Commercial auto liability insurance in Miami: choosing your limit
The legal minimum tells you what a Miami truck must carry to run. It doesn't tell you what one serious crash on the Palmetto or at the port gate could cost. Since Florida's 2023 tort reform, the space between those two numbers deserves a deliberate decision.
Written by Rigo Diaz
Florida liability rules in numbers
Commercial auto liability insurance in Miami pays for injuries and damage your trucks cause to others, up to your limit. The law sets the floor: $750,000 for interstate for-hire freight, $50,000 to $300,000 for heavy Florida-only trucks. Set your real limit from your contracts, your lanes, and Florida's post-2023 claim rules.
The limit printed on your declarations page is the most your insurer will pay in damages for one crash. Anything a claimant recovers above it comes from your company. That is why I treat the limit as a business decision, not a box on a quote form.
I spent more than six years in risk management before I founded Simplex, and I've led it for more than 25 years since. This guide covers how to pick a limit above the legal floor, how combined single and split limits differ, what Florida's 2023 tort reform changed for truck claims, and the uninsured motorist choice Florida only lets you change in writing.
The full briefing, read aloud
7 chapters. Select one to jump to it.
Generated with AI text-to-speech from this article's key insights, in order, rather than reading it word for word. Chapter times come from a transcript of the audio. The article itself was written and reviewed by Rigo Diaz.
Key takeaways
The floor is not the target
Federal and Florida minimums decide whether a truck can run. Contracts, lanes, and what one bad crash could cost decide the limit you should carry.
Trucks need a combined single limit
Federal and Florida minimums and intermodal interchange contracts are written as one per-accident figure, so a split-limit policy can fall short of what they require.
HB 837 changed how claims play out
Since March 24, 2023, a claimant more than 50% at fault recovers nothing, negligence suits must be filed within two years, and medical damages track amounts actually paid.
Your insurer's safe harbor isn't yours
An insurer that tenders your limit within 90 days of a well-documented claim is protected from bad faith. What a claimant recovers above your limit is still your exposure.
Uninsured motorist follows your limit
In Florida, UM coverage equals your bodily injury limit unless you reject it or choose less, in writing, on a state-approved form.
In this articleContents
What does commercial auto liability insurance pay for?
It pays for bodily injury and property damage your trucks cause to other people, up to the policy limit, and the insurer defends you against covered suits. It never pays to repair your own truck; that takes physical damage coverage.
Standard business auto policies pay supplementary payments, such as bond premiums and interest on judgments, in addition to the limit. Ask whether your policy has a defense within limits provision, which lets legal costs shrink the limit; it is more common in professional liability than in auto.
If you searched for "commercial liability insurance", note that general liability is a different policy for non-driving claims. Our guide to general liability vs auto liability explains where each one answers, and our commercial auto liability page covers the exclusions in detail.
How much commercial auto liability insurance does a Miami truck need?
At least the legal minimum for that truck, and usually more, because contracts set higher limits than the law does. The table shows where the common floors sit.
| Your operation | Minimum liability | Set by |
|---|---|---|
| Interstate for-hire general freight, 10,001 pounds GVWR or more | $750,000 | 49 CFR 387.9 |
| Oil and most other hazmat in interstate commerce | $1,000,000 | 49 CFR 387.9 |
| Florida-only trucks of 26,000 pounds or more | $50,000 to $300,000, by weight | Florida Statute 627.7415 |
| Intermodal containers and chassis under the UIIA | $1,000,000 combined single limit | UIIA insurance requirements |
The Florida weight tiers, the PIP and property damage every Florida plate needs, and what a lapse costs are covered in our guide to Florida's truck insurance minimums. Port work has its own list; our Miami truck insurance page covers what PortMiami drayage requires.
Every figure in that table is a floor for the right to operate or to sign a contract. None of them is a measure of what a serious injury crash on a crowded Miami highway can cost.
Combined single limit or split limits: which fits a truck?
A combined single limit, almost always. A combined single limit is one dollar amount for any mix of bodily injury and property damage in an accident. Split limits set three separate caps: per injured person, for all injured people in the accident, and for property damage.
The rules truckers answer to are written as one figure. Federal minimums cover "public liability", which 49 CFR 387.5 defines as bodily injury, property damage, and environmental restoration together. Florida's truck minimums are stated as combined bodily injury and property damage per occurrence, and the UIIA asks for a combined single limit by name.
Split limits also leave a gap in the crashes trucks tend to have. If one person is badly hurt, the per-person cap can run out while the per-accident total sits unused. If a crash involves several cars, the property damage cap can run out first.
How did Florida's 2023 tort reform (HB 837) change truck liability claims?
It changed who can recover, how long they have to sue, how medical damages are proven, and when an insurer can be sued for bad faith. HB 837 was signed on March 24, 2023, as chapter 2023-15, and took effect that day, according to the Legislature's final bill analysis.
| Change | What Florida law says now | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Comparative fault | A claimant more than 50% at fault for their own harm recovers nothing (768.81(6)). Florida used pure comparative fault before. | Proof of the other driver's fault can end a claim, so your camera, log, and inspection records carry more weight. |
| Time to sue | Negligence suits must be filed within two years, down from four, for claims arising after March 24, 2023 (95.11). | Claims surface sooner. Keep the crash file complete and report every incident to your insurer promptly. |
| Medical damages | Evidence of past medical bills is limited to amounts actually paid, and treatment under a letter of protection must be disclosed (768.0427). | For bills already paid, the amount paid, not the amount billed, is the evidence. |
| Bad faith | No bad-faith action lies if the insurer tenders the lesser of your limit or the demand within 90 days of a claim with sufficient evidence; mere negligence isn't bad faith (624.155). | The safe harbor protects the insurer. It doesn't cap what a claimant can seek from your company. |
| Several claimants | If claims from one crash exceed your limit, an insurer that interpleads or arbitrates within 90 days isn't liable beyond the limit (624.155(6)). | In a multi-car crash, your limit is shared among everyone hurt, and the rest falls on you. |
The 2026 text of each section is on the Florida Senate site: 768.81, 95.11, 768.0427, and 624.155.
