Trucking Insurance
Auto Liability
Covers injuries and damage your trucks cause to others. It's the coverage your operating authority depends on.
What It Is
Auto liability pays for injuries and property damage your trucks cause to other people, including legal defense if you’re sued. For carriers operating under their own authority, it isn’t optional: federal rules require proof of liability coverage before your authority can be active, and your insurer files that proof with FMCSA for you.
What It Typically Covers
- Injuries to other people in an accident involving your truck
- Damage to other people’s vehicles and property
- Legal defense if you’re sued after an accident. Policies handle defense costs differently, so ask how yours does.
Common Gaps to Watch For
- Your own trucks and trailers aren’t covered. That’s physical damage coverage.
- The freight you haul isn’t covered. That’s motor truck cargo coverage.
- Your employees’ injuries aren’t covered. That’s workers’ compensation.
- Unlisted trucks or drivers. Add units and drivers promptly and keep your schedules current.
- Operating outside what you declared. Running a wider radius or hauling commodities you didn’t disclose can create coverage problems.
- The MCS-90 endorsement. Federal rules require this endorsement on many trucking policies. It can make your insurer pay certain accident claims to the public even when the policy wouldn’t otherwise cover them, but you may have to pay the insurer back.
Who Usually Needs It
Every motor carrier operating under its own authority. Federal minimums start at $750,000 for most general freight carriers and are higher for certain hazardous materials, and many shippers and brokers require $1,000,000 or more in their contracts. Owner-operators leased to a carrier are usually covered by that carrier’s liability while under dispatch, and need non-trucking liability for the rest of the time.
What Underwriters Consider
- Years in business and how long you’ve had your authority
- Driver experience and motor vehicle records
- Your loss history
- Safety scores, inspections, and crashes on your FMCSA record
- Where you operate and how far
- What you haul
- Your equipment and safety technology
- The limits you’re requesting
Questions to Ask
- What limits do my contracts/brokers actually require?
- Are all my trucks and drivers listed correctly?
- What happens when I add/subtract a truck or driver mid-term?
- How does my policy handle defense costs?
- Do my radius and commodity descriptions match how I really operate?
- What would I owe under the MCS-90 if it’s ever used?
All coverage is subject to policy terms, conditions, and exclusions.
Last reviewed: November 1, 2026
If You Win, We Win.
Every business deserves an agent who understands its operation, represents it honestly, and stays engaged after the policy is bound.
Licensed in Illinois.