Do CSA scores affect a trucking fleet’s insurance?
Yes. Underwriters read the fleet’s public FMCSA record (inspections, violations, out-of-service results and crashes) and many treat a poor result in Unsafe Driving, Hours-of-Service or Vehicle Maintenance as a reason to raise the price, add conditions or decline. Since 2015 the BASIC percentiles for property carriers are hidden from the public, but the records behind them are not, so the data is read either way.
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.
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Large fleets. Lori takes on only a few large fleets at a time, so each one gets a full renewal: the submission built properly and shopped with every insurance company that fits. Two openings remain for the rest of 2026.
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)
Send us what you have. We’ll tell you if it’s right.
Your current policy paperwork, a renewal notice, or nothing at all. A licensed agent reads it and replies the same business day.
The detail
FMCSA’s Safety Measurement System uses roadside inspection and crash data from the last two years, is updated once a month, and groups a carrier’s results into seven categories it calls BASICs: Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Hazardous Materials Compliance and Driver Fitness.
FMCSA, CSA: How the Safety Measurement System measures carriers
Since the FAST Act of 2015, FMCSA does not show the public the BASIC percentiles and alerts for property carriers; the absolute measures and the inspection, violation and crash records behind them remain public.
What this means for you
- The underwriter has the record before you call. Read your own first, logged in at FMCSA, so nothing in the submission contradicts it.
- Out-of-service results are the plainest signal. A high rate of vehicles or drivers placed out of service says maintenance or hours discipline is slipping, whatever the safety manual says.
- Two years is the window. The system uses the last two years of data, so improvement shows within a renewal or two, and so does neglect.
- Wrong data can be challenged. A crash you did not cause or an inspection recorded against the wrong carrier can be disputed through FMCSA’s DataQs system. Clean records before renewal, not after.
- Context belongs in the submission. If the numbers came from one terminal, one driver or one season that has been dealt with, say so with dates.
Related questions
- Which BASIC matters most to insurance companies?
Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator speak most directly to liability losses, and Hours-of-Service Compliance and Vehicle Maintenance are read as signs of how the fleet is run. A poor result in any of them prompts questions. Underwriters weigh them alongside your own loss history rather than in place of it.
- Can I see the same scores the underwriter sees?
You can see more. Logged in to FMCSA’s site, a carrier sees its own BASIC percentiles, which the public cannot see for property carriers. Underwriters see the public records and often run them through data services. Review yours before every renewal.
- How do I fix a wrong inspection or crash on our record?
File a request through FMCSA’s DataQs system with the documents that show the error, such as a police report showing the other driver at fault or proof the unit was not yours. A corrected record helps the next renewal, so do it as soon as the error appears.
- When the DOT record and the policy disagree
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.
Lori takes on only a few large fleets at a time, so each one gets a full renewal: the submission built properly and shopped with every insurance company that fits. Two openings remain for the rest of 2026.
Written by the licensed brokers at Boring Insurance. Last updated 2026-10-11. See all guides.