Additionally, there are lots of different employment situations for commercial truck drivers—those that work independently and contract themselves out vs. those that work for motor carriers. In different instances, the burden of financial responsibility falls on either the operator or motor carrier.
But in reality, commercial truck insurance doesn’t have to be that confusing. In essence, required commercial truck insurance varies based on the size of the truck, the cargo and type of carrier.
By definition, a motor carrier is transporter of some sort licensed by the FMCSA. They transport goods or even passengers on a for-hire basis of some kind. Oftentimes motor carriers will own their own commercial trucks and have insurance for trucks that they own. Other times, they contract out independents that own and operate their own commercial trucks as needed.
All Motor carriers have to have general liability insurance to protect from damages to property or people that may be involved in accidents while the carrier’s trucks are on the job. They’re also required by the FMCSA to carry cargo insurance. Within the cargo insurance category, policies vary and are specialized for things like general freight, building materials haulers and hazardous materials haulers.
Independent owner/operators are not required to carry general liability or cargo insurance, as they are covered by their carrier’s commercial truck insurance whenever they’re on the job. These drivers benefit from bobtail insurance or non-trucking liability for times they’re not on dispatch, and even carry their own cargo insurance sometimes when functioning independently.
Other forms of commercial truck insurance motor carrier’s find desirable are workers compensation policies to protect their employees, and physical damage policies and comprehensive coverage to protect their equipment.
Any other differentiations of these categories of commercial truck insurance are simply used to get more specialized in order to comply with state laws and provide optimal coverage. For example, big truck insurance and semi truck insurance hold different coverage amounts and functional clauses than tow truck insurance, dump truck insurance and car carrier insurance.
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