Physical damage insurance for the trucks you own
Physical damage insurance pays to repair or replace your own trucks, tractors, and trailers after a collision, theft, fire, or other covered loss. Federal law doesn’t require it, because liability only pays others, but a lender will probably require it on a financed truck.
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What is physical damage insurance for trucks?
Physical damage insurance covers direct and accidental loss to your own trucks, tractors, and trailers and their equipment. It is the part of a commercial auto policy that pays you, not other people. In ISO’s business auto coverage form, a trailer or semitrailer counts as an “auto,” so the trailers you own are insured the same way as your power units.
You choose the coverage unit by unit, from three options:
| Coverage | Pays for loss caused by | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Collision | The unit’s collision with another object, or its overturn | Pays even when your driver caused the accident |
| Comprehensive | Any cause except collision or overturn, such as theft, fire, hail, flood, or vandalism | Also pays for glass breakage, hitting a bird or animal, and falling objects |
| Specified causes of loss | Only the listed perils: fire, lightning, explosion, theft, windstorm, hail, earthquake, flood, mischief or vandalism, and the sinking, burning, collision, or derailment of a conveyance carrying the unit | A named-perils alternative to comprehensive; anything not on the list is not covered |
Is physical damage insurance required?
Not by federal law. The FMCSA minimums in 49 CFR 387.9, such as $750,000 for interstate for-hire general freight, are for public liability, which 49 CFR 387.5 defines as liability for bodily injury, property damage, and environmental restoration. Your liability insurance won’t pay for your own truck: the liability section of the business auto form excludes damage to property you own, transport, or have in your care, custody, or control.
Your contracts usually decide instead. A lender that finances a vehicle will probably require physical damage coverage to protect its interest, most container equipment providers require coverage for the trailers and chassis you pull, and an owner-operator’s lease says who insures what. Our commercial semi truck insurance page shows how physical damage fits into a full tractor-trailer program.
What doesn’t physical damage insurance cover?
The exclusions matter as much as the coverage. The standard business auto form does not pay for:
- Wear and tear, freezing, and mechanical or electrical breakdown: loss due and confined to these is a maintenance cost, not a claim. A blown engine on its own is not covered.
- Tires: blowouts, punctures, and other road damage to tires. The form lifts this exclusion and the breakdown exclusion when the whole unit is stolen.
- Lost resale value: the drop in market value after a repaired loss, which the form calls diminution in value.
- Racing and stunts: organized racing, demolition contests, and stunting, including practice and preparation.
- Nuclear hazard and war.
Cameras, tablets, and other electronics
Equipment that receives or transmits audio, visual, or data signals, such as a dash camera or a tablet, is excluded unless it is permanently installed, removable from a permanently installed housing, or necessary for the truck’s normal operation or for monitoring its operating system. Even then, electronics installed in a location the manufacturer doesn’t normally use are capped at $1,000 per loss. Tell us about aftermarket equipment when you quote.
Towing, rental, and downtime
The base form’s towing and labor coverage applies only to autos of the private passenger type, and its temporary transportation expense applies only after the total theft of a private passenger auto. Nothing in the physical damage section pays for a truck’s lost income while it sits in the shop. Some insurers sell these as extras: in the Texas Department of Insurance’s 2024 commercial auto survey, insurers reported adding optional coverages such as roadside assistance and rental reimbursement. Ask what your policy includes before you need a tow.
The load isn’t covered either. Freight you haul takes motor truck cargo insurance.
How are physical damage claims paid?
The standard form pays the lesser of two amounts, minus your deductible: the unit’s actual cash value at the time of the loss, or the cost to repair or replace it with property of like kind and quality.
- Total loss: actual cash value is adjusted for depreciation and physical condition.
- Betterment: if a repair leaves the unit better than it was, the policy doesn’t pay for the improvement.
- How it pays: the insurer may pay for, repair, or replace the unit, return stolen property and pay for theft damage, or take the unit at an agreed or appraised value. Payment includes the applicable sales tax.
- Disputes: if you disagree on the amount, either side can demand an appraisal. Each side picks an appraiser, the appraisers pick an umpire, and a decision by any two is binding.
- After a loss: report a theft to the police promptly, protect the unit from further damage, keep a record of your expenses, and let the insurer inspect it before repair.
How deductibles work
The deductible applies to each covered auto, so ask how your policy handles a tractor and trailer damaged in the same accident. It is withheld from the payment to you, and the comprehensive deductible does not apply to fire or lightning. TDI reports that physical damage deductibles are common and often required.
Actual cash value, stated amount, or agreed value
Physical damage can be written on an actual cash value, stated amount, or agreed value basis. In the commercial auto rating manual published by Massachusetts’ residual market, a stated amount premium for trucks, tractors, and trailers is figured per $100 of the unit’s value. In that manual, only the agreed value basis promises that no deduction will reduce the unit below the agreed value, and it requires an appraisal at your cost. Ask which basis your quote uses, and update values at renewal.
Financed and leased trucks
The Wisconsin insurance regulator warns, in its auto insurance guide, that actual cash value is not tied to your loan and can be less than you owe. If coverage lapses, the lender can force-place a policy that protects only its interest and can cost as much as three times more. A lender is commonly named in a loss payable clause, which pays it only as its interest may appear. If a total loss could leave you owing money, ask about loan or lease gap coverage.
Physical damage for trailers, rented trucks, and leased owner-operators
Trailers and trucks you own
List every owned unit, trailers included. Physical damage covers only the autos shown by the symbol next to it on your declarations. With symbol 7, specifically described autos, a unit you buy mid-term is covered only if it replaces a covered unit or you already cover every unit you own, and you tell the insurer within 30 days. Our guide to commercial auto symbols explains the codes.
