Insurance
$14k to $30k a year
For one truck running its own authority. That is a wide band because authority age, radius, commodity, CDL experience and loss history each move it a long way, and it is the second largest fixed cost after the truck payment.
At 120,000 miles a year the midpoint is $0.180 a mile, or 13% of every mile you run.
| Cover | Typical a year | Who requires it |
|---|---|---|
| Primary liability The largest line by far, and the one that new-authority carriers get quoted worst on. | $8,000-$14,000 | Required by the FMCSA at $750,000 minimum, and $1,000,000 is what almost every broker will actually insist on. |
| Cargo Reefer breakdown coverage is a separate endorsement and is the one people find out about after a claim. | $1,200-$3,000 | Not federally required for most freight, but demanded by essentially every broker at $100,000. |
| Physical damage Usually runs around 2 to 4 per cent of the truck's value, so it falls as the truck depreciates. | $2,000-$6,000 | Required by your lender if the truck is financed. |
| Non-trucking liability Cheap, and frequently missing from a policy somebody assembled themselves. | $300-$800 | Covers the truck when it is not under dispatch. |
| Occupational accident or workers compensation Occupational accident is not workers compensation and does not do the same job. Know which one you have. | $2,000-$6,000 | Depends on your state and whether you have employees. |
Typical US bands for a single-truck authority, not quotes. Put your own figure into the insurance line of the cost-per-mile calculator, since it is a fixed cost and therefore falls per mile the more you run.
New authority pays roughly double
Underwriters price the first two years of an authority as unknown risk regardless of how long you have been driving. The same truck, the same driver and the same clean record will be quoted far higher under a brand new DOT number than under a three year old one. It is the single largest reason a first-year business plan turns out to be wrong.
What actually moves the quote
Authority age, radius of operation, what you haul, CDL years, motor vehicle records for every driver, and loss runs. Reefer, flatbed and hazmat each price differently from dry van. A clean CSA record is worth real money and a pattern of violations is worth real money in the other direction.
Shop it every single year
This is the one large fixed cost that can fall without you changing anything about the operation, purely because your authority got older and your record stayed clean. Carriers who renew on autopilot for five years are usually paying for the risk profile they had in year one.
Getting quotes
Tell us the six things that actually move a quote and we will pass it to a licensed agency. They come back to you; we are not an insurance broker and nothing on this page is a solicitation, a quote or a binder.
Worth doing even if you are happy with what you pay. Authority age is the largest single factor in commercial truck pricing, and a policy renewed on autopilot for five years is usually still priced for the risk profile you had in year one.
We may be paid a fee by an agency for an introduction. It does not change your premium and it does not change a word on this page. How this site makes money.