Your liability policy covers what your truck does to other people. It doesn’t cover the freight you’re hauling or a trailer you don’t own. Those need their own coverage, and brokers and shippers check for them before they give you a load.
Motor truck cargo
Covers the goods you haul if they’re damaged or stolen while in your care, for example in a crash, a fire or a theft. Brokers commonly ask for $100,000; some loads need more.
Read the exclusions. Cargo policies often limit or exclude:
- Theft from an unattended truck, unless certain conditions are met
- Spoilage when refrigeration fails (needs reefer breakdown coverage, below)
- Certain commodities such as electronics, alcohol, tobacco or high-value goods
- Loading and unloading damage, or poor packing by the shipper
Tell your agent exactly what you haul. A cargo policy that excludes your main commodity is a costly surprise.
Reefer breakdown
Added to cargo coverage when you haul refrigerated loads. It covers spoilage caused by a sudden breakdown of the refrigeration unit. Some policies require maintenance records for the unit.
Trailers you don’t own
- Trailer interchange: physical damage to another carrier’s trailer you’re pulling under a written trailer interchange agreement (common at ports and rail yards). The agreement usually makes you responsible for the trailer.
- Non-owned trailer physical damage: damage to a trailer you’re pulling without an interchange agreement, such as a shipper’s drop trailer.
Neither is part of your liability policy, and physical damage on your own equipment doesn’t extend to other people’s trailers.
Your own truck and trailer
Physical damage (collision and comprehensive) covers your own tractor and trailer, usually at a stated value you choose. Your lender will require it if the equipment is financed.
Leased owner-operators
If you’re leased to a motor carrier, their liability usually covers you while you’re under dispatch. When you’re off dispatch (driving home, to the shop, or bobtailing for personal reasons), you need non-trucking liability. Check your lease: it says who provides cargo and physical damage.
Before you take a load
- Does your cargo limit meet the broker’s requirement, and does it cover this commodity?
- Are you pulling someone else’s trailer? Check for trailer interchange or non-owned trailer coverage.
- Refrigerated? Check for reefer breakdown.
- Does the certificate of insurance list the right names and limits? (See getting a certificate of insurance fast.)
Get it right the first time
Commercial trucking is our specialty. A licensed agent at Dupuy Insurance reviews what you haul, where and on whose trailers, then compares cargo and trailer coverage from several carriers for Florida-based owner-operators. Several trucks? See commercial auto.
Commercial truck insurance · Commercial auto or trucking? · Call or text (813) 447-7534, every day 7:30 AM–7:30 PM, except federal holidays.
General information. Coverage, limits and exclusions depend on each carrier’s underwriting and the policy terms.