A full load of cars is worth more than most cargo limits.
Commercial insurance for car haulers and auto transporters — cargo limits written from the value on the trailer rather than from a general freight default.
Tell us the situation.
A licensed human replies the same business day — not an auto-responder, and not five producers calling at once. We shop it across our carriers and tell you if the policy you already have is the right one.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
What auto hauling businesses actually need.
Motor truck cargo
The freight itself while you are hauling it. Separate from the liability on the truck.
Without it — A general freight cargo limit does not come close to a loaded stinger, and the shortfall is owed by you.
Commercial auto
Vehicles the business owns and the people who drive them for work.
Without it — Primary liability and the filing that keeps the authority active.
Auto physical damage
Damage to your own tractor and trailer. Primary liability pays for what you do to everyone else and nothing for your equipment, so without this a rollover you caused leaves you paying off a truck you can no longer run.
Without it — The rig itself is specialised, expensive and slow to replace.
General liability
Third-party bodily injury and property damage — the line nearly every contract names by default.
Without it — Loading damage at a dealership or an auction is a premises claim as much as a cargo one.
Umbrella & excess liability
Extra limit stacked above general liability, auto and employers liability. Usually the cheapest million dollars on the policy.
Without it — Highway severity plus a high-value load is the combination that exhausts primary limits.
Workers compensation
Required in almost every state the moment you have employees. Priced on payroll and class code, which is why the class code is worth arguing about.
Without it — Loading and tie-down is the injury exposure, not the driving.
Trailer interchange
Damage to a trailer you are pulling but do not own, while it is in your possession under a written interchange agreement. Your own physical damage cover follows equipment you own, so an interchanged trailer is unprotected without it.
Without it — Equipment pulled under an interchange agreement is not covered by your own physical damage.
Lori Adams, TRS
Commercial Trucking Insurance Advisor
Twenty-five years in trucking insurance. Knows the filings, the radius rules and the carriers that will actually take the risk.
Transportation Risk Specialist (TRS)
What auto hauling operators ask us.
What cargo limit do I actually need?
Work it back from a full load at the values you actually haul. Nine ordinary vehicles will exceed a $100,000 cargo limit comfortably, and a single load of late-model trucks or anything exotic can exceed $250,000 on its own. Brokers increasingly require limits that reflect this, and the gap between your limit and the load is money you owe personally.
Am I covered for damage I cause loading?
Usually under cargo rather than liability, and the form matters — some exclude damage from improper loading or securement, which is exactly how most auto transport damage happens. Scratches, tie-down damage and door dings are frequency claims in this class, and a policy that excludes them leaves you paying every one.
Do you write open and enclosed?
Both. Enclosed haulers usually carry higher-value loads and need limits to match, and the exotic and collector market is its own underwriting conversation. Tell us the highest value you would put on the trailer, not the average, because the limit has to be built for the worst load rather than the typical one.