How much is semi truck insurance, and what sets your price?
Nobody can quote your premium without seeing your operation. What you can know is the industry benchmark, the legal minimum, and the factors an underwriter uses to move you above or below it.
Written by Rigo Diaz
Truck insurance cost at a glance
How much is semi truck insurance? ATRI's 2026 cost study puts the average at 10.6 cents per mile in 2025, which is roughly $9,100 a year for a truck running ATRI's average 85,991 miles. Your own price depends on your record, cargo, radius, limits, and time in business.
"It depends" is a frustrating answer when you are trying to build a budget for a truck. So this guide starts with the best public benchmark there is, then walks through exactly what it depends on.
I spent more than six years in risk management before I founded Simplex, and I have led it for more than 25 years since. I will not quote you a premium here, because no honest broker can do that without seeing your operation. What I can show you is how the number gets built, and which parts of it you control.
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 best public benchmark is 10.6 cents a mile
ATRI's 2026 update puts average truck insurance premiums at 10.6 cents per mile in 2025, up 3.9% from 2024 and 23.9% from 2021.
At average mileage, that is about $760 a month
ATRI's average truck ran 85,991 miles in 2025, or roughly $9,100 a year in premium. Treat it as a benchmark, not a quote.
Federal law sets a floor, not a target
For-hire general freight across state lines in a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more needs at least $750,000 in public liability. Some hazmat needs $1 million or $5 million.
Underwriters price the truck, the use, and your record
Vehicle size, business use, radius, limits, deductibles, fleet size, and your loss and safety history all feed the rate.
Costs are still climbing
ATRI's first-quarter 2026 data showed insurance premiums up 6.4%, one of the fastest-rising cost lines.
In this articleContents
How much is semi truck insurance?
The most credible public benchmark is ATRI's Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking: 2026 Update, released in July 2026. It puts the average cost of truck insurance premiums at 10.6 cents per mile in 2025, up 3.9% from 2024 and 23.9% from 2021.
ATRI reports insurance per mile, not per month, but the math is simple. Its average truck ran 85,991 miles in 2025. At 10.6 cents a mile, that is about $9,100 a year, or roughly $760 a month.
| Measure | ATRI figure |
|---|---|
| Average premium per mile, 2025 | 10.6 cents |
| Change from 2024 | +3.9% |
| Change from 2021 | +23.9% |
| Highest region: Northeast | About 12 cents per mile |
| Lowest region: Midwest | About 10 cents per mile |
| First-quarter 2026 data | +6.4% |
What insurance does federal law require for a semi truck?
Federal law requires minimum public liability coverage under 49 CFR 387.9. For a for-hire carrier hauling general freight across state lines in a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more, the minimum is $750,000.
The rule covers for-hire property carriers in interstate or foreign commerce, and any carrier, for-hire or private, hauling hazardous materials, including bulk loads within one state. Vehicles under 10,001 pounds are excluded unless they carry certain high-hazard loads, under 49 CFR 387.3.
| What you haul | Federal minimum |
|---|---|
| Nonhazardous property, for hire | $750,000 |
| Oil and hazardous materials not in the $5 million rows | $1,000,000 |
| Hazardous substances in bulk tanks or hoppers, bulk explosives, and other listed bulk high-hazard loads | $5,000,000 |
| Listed bulk high-hazard loads in vehicles under 10,001 pounds | $5,000,000 |
What is the MCS-90?
Proof of that coverage is usually the MCS-90, an endorsement your insurer attaches to the policy; a surety bond, Form MCS-82, is the alternative. Under 49 CFR 387.7 and 387.15, the MCS-90 must be issued in your exact name, kept at your principal place of business, and stay in effect until terminated, with 35 days' written notice to cancel.
The minimum is a floor, not a recommendation. According to the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), the median commercial auto liability limit in Texas has stayed at $1 million, and about 83% of premium for trucks, tractors, and trailers comes from policies at that limit. For how the MCS-90 relates to the vehicles your policy covers, see our guide to commercial auto symbols.
Which coverages make up a truck insurance premium?
Your premium is the sum of several coverages, and only liability is federally required. The rest depend on your equipment, your contracts, and how your business is set up.
- Primary auto liability: bodily injury and property damage you cause to others. This is the coverage behind the federal minimums.
- Physical damage: collision pays to repair or replace your truck after an accident; comprehensive covers theft, weather, and other non-collision losses.
- Motor truck cargo: the freight you haul, which a motor carrier policy can include.
- Non-trucking liability: for owner-operators leased to a carrier, when the truck is used off dispatch. See non-trucking liability insurance.
- General liability: business risks beyond the truck itself, covered in our guide to CGL insurance for truckers.
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist: your injuries and damages when the at-fault driver has too little coverage or none. Texas, for example, requires it unless you reject it.
Each line is priced separately, so two quotes are only comparable when their limits, deductibles, and coverages match. Our commercial truck insurance page lists the lines we place.
What affects the cost of commercial truck insurance?
