You never touch the freight, and you still get named in the lawsuit.

Surety bonds

License, bid and performance bonds. A bond guarantees you will finish the job — it protects the other party, not you, which is the part most people get wrong.

Without it — The BMC-84 is a federal condition of your broker authority — without it in force the FMCSA revokes, and every load stops the same day.

Professional liability

Covers the advice, the drawing, the diagnosis — the work itself, rather than someone getting hurt on your premises.

Without it — Choosing the carrier is the service you sell, so a bad choice is a professional failure rather than an accident.

Motor truck cargo

The freight itself while you are hauling it. Separate from the liability on the truck.

Without it — Contingent cargo responds when the carrier you hired turns out to have no cargo cover, or has it and it does not pay.

General liability

Third-party bodily injury and property damage — the line nearly every contract names by default.

Without it — An office, visitors and the ordinary premises exposure of a business that is otherwise entirely paper.

Cyber & tech E&O

Breach response, ransomware and the notification costs that follow. Technology errors and omissions sits on the same policy and covers the software or service itself failing a client, which is the half most tech companies find out about too late.

Without it — Double brokering and fictitious pickup are executed by email and spoofed identity, which is a cyber claim before it is a cargo claim.

Commercial auto

Vehicles the business owns and the people who drive them for work.

Without it — Contingent auto liability sits behind the carrier’s policy for the moment a plaintiff argues the load was really yours.

Umbrella & excess liability

Extra limit stacked above general liability, auto and employers liability. Usually the cheapest million dollars on the policy.

Without it — A negligent selection verdict follows a fatal accident, and those numbers do not fit inside a primary limit.

Employment practices liability

Wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims brought by your own employees. General liability specifically excludes these.

Without it — Brokerages hire fast, pay on commission and fire quickly, which is the profile these claims come from.

What is the BMC-84, and do I need $75,000?

The BMC-84 is the surety bond the FMCSA requires of a licensed property broker, and yes — the figure has been $75,000 since 2013. It is not insurance and it does not protect you: it protects the carriers and shippers you deal with, and if the surety pays a claim on it they will come to you for the money. The alternative is a BMC-85 trust, which ties up the full amount in cash. Most brokers bond rather than trust, and the price of the bond is a straight read of your credit and your financials.

Why would I be sued for a crash involving a truck I do not own?

Negligent selection, and it is the defining exposure of this business. The argument is that you chose the carrier, that a reasonable broker would have checked their safety rating, authority and insurance, and that had you done so this carrier would not have been on the road. It reaches you regardless of the "broker only" language in your contracts, because the claim is not about the contract — it is about the choice. What defends it is documented vetting on every carrier, every time, kept where you can produce it years later.

What actually is contingent cargo, and is it worth buying?

It responds when the motor carrier’s own cargo policy does not — because it lapsed, because the loss is excluded, because the carrier was fraudulent, or because the carrier simply will not pay and the shipper is looking at you. It is cheap relative to what it covers, and it is the coverage brokers most often discover they needed. Read two things before buying: whether it pays only after the carrier’s policy is exhausted or also when there was never one, and whether it excludes losses arising from double brokering, which is where the claims now are.

A load was double brokered and stolen. Am I covered?

It depends entirely on wording, and this is now the most contested question in the class. Many contingent cargo forms exclude loss caused by fraud, unauthorised re-brokering, or a carrier who was never who they said they were — which describes the modern theft precisely. Some carriers write it back for brokers who can evidence their vetting process. If you move freight at volume and have not had this checked, it is the single most valuable half hour available on your programme.

Do you sell the bond and the insurance, or just one?

Both, which is less common than it sounds. Plenty of places will write the BMC-84 and leave you to find contingent cargo and professional liability elsewhere, so the bond renews on one calendar and the insurance on another and nobody is looking at the whole thing. Sending the authority paperwork, the bond and the programme to one place is also how the gaps between them get found.