Commercial Trucking Insurance Chicago
Protect your operation with the coverage your business actually needs, backed by 25+ years of trucking industry experience.
Every coverage, one broker
Liability, cargo, physical damage and more — quoted and placed under one roof.
Insurance + DOT + permitting
Filings, certificates and FMCSA compliance handled in-house.
Simplex Group at a glance
Different Types of Commercial Trucking Insurance
The average trucking company will have many different types of insurance policies. A trucker is not only responsible for their rig, but they’re also responsible for all of the cargo inside. They have a greater duty of care than other drivers because of the size of the vehicle they drive and the damage they can cause. Truckers will often rent very expensive equipment. If something happens to it while you’re using it, you’ll have to pay for it. Make sure your rental equipment is covered. Simplex Group has your back every step of the way.
Liability Insurance
If your drivers ever cross state lines and your vehicle weighs over 10,001 pounds or transports hazardous material that requires placards, you will be expected to obtain a number from the Department of Transportation. You must also comply with all rules set forth by the Federal Motor Carrier’s Safety Administration.
The FMCSA requires truck drivers to carry between $750,000 and $5,000,000 of insurance, depending on the commodities transported. If you transport non-hazardous material and your vehicle weighs under 10,001 pounds, you must have a minimum of $300,000 worth of insurance.
We recommend getting more insurance than the absolute minimum required by law. Trucking accidents can cost millions of dollars. A good insurance policy will cover the medical bills or funeral expenses of anyone who is injured by your driver.
Liability insurance will also cover damage done to cars and the road itself. Trucking accidents can cause damage to the environment, and sometimes a state or municipality will request compensation for this type of damage.
If you’re a new small trucking company and one of your drivers has an accident, it can lead to financial ruin if you don’t have enough insurance.
Commercial Truck Insurance Professionals
Our team of trained trucking professionals is committed to finding you a liability insurance policy that will protect your driver and the general public from anything that may happen without breaking your budget. We know how hard it is for new trucking companies just starting. Safety should always come first, but staying within your budget is very important.
Cargo Insurance
If you transport household goods across state lines, the FMCSA requires that you have $5,000 of cargo insurance for each vehicle and $10,000 for every occurrence. As with liability insurance, you’re going to need a lot more coverage than that.
Your clients trust you with their products, and the merchants to whom you’re delivering those products are counting on you as well. If the products are damaged or stolen on the way to them, they will lose profits.
When you create a contract with a new client, there will be a clause specifying the amount of insurance you must have to transport that particular client’s products.
You can make the process simple when you do business with us. We will make sure you have enough cargo insurance to protect yourself no matter what.
We’ve been in the trucking business for many years, and we know how much semi-truck insurance our clients need to protect the cargo they transport.
Reefer Truck Insurance
If you transport frozen goods, you’re going to need reefer truck insurance in case the refrigeration system should fail. You can end up damaging the products themselves and the truck if the power goes on and off without you realizing it. Food can spoil and make people sick.
Because so many things can go wrong with a reefer truck, it requires special insurance. Transporting frozen goods is lucrative, but it’s important to be fully insured.
Physical Damage Coverage
Anyone having auto insurance in Chicago can tell you that the roads are especially rough here. There are a lot of potholes in the streets, and when you hit one in an 18-wheeler, it can cause major damage to your rig.
A truck costs thousands of dollars to repair. Accidents are just one of the things that can damage a truck. Poor road conditions, hail, and snow can also damage a rig. If you live in Illinois, you know the weather can be brutal on any vehicle.
Even if an accident is determined to be another driver’s fault, physical damage insurance can help you. If the other driver is uninsured or their insurance company refuses to pay for certain damages, your own insurance can pay for repairs.
Liability insurance will not cover damages to your truck if your driver is at fault. Hence, physical damage insurance is necessary. If one of your trucks is inoperable, you may lose thousands of dollars daily.
We can help you select a physical damage insurance policy that can pay for any damage done to your truck due to an accident, road conditions, or the weather itself.
Any good trucking insurance package will have some type of physical damage policy trucking companies need this type of insurance to operate safely.
General Liability Insurance
Every business needs a general liability insurance policy in case someone should injure themselves on the company’s property. General liability insurance will pay for their medical bills and compensate them for any time they need to take off from work.
Call us for Trucking Insurance Package
We want to help your company succeed. Give us a call today for an Illinois truck insurance quote.
Running a trucking company can be fun and exciting. If you take the proper precautions, truck driving can be one of the most lucrative businesses.
Not just a quote form that disappears
You get a real broker who knows trucking and handles the whole lifecycle — quote, bind, filings, renewals.
25+ years, 10,000+ trucking companies
A book built over decades — carriers pick up when we call, and you get real market options, not one quote.
One broker for everything
Insurance, DOT compliance, and permitting under one roof — not four vendors and a spreadsheet.
Real agents, fast quotes
Give us the basics once; a licensed agent comes back with real numbers — not a call-center loop.
Annual reviews, always
Your business changes and grows — we recommend a yearly policy review so you're never paying for coverage that no longer fits your operation.
Frequently asked questions
For Chicago-based carriers, what insurance filings apply in Illinois intrastate vs. FMCSA interstate operations?+
Illinois intrastate (non-HHG): Illinois adopts federal Part 387 only for hazmat in intra/interstate; non-hazmat intrastate property carriers aren’t under Part 387’s minimums.
Illinois intrastate (household goods): The Illinois Commerce Commission requires insurer-filed Form E (liability), Form H (cargo), and Form K (cancellation); cargo minimums track 49 CFR 387.303(c) ($5,000 per vehicle / $10,000 per occurrence).
FMCSA interstate: File BMC-91/91X with liability minimums of $750,000–$5,000,000 (or $300,000 for certain light non-hazmat), plus MCS-90; HHG also file BMC-34/83 for cargo
Do I need a USDOT number for Illinois intrastate, and what’s different inside the City of Chicago?+
USDOT for intrastate: Illinois is not on FMCSA’s list of states that universally require a USDOT for intrastate CMVs; you still need one if you haul hazmat requiring a safety permit or operate interstate. (List updated Sept 3, 2025.)
City of Chicago permits: Oversize/overweight moves on Chicago streets require a separate CDOT Truck Travel Permit via the city portal (IDOT permits cover only state routes). CDOT commonly requires a certificate of insurance naming the City of Chicago as additional insured.
Other services
Simplex Group is a full-service trucking partner — insurance is one piece of a much larger toolkit.