Truck Insurance Requirements: Federal Minimums, Filings and State Rules

If you haul freight for hire across state lines under your own USDOT and MC numbers, federal rules set the lowest liability limit you can carry. For most general freight in trucks of 10,001 lb or more, that minimum is $750,000. Certain oil and hazardous materials loads require higher limits, up to $5,000,000 for some hazardous materials.

Those are minimums, not recommendations. Many brokers and shippers won't load a truck with less than $1,000,000 in auto liability, and some contracts ask for an umbrella on top. Check your broker-carrier agreements before you choose a limit.

Carrying the policy isn't enough on its own. For interstate for-hire authority, your insurance company files proof of your liability insurance with the FMCSA, usually on a BMC-91X (or BMC-91). Your authority isn't activated until that filing is accepted.

The policy also carries an MCS-90 endorsement (a written change to the policy). It protects the public: if the insurer pays a claim the policy otherwise wouldn't, the carrier can be asked to pay the insurer back. If a policy cancels, the cancellation is reported to the FMCSA too, and a lapse can put your authority at risk.

Some states set their own minimums for trucks based there, and those can be higher than the federal number. In New Jersey, a 2024 law (P.L.2023, c.276) raised the minimum liability limit for non-hazmat, property-carrying commercial vehicles registered or principally garaged in New Jersey:

• GVWR of 26,001 lb or more: $1,500,000 combined single limit.
• GVWR of 10,001 to 26,000 lb: $300,000.

It applies to policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2024. According to the NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, the limit can be met with a commercial auto policy alone or combined with an umbrella or excess policy.

The law raised the cost of compliance for many smaller New Jersey fleets, and how it applies can depend on where a truck is plated and garaged and how it operates. We'll confirm how it applies to your trucks before you renew.

Beyond auto liability, a typical broker-carrier agreement or shipper contract asks for some of these:

• Motor truck cargo, often $100,000 per load, with the commodities you haul listed or not excluded.
• Physical damage on your tractors and trailers, which a lender or lessor will usually require.
• Trailer interchange or non-owned trailer coverage when you pull trailers you don't own.
• General liability for claims away from the road, such as at a dock or terminal.
• Workers' compensation for employee drivers, or occupational accident coverage for owner-operators where the contract and state allow it.

Brokers check certificates of insurance before they tender loads, so keep certificate holders and limits current. Our certificate guide explains what a certificate can and can't show.

Truck insurance is underwritten closely. Insurance companies usually look at:

• Time in business and how long your authority has been active. New ventures have fewer insurance companies to choose from.
• Drivers: age, CDL experience and MVRs (motor vehicle records).
• Radius and states you run in, and the commodities you haul.
• Loss history and your FMCSA safety record (CSA scores and inspection results).
• Garaging location, equipment and the limits you need.

Because the New Jersey minimum is higher than the federal one, quoting heavier New Jersey trucks usually means pricing a $1,500,000 limit, either on one policy or in layers.

A complete submission gets quoted faster and by more insurance companies:

• USDOT and MC numbers, or your application status if you're new.
• Vehicle list with VINs, years, GVWR and values, and where each truck is garaged.
• Driver list with dates of birth, CDL numbers and years of experience. We'll ask for MVR authorization.
• Loss runs for the past 3 to 5 years from current and prior insurers.
• Commodities, radius and states, plus your broker or shipper contract requirements.

You can upload these with a trucking quote request.