financed.
Motor Truck Cargo
Covers the freight you're hauling if it's damaged, destroyed, or stolen in transit. Shippers and brokers almost always require proof of cargo coverage before they'll load you — limits and covered commodities matter, so we match the policy to what you actually haul.
Non-Trucking Liability (Bobtail)
For leased owner-operators: covers you when you're driving the truck not under dispatch (no load, personal use) — the gap your motor carrier's policy doesn't cover.
Trailer Interchange
Covers physical damage to trailers you pull under an interchange agreement but don't own — common for owner-operators running under a carrier's trailers.
General Liability, Medical Payments & more
Premises/operations general liability, medical payments, uninsured/underinsured motorist, heavy-truck roadside assistance & towing, reefer breakdown (spoiled refrigerated loads), and downtime/rental reimbursement round out a real trucking program.
Trucks & operations we cover
Owner-operators, motor carriers, and fleets — under your own authority or leased on:
- Owner-operators (leased-on & under own authority)
- Small-to-mid fleets and motor carriers
- Dry van, flatbed, reefer, step-deck & hotshot
- Dump trucks, tow & recovery, box/straight trucks
- Tankers, car haulers & specialty rigs
- Older trucks (2006 & older) the online apps decline
- New authority (in business under 12 months)
What affects your trucking premium
- Driving records & CDL experience of your drivers
- Radius / operating area (local, intermediate, long-haul)
- What you haul (commodity & cargo value)
- Truck age, value & how it's financed
- Coverage limits & deductibles you choose
- Loss history & FMCSA safety scores
- How long you've held authority
FMCSA filings & authority
Running interstate means filings, not just a policy. We handle the paperwork carriers and the FMCSA expect — the MCS-90 endorsement, BMC-91/91X form filings for public liability, and proof of primary liability at the required $750K–$1M. New authority? We place carriers that write day-one operations and get your filing done fast so you can dispatch.
Why an independent agent for trucking
Billy Whited has 40 years in trucking — this isn't a side line for us. The big-name apps run on rigid rules that reject older equipment, new ventures, and anything outside the box. As an independent agency we shop the specialty trucking markets that actually write those risks, compare your options across carriers, and get you a certificate and filing when you need them — not a decline screen.
Trucking Insurance FAQ
What coverages am I legally required to carry?
For interstate authority the FMCSA requires primary liability — typically $750,000 to $1,000,000 — plus the filing (MCS-90 / BMC-91). Brokers and shippers usually require motor truck cargo before they'll load you. We make sure you're compliant and load-ready.
Who is insured under a commercial truck policy?
The named business plus the drivers and power units you schedule on the policy. We make sure every driver and rig is listed correctly so a claim isn't denied over a scheduling gap.
What is bobtail (non-trucking) insurance?
Non-trucking liability covers a leased owner-operator when driving the truck off dispatch — no load, personal use — the gap the motor carrier's policy leaves open.
Do you insure older trucks or new authority?
Yes. The big online quoters auto-decline older rigs (2006 & older) and new ventures. We shop specialty trucking markets that write exactly those — that's our lane.
Do you cover owner-operators and fleets?
Both — leased-on owner-operators, drivers under their own authority, and small-to-mid fleets. We build the program around how you run.
Do you write hotshot trucking?
Yes — hotshot, flatbed, dry van, reefer, dump, tow, box trucks, tankers and more.
How long do the FMCSA filings take?
Often same or next business day once you're bound. We file the MCS-90 / BMC-91 fast so you can dispatch without waiting.
How fast can I get coverage and a certificate?
Frequently the same day. Call 573-594-5148 or start a quote and we'll get you a real number and a COI quickly.
Does trucking insurance cover towing?
Heavy-truck roadside assistance and towing can be added to your policy — worth it when a breakdown on the shoulder means lost revenue.
Get Trucking Insurance today
Quote, buy, or book a quick consult — whatever's easiest for you.