What a claimant can learn about your coverage
Your limits aren't private once there's a claim. Under Florida Statute 627.4137, your insurer must give a claimant who asks in writing a sworn statement within 30 days listing every known policy, including excess or umbrella, its limits, and a copy of the policy.
How to set your auto liability limit in Miami, step by step
Work up from the floor, one truck and one contract at a time, then decide how much risk above that you're willing to keep.
Step 1: Find each truck's legal floor
Match every unit to the federal or Florida minimum it runs under, using the table above. A truck subject to the federal rules carries the federal amount, even on Florida-only trips, under subsection (4) of Florida Statute 627.7415.
Step 2: Add what your contracts require
Broker, shipper, and interchange agreements name a limit, often a combined single limit, plus the vehicles that must be covered and who must be named as additional insured. Those vehicle descriptions depend on your commercial auto symbols.
Step 3: Decide on an excess or umbrella layer
Ask what one serious crash on your lanes could cost beyond the primary limit. An excess liability policy adds limits and is no broader than the policy under it. An umbrella policy also adds limits and can cover some claims the underlying policy doesn't, subject to a self-insured retention.
Step 4: Make your uninsured motorist choice on purpose
Under Florida Statute 627.727, a policy with bodily injury liability on a vehicle registered or principally garaged in Florida includes uninsured motorist coverage equal to that limit, unless a named insured rejects it or selects less on a state-approved form. That choice carries into renewals unless you ask for more in writing, so revisit it whenever you raise your liability limit. Excess and umbrella policies must make UM available on written request, up to their limit or $1 million, whichever is less.
UM protects the people your policy insures when an uninsured or underinsured motorist injures them. It pays over and above workers' comp and PIP benefits, without duplicating them.
Step 5: Recheck the stack at renewal
Confirm every truck is a covered auto, every layer sits on the right underlying limit, and your contracts still match. Add a truck, a lane, or a new contract mid-term, and run the same check then.
How Simplex helps Miami carriers set their liability
We start from your trucks, your lanes, and the contracts you sign, then build the limits and layers around them.
Commercial auto liability
As a broker, we quote and place commercial auto liability insurance for trucking companies, from the federal minimum to the limits your contracts name.
Miami truck insurance
Our Miami commercial truck insurance team covers the full program for port, airport, local, and long-haul work, with liability, cargo, and physical damage in one place.
The records behind a defense
Our DOT safety compliance team keeps driver files, hours of service, and maintenance records in order, the evidence that matters when fault is disputed.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum commercial auto liability insurance in Florida?+
Is commercial liability insurance the same as commercial auto liability?+
How long does someone have to sue after a truck accident in Florida?+
Can someone who caused part of the crash still recover from my company?+
Do I need uninsured motorist coverage on a commercial truck in Florida?+
Where this information comes from
The rules below come from Florida statutes, the Florida Legislature, federal regulations, and the UIIA, checked on October 20, 2026. Contracts and lenders can require more, so confirm your limits with your agent.
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1
Florida Legislature — Final bill analysis, CS/CS/HB 837 (2023)
Approval and effective date of March 24, 2023, chapter 2023-15, and the move from pure to modified comparative negligence.
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2
Florida Statute 768.81 — Comparative fault
A claimant more than 50% at fault for their own harm may not recover damages.
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3
Florida Statute 95.11 — Limitations
Two-year limit for actions founded on negligence and for wrongful death.
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4
Florida Statute 624.155 — Civil remedy (bad faith)
The 90-day tender safe harbor, good-faith duties of claimants, and competing claims above policy limits.
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5
Florida Statute 627.727 — Uninsured motorist coverage
UM equal to bodily injury limits unless rejected or lowered in writing on an approved form.
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6
Florida Statute 627.4137 — Disclosure of insurance information
Sworn disclosure of every known policy and its limits, including excess or umbrella, within 30 days of a claimant's request.
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7
49 CFR 387.9 — Minimum levels of financial responsibility
Federal liability minimums for interstate for-hire carriers and hazmat.
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8
IANA — UIIA insurance requirements
The $1 million combined single limit auto liability required for intermodal equipment interchange.
Written by
Rigo Diaz
Founder & CEO, Simplex Group
Founder and CEO of Simplex Group, with more than 25 years leading the company and helping trucking entrepreneurs navigate compliance, insurance, and the day-to-day demands of running a carrier. Before founding Simplex, he spent more than six years in risk management, experience that continues to shape how he approaches insurance, compliance, and carrier risk today.
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Pick your limit on purpose
The minimum gets a truck on the road. The right limit comes from your contracts, your lanes, and an honest look at what Florida's claim rules leave on your company after the insurer pays.
If you want a second look at your limits, layers, and uninsured motorist choices, talk to our team.