Coverage line
Commercial Auto
Match vehicle ownership, drivers, business use, operating authority, and cargo questions to the commercial-auto records and coverage being reviewed.
How to use the Commercial Auto section
Use this section when the coverage decision begins with a vehicle, a delivery, or cargo rather than a premises. The questions separate the vehicle’s business use from the operation around it, then route cargo and contractor issues to their own records.
- Describe the vehicle and the work
Start with who owns the vehicle, who drives it, and whether the trip is a delivery, rideshare, hauling, or another business use.
- Separate authority from the policy list
The new-authority questions collect the filings and operating details that need to be checked together.
- Treat cargo as its own subject
Use the cargo answer when the property being transported—not only the vehicle—is the item that needs analysis.
Questions
- Do I need commercial insurance for DoorDash? No, a full commercial policy usually isn't needed, but your personal policy alone leaves a real gap because personal auto insurance excludes delivery work. DoorDash layers up to $1,000,000 of excess third-party liability over your own coverage, only during active deliveries. For most Dashers the practical fix is a delivery or rideshare-use endorsement added to the personal policy.
- Do I need commercial insurance for Uber? No, for standard UberX-style rideshare, state TNC laws require coverage from the moment the app is on, rising to $1,000,000 or more from match through drop-off. The gaps are the waiting period's low limits, the deductible on contingent comp/collision, and your personal policy's rideshare exclusion, which a rideshare endorsement fixes. Black-car and livery tiers do require commercial coverage.
- Do independent contractors need liability insurance? Yes, in practice, and rarely just one policy. Working 1099s typically carry general liability, commercial auto for any job vehicle (personal auto policies exclude business driving), and often workers' comp even solo, because GCs and clients enforce coverage through certificate demands and premium audits, not because a statute names contractors.
- Does my food truck need commercial auto insurance? Yes, a food truck is a business vehicle, and personal auto policies exclude business use, so the truck needs a commercial auto policy. That policy covers only the vehicle; the cooking and serving operation needs separate general liability coverage. Towing a food trailer with a personally insured pickup raises the same problem: the tow vehicle is doing business work.
- What insurance do I need for a trucking company? For-hire interstate trucking requires FMCSA operating authority backed by filings your insurer files on your behalf: a BMC-91 or BMC-91X public liability filing at $750,000 minimum for general freight ($1,000,000 to $5,000,000 for hazardous loads), the MCS-90 endorsement on the policy, and a BOC-3 process-agent designation. Cargo insurance is a contract requirement, not a federal one, except for household goods.
- What insurance do I need for hotshot trucking? Interstate for-hire hotshot hauling requires FMCSA operating authority, either yours or a carrier you lease onto, backed by a liability filing. The federal floor is $750,000 for rigs rated 10,001 pounds or more, but brokers routinely require $1,000,000 and sometimes $2,000,000. You'll also need cargo coverage sized to broker packets and physical damage on the truck and trailer.
- What insurance does a new-authority owner-operator need? A new-authority owner-operator needs the same filings as any motor carrier: an insurer-submitted BMC-91 or BMC-91X public liability filing at the federal minimums, plus a BOC-3, before FMCSA will activate the MC number. Underwriting is where new authorities differ, because with no loss history and an 18-month new-entrant monitoring period, fewer insurers compete for the account and terms are stricter until the first renewal.
- What insurance is needed for a box truck business? It depends on how the truck is used. Hauling freight for hire across state lines requires FMCSA operating authority, granted only after your insurer files proof of liability coverage at $750,000 minimum for trucks rated 10,001 pounds or more. Local-only or own-goods use drops the federal filings but still requires a commercial auto policy, and brokers and platforms set higher bars.
- What is motor truck cargo insurance? Motor truck cargo insurance pays for loss of or damage to the freight you're hauling, the load itself, which your auto liability policy doesn't touch. Federal rules require a cargo filing only from household goods carriers, but for everyone else the requirement lives in broker and shipper contracts, which is why it's effectively universal for-hire coverage anyway.