Two things set your price: the rating plan the insurer files, and what the underwriter learns about your operation. Plans vary, but TDI describes a typical rating procedure for trucks, tractors, and trailers:
- Vehicle size and business use
- Industry, such as hauling for hire versus a contractor's truck
- Radius: heavier vehicles that regularly run beyond 200 miles are rated by zone
- Your chosen limits and deductibles, and your fleet size
- Experience and schedule rating, plus discounts or surcharges
- The insurer's own operating expenses
Use matters a great deal. In TDI's data, trucking risks consistently carried much higher average liability premiums than other truck users, and zone-rated truckers paid several times more than non-trucking risks.
What underwriters check about you
The rating plan is the same for everyone. Your file is not. Every insurer weighs things differently, but most underwriters look at some combination of these:
- How long you have been in business, and how long your operating authority has been active
- Your drivers' experience and motor vehicle records
- Your loss runs, meaning your claims history with prior insurers
- Your roadside inspection, out-of-service, and crash history
- What you haul, how far you run, and the equipment you run it in
Of all of these, your safety record is the one most within your control. Our guide to unsafe driving violations and CSA scores covers the violations that weigh most. If your record has already pushed you out of the standard market, read our guide to high-risk commercial truck insurance.
Why does truck insurance keep getting more expensive?
Because insurers have been paying out more than they take in. ATRI's authors note that commercial auto insurance has been unprofitable in all but one of the last 10 years, in part because of rising crash costs and litigation payouts.
State data points the same way. In Texas, the commercial auto combined ratio has averaged 116% since 2011, which TDI explains as insurers paying out 16 cents more in claims for every premium dollar. The average liability premium for trucks, tractors, and trailers there rose 75% from 2017 to mid-2024.
I share this so you read your renewal correctly, not to discourage you. Part of any increase reflects the market rather than your operation. The part that reflects your operation is the part you can work on.
How can you lower your truck insurance cost?
No step guarantees a lower premium. Each one improves what an underwriter sees, or what you pay for.
Step 1: Review your record before you shop
Look at your roadside inspection and crash history before you request quotes, so you know what an underwriter will find and can correct anything that is wrong.
Step 2: Choose limits and deductibles on purpose
Higher limits raise the premium, and a higher deductible can lower it, but you keep more of the risk. Your contracts, the law, or the insurer may limit how far you can go.
Step 3: Describe your operation accurately
Radius, cargo, and equipment drive the rating. A quote built on the wrong description prices the wrong risk, and can leave the real one uncovered.
Step 4: Keep coverage continuous
Under 49 CFR 387.7, a motor carrier cannot operate without its required coverage in effect. Start renewals early, and never let a missed payment put a filing at risk.
Step 5: Keep the records underwriters ask about
Driver files, maintenance, and hours-of-service records are what an underwriter's questions come back to. Keep them current all year, not just at renewal.
Step 6: Compare like with like at renewal
Ask for quotes with matching limits, deductibles, and coverages, and give yourself enough time to compare them.
How Simplex helps you price truck insurance
The record an underwriter reads and the policy you buy are usually handled by different offices. We handle both.
Insurance quoted and placed
As a broker, we quote and place commercial truck insurance, including liability, cargo, and physical damage, and a licensed agent walks you through how your operation is likely to be rated.
Coverage for leased owner-operators
If you run under another carrier's authority, ask us about non-trucking liability insurance for when your truck is off dispatch.
A record underwriters can read
Our compliance programs include CSA monitoring, mock audits, HOS management, and driver qualification file management, so problems surface before renewal.
Frequently asked questions
How much is semi truck insurance per month?+
What is the average cost of semi truck insurance per year?+
What is the minimum insurance required for a semi truck?+
Is truck insurance cheaper in some regions?+
Does a higher deductible lower truck insurance costs?+
Where this information comes from
The figures below come from federal regulation, ATRI's 2026 cost study as published and reported, and the Texas Department of Insurance, checked on September 24, 2026. Insurers do not publish their rating formulas, so confirm how your own operation is rated with a licensed agent.
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1
eCFR — 49 CFR 387.9
The federal minimum public liability limits: $750,000, $1 million, and $5 million.
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2
eCFR — 49 CFR 387.7
No operation without required coverage, continuous coverage, 35-day cancellation notice, and proof on the MCS-90.
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3
eCFR — 49 CFR 387.15
The MCS-90 must be in FMCSA's form and issued in the carrier's exact name.
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4
ATRI — 2026 Operational Costs of Trucking release
The July 15, 2026 release of the 2026 Update and its $2.336 industry cost per mile.
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5
The Trucker — ATRI report explains why
ATRI's 10.6 cents per mile insurance figure, its changes since 2024 and 2021, and the study's sample.
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6
FleetOwner — ATRI cost breakdown by region
ATRI's average annual mileage, insurance cost by region, and commercial auto profitability.
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7
HDT Trucking Info — ATRI 2026 report
ATRI's first-quarter 2026 data showing insurance premiums up 6.4%.
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8
Texas Department of Insurance — Commercial Auto Biennial Report (PDF)
How truck liability is rated, deductibles and limits, premium trends, and the $1 million median limit.
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.
Published · Updated
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The average is a benchmark. Your record sets the price.
You cannot change the insurance market or the industry average. You can change what an underwriter learns about your operation, and how carefully your quote is put together.
If you want a licensed agent to walk through your limits, deductibles, and safety record before you shop, talk to our team.