What does a broker’s carrier setup packet ask my insurance agent for?
Almost always the same three things: a certificate showing at least $1,000,000 auto liability and $100,000 cargo, sent by your agent rather than by you, to a certificate holder the broker names — which for C.H. Robinson, Uber Freight and Landstar is Highway, and for TQL and Amazon is RMIS. Reefer breakdown has to appear on the certificate if you run a reefer. Beyond that the packets differ mostly in what they do not publish.
Tell us the situation.
One licensed human replies the same business day — not five agents, not an auto-responder. If the policy you have is already the right one, we will tell you.
We use this to quote and service your insurance, and we do not sell it or pass it to lead networks. Privacy policy.
The detail
TQL asks for a valid MC or DOT number, a minimum of $1,000,000 auto liability, a minimum $100,000 cargo policy, reefer breakdown on the certificate where applicable, and a completed online carrier contract.
C.H. Robinson’s standard requirement is $1,000,000 automobile liability and $100,000 cargo liability, and its authority must have been active for at least seven days before a carrier can be considered.
C.H. Robinson will process contracts with carriers that hold only the federal minimums, but says the recommended limits avoid limiting the freight available to the carrier.
C.H. Robinson certificates must come directly from the carrier’s insurance agent, submitted to Highway App, Inc. as certificate holder.
Uber Freight requires at least $1,000,000 auto liability, $100,000 cargo liability and reefer breakdown coverage for reefer carriers, with the certificate emailed to Highway by the insurance agent and not by the carrier.
Uber Freight asks that the certificate list every VIN on scheduled-auto policies, show reefer breakdown and trailer interchange with limits and deductibles, include general liability where the carrier has it, and carry the DOT number.
Landstar does not publish insurance limits; its carrier page routes qualification through Highway and directs carriers to call for details.
RMIS registration is built around the MC or DOT number, an electronic W-9 and a carrier profile, and certificates must be submitted by the insurance agent — RMIS requests one from the agent where it does not already hold it.
RMIS carrier registration, general requirements (live tenant)
Individual brokers set their own gates inside the RMIS form; one published tenant requires a Satisfactory safety rating, an authority active for at least a year, and three or more trucks with three or more inspections.
RMIS carrier registration, general requirements (live tenant)
The federal minimum for non-hazardous property is $750,000, so every broker packet above sits at least $250,000 over the legal floor.
What this means for you
- Never send the certificate yourself. Every platform above says it in its own words: the certificate comes from the agent. A carrier forwarding its own PDF is the exact pattern double-brokering fraud uses, and it is rejected on sight even when every number on it is right. Give us the broker’s certificate-holder details and the email address, and we send it.
- The certificate holder is a platform, not the broker. C.H. Robinson, Uber Freight and Landstar all route through Highway App, Inc.; TQL and Amazon route through RMIS. A certificate made out to the broker’s own name and address goes to the wrong place and is not matched to your profile.
- $1,000,000 and $100,000 is the floor, and the floor is where most carriers sit. No published packet asks for more than that on auto or cargo. Where a broker wants a higher cargo limit for a specific lane, it is a lane requirement rather than a setup one, and it is worth asking whether the load is worth the premium.
- Reefer breakdown has to be on the certificate, not just on the policy. TQL and Uber Freight both look for it. A reefer carrier whose policy carries breakdown coverage but whose certificate does not print it fails the same way as one without the coverage.
- Highway wants every VIN. The scheduled-auto policy has to list the trucks you actually run, and the certificate has to show them. A unit added to the fleet and not yet added to the policy is the most common reason a Highway-fed packet stalls, and it is the same gap that gets a policy cancelled after an inspection.
- Some gates are not insurance and cannot be bought. Authority age, safety rating and inspection count are set by the broker and read from FMCSA. C.H. Robinson wants seven days of authority; some RMIS tenants want a year and three trucks. Check those before the certificate, because no policy fixes them.
Related questions
- What are J.B. Hunt’s carrier insurance requirements?
J.B. Hunt does not publish them. Its carrier pages describe the Carrier 360 platform and the benefits of hauling for it, and the requirements appear inside the setup itself. Figures circulate on dispatch-service sites, including a claim that cargo was raised to $250,000, but none of it is on a J.B. Hunt page and we will not repeat it as fact. Send us the requirement as J.B. Hunt states it during your setup and we will match it.
- What does TQL carrier setup ask for?
TQL’s own FAQ lists a valid MC or DOT number, $1,000,000 auto liability, $100,000 cargo, reefer breakdown on the certificate if you run a reefer, and its online carrier contract. The setup itself runs through RMIS, which asks for a W-9 and a carrier profile and requests the certificate from your agent. Anything TQL requires beyond that is shown once you have entered your MC number, so it is not published in advance.
- How do I get set up with Landstar?
Landstar’s carrier page sends you to Highway to qualify and gives a phone number for the details; it publishes no insurance limits. Because Highway is the certificate holder, the practical work is the same as C.H. Robinson or Uber Freight — your agent sends a certificate to Highway listing every VIN and every line you carry, and Landstar reads it from there.
- Does the broker need to be additional insured?
None of the platform pages above asks for it at setup. What they ask for is a certificate holder — which is a different thing, and a much lighter one. A shipper contract or a specific lane may add an additional insured requirement later; that is an endorsement to the policy rather than a line on the certificate, and it is worth reading before you sign it.
- Certificate holder versus additional insured
- Do I need a separate certificate for every broker?
For the Highway-fed brokers, no. Highway holds one certificate per carrier and the brokers that use it — C.H. Robinson, Uber Freight, Landstar among them — read the same record. RMIS works the same way for its brokers. A broker outside both platforms, or one with a lane requirement above the standard, is when a specific certificate is needed.
- How fast can you get a certificate to Highway or RMIS?
Same day in the overwhelming majority of cases, because the failure modes are known before the certificate is sent rather than after it comes back. The two that take longer are a unit not yet on the policy and a coverage line you do not have yet — both of which we can see from your policy before anything is submitted.
Need this handled?
Reading about it and having it handled are different jobs, and the second one is ours. We place the accounts other brokers decline — claims history, a cancellation, an unusual operation, a business nobody wants to underwrite twice — and we will tell you when the policy you already have is the right one. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.
Written by the licensed brokers at Boring Insurance. Last updated 2026-09-03. See all guides.