How much does trucking insurance cost?

Liability is set by federal rule, then by the shipper

Trucking is the one business where the law fixes the size of the auto liability policy. Under 49 CFR 387.7, no motor carrier may operate a motor vehicle until it holds the minimum levels of financial responsibility in 387.9⁠². The amounts depend on what you haul and how heavy the truck is:

eCFR up to date as of 2026-10-08; 387.9 last amended 91 FR 45660, July 21, 2026. 49 CFR 387.9, 387.33T.

Three practical points follow from the rule text and from FMCSA’s registration page:

• The MCS-90 endorsement is part of the policy. Proof of financial responsibility kept at your principal place of business is an MCS-90 endorsement issued by your insurer, an MCS-82 surety bond, or an FMCSA self-insurance authorization⁠². It is the form that ties the policy to the public-liability duty.
• Your insurer files with FMCSA, not you. FMCSA states that a financial responsibility provider must file the insurance form on behalf of the applicant, and that it will not grant operating authority registration until the minimum levels are on file with FMCSA⁠³.
• Cancellation is continuous. The policy and endorsement stay in effect until terminated, with 35 days’ written notice from either side⁠².

Federal minimums are floors for interstate carriers. Intrastate carriers follow state minimums (see the state tables in /requirements/), and many brokers and shippers write higher limits into their contracts. We found no official source for those contract limits, so we do not give one.

What ATRI measures, and what it leaves out

ATRI is a not-for-profit research institute funded by the trucking industry. Its 2026 operational-costs report gives a per-mile insurance benchmark drawn from carrier survey data, rather than from one insurer’s customers. The full report is form-gated, so we cite only the figures ATRI publishes openly.

• ATRI reports that liability and cargo insurance premiums rose 3.9% in 2025 to $0.106 per mile, from $0.102 in 2024⁠⁵.
• ATRI’s figure covers liability and cargo only. It excludes physical damage, so it cannot be compared line for line with a per-power-unit price that includes it.

Insurer-reported prices per power unit

Progressive publishes 2025 new-policy premiums per power unit “for liability and physical damage coverage for policies with no driver violations”⁠⁶. A power unit is the tractor or straight truck, not the trailer.

Insurer- and broker-reported figures from each company’s own customers, as published on its website; not a random sample of all businesses. Figures are rounded as published.

Progressive says specialty trucks cost less because they focus on one type of good, while transport trucks haul various goods for others⁠⁶. Over twelve months the transport median is $9,852 and the specialty median $7,620 (our arithmetic, $821 and $635 times 12). The Progressive averages ($926 and $734) exceed the medians because large, high-premium policies pull the mean up.

Progressive’s published figures are for its own customers. Its page does not state a sample size, fleet size, radius or limits, so a single-truck owner-operator with authority and a ten-truck fleet may sit on opposite sides of the median.

The policies a truck needs, and which are optional

1. Primary liability

   Required by 387.9 when you run under your own authority⁠¹. It responds to bodily injury and property damage you cause to others⁠⁷.

2. Motor truck cargo

   Covers transported goods against damage or loss in transit, plus legal expenses if you are sued over a loss, costs to prevent further loss, and cleanup if a load spills debris or pollutants⁠⁷⁠⁸. Progressive prices it from the value of the goods plus freight charges plus a loading, expressed as a percentage, and says cargo type has the biggest effect, with radius, truck type and loss history behind it⁠⁸. It offers limits up to $250,000⁠⁸. We found no federal cargo minimum for general freight in the sections we reviewed; household-goods carriers have their own cargo rules.

3. Physical damage

   Collision pays to repair or replace your own truck even when you are at fault, and comprehensive covers theft, fire, vandalism, glass and animal strikes. Collision is always included with comprehensive, a higher comprehensive deductible can lower the price, and Progressive says many lenders require collision on leased or financed trucks⁠⁷.

4. Trailer interchange

   For trailers you pull under an agreement but do not own⁠⁷.

5. Non-trucking liability (NTL)

   For a truck leased permanently to a carrier and used for non-business purposes. Progressive says it is unavailable to drivers who must make federal or state filings, who actively drive for another company, or who are in trailer interchange⁠⁷.

6. Umbrella or excess

   Layers above the primary limit. We found no published umbrella price for trucking. See /coverage/commercial-umbrella/.

