A full load of cars is worth more than most cargo limits.

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 specialized, expensive and slow to replace.

General liability

Third-party bodily injury and property damage. It is 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 coverage 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.

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.

Can a new authority get car hauler insurance?

Sometimes, and the market is narrow. Auto hauling is one of the classes several new-venture programs exclude by name, so the placement leans on driving experience hauling cars for someone else and on a cargo limit that matches the vehicles you carry. Dealer and transporter programs that say new ventures considered are written for dealers, not for a motor carrier authority, so read that line carefully.

Insuring a new authority

What insurance does Central Dispatch require?

Central Dispatch does not publish a dollar minimum. Its terms of use require carriers to maintain the insurance, licenses and bonds their operation legally needs, it checks that operating authority and valid insurance are on file before a carrier is activated, and it says it monitors insurance status on an ongoing basis. The limits that matter come from the other side of the load: the brokers, dealers and auction houses you haul for set their own cargo requirements, and shippers are told to ask to be named as certificate holder. So the practical answer is the federal auto liability minimum plus a cargo limit built from a full load, with a certificate your agent can issue the day a shipper asks for it.

What broker packets ask your agent for

What does a auto hauling insurance application ask for?

The applications for auto hauling businesses ask about 4 things above all: what commodities do you haul; do you haul full truckloads or less than truckload; are your vehicles equipped with gps, cameras, or other tracking devices; list all losses and accidents from the last three years. Have your vehicle information including year, make, model, and current value for each truck and trailer and three years of loss runs from your current and prior insurance companies ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week.