Insurance coverage for Trucking & Transport

• Do I need commercial insurance for DoorDash?

  Usually not a full commercial policy — 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, and 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?

  For UberX-style rideshare, generally no — 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 — a rideshare endorsement fixes those. Black-car and livery tiers do require commercial coverage.

• What insurance do I need for a trucking company?

  For-hire interstate trucking requires FMCSA operating authority backed by filings your insurer makes for you: 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 — 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. Add cargo coverage sized to broker packets and physical damage on the truck and trailer.

• What insurance does a new-authority owner-operator need?

  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. What's different is underwriting: 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 — $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; 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; for everyone else the requirement lives in broker and shipper contracts, which is why it's effectively universal for-hire coverage anyway.

Liability questions for Trucking & Transport

General liability, E&O, D&O, and employment practices questions live on our sister publication: Trucking & Transport on pleasedontsue.us.