Trucking insurance, coverage by coverage

Auto liability — the one the law requires

Pays for injuries and damage you cause to others with the truck. For a for-hire interstate carrier, the federal minimums are:

Freight	Federal minimum
General freight (non-hazardous), trucks 10,001 lbs and up	$750,000
Oil, and hazardous materials not in the category below	$1,000,000
Certain high-hazard materials (e.g. Division 1.1–1.3 explosives, Zone A poison gas, highway-route-controlled radioactive)	$5,000,000

Most brokers and shippers ask for $1,000,000 on general freight. That is a contract requirement, not the federal minimum.

Your insurer proves this coverage to FMCSA by filing the BMC-91X, now through FMCSA's Motus system. Only the insurer can file it. If your authority shows "Pending — Financial Responsibility Filings," call your agent that same day, not next week.

Motor truck cargo

Pays for the freight you are hauling if it is damaged or lost. There is no federal cargo filing for general freight — the federal cargo filing applies to household goods carriers ($5,000 per vehicle / $10,000 per occurrence). The $100,000 cargo limit you see everywhere is what brokers and shippers require in their contracts.

Read the exclusions. Common ones: unattended vehicle, theft without forced entry, certain commodities, and reefer breakdown — which often needs its own endorsement if you haul temperature-controlled freight.

Physical damage

Pays to repair or replace your own truck and trailer — collision, plus comprehensive for fire, theft, hail and the like. Not required by law, but required by any lender or lessor holding a title.

Non-trucking liability (bobtail)

For owner-operators leased to a motor carrier. The carrier's policy covers you while you are under dispatch. Non-trucking liability covers you when you are not — driving home, going to the shop. It does not cover you while hauling for anyone.

Trailer interchange

Covers physical damage to a trailer you don't own but have in your possession under a written interchange agreement — common with intermodal and drop trailers.

General liability

Covers injuries and damage that don't come from driving — a visitor hurt at your yard, damage you cause at a customer's dock that isn't an auto claim. Many shippers ask for it.

Workers' compensation and occupational accident

Texas lets most private employers choose whether to carry workers' compensation. Many shippers and brokers require either workers' comp for employees or occupational accident coverage for contracted owner-operators. Choosing not to carry it has legal consequences in Texas — talk it through before you decide.

Additional insured and certificate holder

A certificate holder receives proof of your coverage. An additional insured gets rights under your policy. They are not the same thing, and adding a broker as additional insured on your auto liability can affect your limits and your loss history. Ask before you agree. (More on this in how to check a freight broker.)

Admitted vs. surplus lines

Much new-authority trucking insurance is written by surplus lines (non-admitted) insurers. That is legal and common. But surplus lines policies are not backed by the Texas guaranty fund if the insurer fails, so the insurer's financial strength rating matters. You will be asked to sign a disclosure acknowledging this — read it.