Commercial semi truck insurance for tractor, trailer, and load

At least $750,000 if you haul general freight for hire across state lines, and $1 million or $5 million for hazardous materials. Those minimums in 49 CFR 387.9 apply to vehicles rated at 10,001 pounds or more, which covers practically every tractor-trailer.

The $750,000 rule is for for-hire carriers. Under 49 CFR 387.3, a private carrier hauling its own nonhazardous goods falls outside it, and trucks that never leave one state follow that state’s rules, except for the hazmat rows above. Our state pages, such as Texas commercial truck insurance, cover those.

The minimum is a floor. A 2013 study prepared for FMCSA found the freight insurance market treated $1 million as the standard limit, and container interchange under the UIIA requires a $1 million combined single limit.

What the MCS-90 endorsement does

Your interstate auto policy carries the MCS-90 endorsement. It is attached to the policy, not to a truck, and it commits the insurer to pay a final judgment for public liability caused by your negligence, even for a vehicle not listed on the policy. It protects the public, not you:

• You repay the insurer for any judgment it pays only because of the MCS-90, such as a claim the policy itself would have excluded.
• It never covers injury to your own employees on the job or the cargo you haul.
• Cancellation takes notice: 35 days in writing between you and the insurer, plus 30 days to FMCSA for a registered carrier. Proof of coverage stays at your principal place of business, under 49 CFR 387.7.

For operating authority, your insurer files proof of liability on Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X. FMCSA won’t grant authority until it is on file. If the filing is missing 20 days after your application is published in the FMCSA Register, FMCSA serves notice that the application will be dismissed unless you comply within 60 days. We handle these filings in-house.

It depends on who owns the trailer and whether it is hooked up. Under the Motor Carrier Coverage Form:

• Liability for a trailer you pull: the owned-autos and scheduled-autos symbols also cover a trailer you don’t own while it is attached to your power unit. A covered trailer’s liability follows the power unit, and is only excess if the power unit isn’t covered.
• Physical damage to your own trailer: list it on the policy like the tractor. Coverage stops while the trailer is in someone else’s possession under a trailer interchange agreement, unless your policy carries symbol 70 for it.
• Damage to a trailer you don’t own: that takes trailer interchange coverage. It pays what you legally owe for loss to a non-owned trailer held under a written interchange agreement, it is primary, and it has its own limit and deductible.

The symbols on your declarations decide all of this, so check them against the equipment you actually pull. Our guide to commercial auto symbols explains each one.

Pulling containers under the UIIA

If you interchange containers or chassis at ports and rail ramps, the UIIA insurance requirements apply: $1 million in auto liability on an any-auto, scheduled-and-hired, or all-owned-and-hired policy, with each equipment provider named as an additional insured. Most equipment providers also require trailer interchange that covers comprehensive, collision, fire, and theft, at limits that vary by provider. We place UIIA and trailer interchange coverage with the rest of your program.

Your operation. Insurers rate what you haul, your radius and routes, the truck’s type and value, where it is garaged, and your drivers’ records. Hazmat raises premiums, and a larger radius means more exposure. For benchmarks, see how much commercial truck insurance costs.

• Limits: higher limits cost more, but not in proportion. The 2013 FMCSA study noted that an additional $1 million of coverage costs less than the first $1 million, because very large claims are rarer.
• Safety record: crashes, violations, and inspections show up in the data underwriters read. Our guide to CSA scores and truck insurance explains how.
• Loss history: accidents and violations raise the rate, and a new authority has no loss runs to show yet.
• Equipment: newer, more valuable tractors and trailers cost more to insure because they cost more to repair or replace.

The rules and figures on this page come from these official sources, checked on September 25, 2026.

• eCFR: 49 CFR 387.9, Financial responsibility, minimum levels: Federal liability minimums of $750,000, $1 million, and $5 million, and when they reach intrastate hazmat.
• eCFR: 49 CFR 387.7, Financial responsibility required: Continuous coverage, 35-day cancellation notice, and the MCS-90 as proof kept at the principal place of business.
• FMCSA: Insurance Filing Requirements: BMC-91 and BMC-91X filings, the $0 general freight cargo requirement, household goods cargo, and the 20- and 60-day deadlines.
• FMCSA: Form MCS-90 endorsement: What the MCS-90 guarantees the public, its employee and cargo exclusions, the reimbursement clause, and cancellation notice.
• eCFR: 49 CFR 376.12, Lease requirements: Carrier control of leased equipment and what the lease must say about liability, bobtail insurance, and chargebacks.
• Intermodal Association of North America: UIIA Insurance Requirements: UIIA auto liability, acceptable auto symbols, additional insureds, cargo, and trailer interchange requirements.
• FMCSA: Financial Responsibility Requirements for Commercial Motor Vehicles (2013, PDF): The $1 million market norm for freight liability and how the cost of added limits compares.