Trailers and chassis you don’t own
Your own physical damage coverage doesn’t reach equipment you don’t own. IRMI explains that a trailer interchange agreement makes the carrier in possession responsible for damage to the trailer, whether or not it is attached, and trailer interchange insurance covers that liability. For container work, the UIIA says most equipment providers require trailer interchange coverage for comprehensive, collision, fire, and theft, with limits and deductibles that vary by provider. Port drayage fleets should also see our Houston commercial truck insurance page.
Rented trucks
Hired auto physical damage treats a truck you rent without a driver as one you own. A unit rented with a driver is not covered. The 2013 form also pays the rental company’s loss of use charges, up to $20 a day and $600 in total.
Owner-operators leased to a carrier
Under 49 CFR 376.12, your lease must state the carrier’s duty to carry public liability insurance and who provides any other coverage. The carrier’s liability doesn’t cover damage to your truck, so physical damage is your decision unless the lease says otherwise. If you buy it through the carrier, the certificate must show your cost and deductible. If your lease makes off-dispatch coverage your job too, pair it with non-trucking liability.
What does physical damage insurance cost?
There is no standard price, because the premium is built on the value of what you insure. Rating plans vary by insurer, and these are the inputs that move a quote:
- Value and age of each unit: in the Massachusetts manual, actual cash value premiums are based on the original cost new and the model-year age group, and stated amount premiums on the declared value. Newer, costlier equipment costs more to insure.
- Coverage choice: collision, comprehensive, or the narrower specified causes of loss, unit by unit.
- Deductible: TDI notes that larger deductibles are one way to offset premium increases, with the trade-off that you keep more of the risk.
- Where the trucks are garaged: rates are set by territory and vary by state.
- Drivers and losses: violations and accidents raise the rate, and underwriters ask for your loss runs and read your safety record. See how CSA scores affect truck insurance premiums.
- Repair costs: in TDI’s survey, one insurer raised its minimum physical damage deductible, citing rising costs to repair or replace vehicles.
For benchmarks across a whole program, see how much commercial truck insurance costs.
How to get physical damage insurance for your trucks
Step 1: Build your unit schedule
List every tractor, truck, and trailer with its VIN, year, value, and any lender or lessor to name on the policy.
Step 2: Choose coverage and deductibles
Collision, comprehensive, or specified causes of loss for each unit, and a deductible you can pay on more than one unit in the same accident.
Step 3: Check your contracts
Your loan or lease terms, your owner-operator lease, and any trailer interchange or UIIA requirements from the equipment providers you work with.
Step 4: Request your quote
Tell us what you run and what it’s worth. A licensed agent follows up with options and can quote physical damage together with liability and cargo. See every line we place on our commercial truck insurance page, and review your values every year as your equipment ages.
Sources
The rules and figures on this page come from these official sources, checked on September 25, 2026.
- ISO Business Auto Coverage Form, CA 00 01 10 13 (Sonoma County, PDF): Physical damage coverages, exclusions, electronics limits, valuation, deductibles, loss payment, appraisal, hired autos, acquired autos, and the liability care, custody, or control exclusion.
- eCFR — 49 CFR 387.9, Financial responsibility, minimum levels: The federal minimums are for public liability, starting at $750,000 for interstate for-hire general freight.
- eCFR — 49 CFR 376.12, Lease requirements: What an owner-operator lease must say about insurance, chargebacks, and certificates.
- Intermodal Association of North America — UIIA Insurance Requirements: Trailer interchange covers physical damage to non-owned equipment; most equipment providers require it.
- IRMI — Trailer interchange insurance: Interchange agreements and the coverage for liability for damage to others’ trailers.
- Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance — Consumer’s Guide to Auto Insurance (PDF): Lender requirements, force-placed coverage, and actual cash value versus the loan balance.
- Texas Department of Insurance — Commercial Auto Biennial Report 2024 (PDF): Physical damage deductibles, rising repair costs, and optional roadside and rental coverages.
- Commonwealth Automobile Reinsurers — Commercial Automobile Insurance Manual, Section II (PDF): Physical damage rating on actual cash value, stated amount, or agreed value, by cost new and age.
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Frequently asked questions
What does physical damage insurance cover on a truck?+
It pays to repair or replace your own truck, tractor, or trailer after a covered loss. Collision covers collision and overturn, and comprehensive covers most other causes, such as theft, fire, hail, flood, and vandalism.
How much does physical damage insurance cost for a semi truck?+
There is no standard price, because the premium is built mainly on the value and age of each unit you insure. Your coverage choices, deductible, garaging location, and driving and claims record also move the rate, so a quote built on your unit schedule is the reliable number.
Is physical damage insurance required for trucks?+
No federal rule requires it: FMCSA minimums apply to liability for injury and damage to others. A lender will probably require it on a financed truck, and most container equipment providers require trailer interchange coverage for the equipment you pull.
What is the difference between comprehensive and specified causes of loss?+
Comprehensive covers any cause except collision or overturn, unless excluded. Specified causes of loss covers only the listed perils, such as fire, lightning, explosion, theft, windstorm, hail, earthquake, flood, and vandalism.
Does physical damage insurance cover mechanical breakdown?+
No. The standard form excludes loss due and confined to wear and tear, freezing, mechanical or electrical breakdown, and road damage to tires, unless the whole unit is stolen.
Does physical damage insurance cover a trailer I don’t own?+
Not usually. Your physical damage covers units you own and list on the policy, and damage to a trailer or chassis you pull under an interchange agreement takes trailer interchange coverage.
Is physical damage insurance the same as full coverage?+
No. Physical damage covers only your own equipment, so you still need liability for injury and damage you cause to others and cargo coverage for the freight you haul.
Other services
Simplex Group is a full-service trucking partner — insurance is one piece of a much larger toolkit.