Owner-operators: employee or independent contractor

Who pays for comp depends on state law and on the contract. Texas shows both routes. A person who works for a motor carrier that is an employer is the carrier’s employee for comp purposes, unless an exception applies⁠⁴. An owner-operator and their employees are not the carrier’s employees if a written agreement shows the owner-operator assumed the responsibilities of an employer⁠⁴.

Occupational accident policies are sold to owner-operators as an alternative to comp. Whether one may legally replace comp is a state-by-state question; we confirmed only the Texas statute above and have not verified a state-by-state list.

Workers’ comp for drivers and dock staff

Ohio, Washington and Wyoming publish their own state-fund rates. Trucking classes there price the whole workforce, drivers included:

Base rates set by the state fund before experience modification. Ohio and Wyoming charge per $100 of payroll; Washington charges per hour worked, and part is withheld from wages. Other states’ insurers file their own rates; see where rates are published.

• Ohio. Class 7219, trucking NOC, all employees and drivers, is $4.2527 per $100 of payroll from July 1, 2026⁠⁹. That is 91 times the clerical class 8810 at $0.0466 (our calculation from the same schedule). Parcel and package delivery (7230) is $7.578 and oil field equipment trucking (7222) is $5.3004⁠⁹. We found no 7228 or 7229 in the Ohio schedule we hold.
• Washington. Class 1102 is $3.8195 per hour worked in 2026⁠¹⁰. A driver logging 2,000 hours would generate $7,639 of base premium, before experience rating and the worker’s withheld share (our example).
• Wyoming. Truck transportation (NAICS 484000) is $3.86 per $100 of payroll in 2026⁠¹¹.
• Sector cost. BLS reports employers in trade, transportation and utilities spent $0.54 an hour on workers’ comp in June 2026, and in production, transportation and material-moving occupations $0.67, against $0.43 for all private industry⁠¹².

For $60,000 of annual driver payroll, Ohio’s base rate gives $60,000 ÷ 100 × 4.2527 = $2,552 and Wyoming’s gives $2,316 (our examples, before experience modification). Other states use NCCI or their own bureau tables that we do not reproduce; see /workers-comp-rates/ for the states we cover.

Market direction

CIAB: average premium change at renewal reported by member brokers, Q2 2026 (April 1-June 30, 2026), released 18 Aug 2026. Ivans: average renewal premium change on small commercial policies, Q2 2026. Premium changes include changes in exposure as well as rates. All series and method.

The CIAB survey series in that table shows commercial auto renewal premiums rising 4.5% in the second quarter of 2026 while workers’ comp fell.

Budgeting a truck

1. Price liability per power unit

   Start from your federal or contract limit, radius and driver records, and ask for quotes as a rate per power unit and per mile so you can compare with ATRI’s $0.106 (liability and cargo only).

2. Add physical damage separately

   Ask how the insurer rates it; lenders on financed or leased trucks often require collision⁠⁷.

3. Add cargo from freight value

   Use the highest-value commodity you haul, not the average load.

4. Budget retentions

   Ask what deductibles and retained losses you would carry on each coverage.

5. Add comp on payroll

   Use your state class rate times payroll; for owner-operators, decide in writing who carries it.

See /coverage/commercial-auto/ for how auto is rated, /coverage/hired-and-non-owned-auto/ and /coverage/commercial-umbrella/ for the layers above the primary policy.

Sources

1. 1
   U.S. Government Publishing Office / FMCSA, 49 CFR 387.9, Financial responsibility, minimum levels (eCFR, up to date as of 2026-10-08) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
2. 2
   U.S. Government Publishing Office / FMCSA, 49 CFR 387.7, Financial responsibility required Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
3. 3
   Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Insurance filing requirements Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
4. 4
   Texas Legislature, Texas Labor Code chapter 406, sections 406.122 and 406.123 Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
5. 5
   American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking, 2026 update (July 2026) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
6. 6
   Progressive Commercial, Commercial auto insurance cost Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
7. 7
   Progressive Commercial, Commercial truck insurance coverages Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
8. 8
   Progressive Commercial, How much does cargo insurance cost? Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
9. 9
   Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation / Ohio Administrative Code, OAC 4123-17-06, Appendix A: base rates effective July 1, 2026 (private employers) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
10. 10
    Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, 2026 hourly rates by risk classification Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
11. 11
    Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, Workers' compensation 2026 industry base rates by classification Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑
12. 12
    U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026 (released Sept. 9, 2026) Checked 13 Oct 2026 · Back to text ↑

Spotted an outdated figure? Report an error