Does a Penske or Ryder rental truck include cargo insurance?
No. On a commercial rental, the protection Penske and Ryder sell covers liability to other people and damage to the truck, and neither lists a cargo product. The freight is yours to insure with a motor truck cargo policy, and that policy has to cover a vehicle you rent. If you bring your own auto insurance instead, both companies ask for a blanket policy with at least $1,000,000 combined single limit liability, and Ryder lists non-trucking liability as unacceptable.
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.
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
Penske’s commercial rental coverage page offers a limited damage waiver, liability coverage and supplemental liability. It lists no cargo coverage. Its liability option protects the renter "up to the requirements of financial responsibility law or other applicable statute of the state or municipality in which the accident occurred," and is not available on tractor rentals.
Penske Truck Rental, Commercial Truck Rental Coverage Options
Penske’s supplemental liability is "excess over the underlying insurance specified within your signed rental agreement up to $300,000 for bodily injury and/or $50,000 for property damage."
Penske Truck Rental, Commercial Truck Rental Coverage Options
A Penske renter who supplies their own insurance must show at least $1,000,000 combined single limit liability, and "All customer-supplied insurance coverage must demonstrate a blanket auto policy for both liability and physical damage. Under no circumstances should the Scheduled box be checked."
Penske Truck Rental, Commercial Truck Rental Coverage Options
Ryder says "Customers may provide their own insurance or purchase coverage through Ryder if qualified." A renter’s own policy needs liability written as "Any Auto or Hired Autos" at a "Minimum $1,000,000 Combined Single Limit (CSL)," blanket hired physical damage of $120,000 for trucks and $150,000 for tractors unless written at actual cash value, and Ryder named as additional insured and loss payee.
Ryder, Commercial Truck Rental Insurance Requirements (PTO490 060826)
Ryder’s list of acceptable coverage is "Any Auto, Hired Auto (Liability); Hired Physical Damage," its list of unacceptable coverage is "Scheduled Autos; Non-Trucking liability," and its required endorsements include primary and non-contributory.
Ryder, Commercial Truck Rental Insurance Requirements (PTO490 060826)
A Penske full-service lease filed with the SEC in 2001 said Penske "shall not be liable for loss of, or damage to, any cargo or other property left, stored, loaded or transported in, upon, or by any vehicle furnished to CUSTOMER." It is one customer’s agreement from 2001, quoted here for the shape of the clause rather than as Penske’s current terms.
The standard business auto form defines hired autos as "Only those 'autos' you lease, hire, rent or borrow," and non-owned autos as "Only those 'autos' you do not own, lease, hire, rent or borrow that are used in connection with your business." A rented truck is a hired auto.
The same form excludes "property owned or transported by the 'insured' or in the 'insured's' care, custody or control," so auto liability never pays for the freight in the truck. For an auto you do not own, its liability coverage "is excess over any other collectible insurance."
A carrier’s motor truck cargo form covers freight "contained in or on a land vehicle while in 'transit'" and excludes the "vehicles that are used to carry the Covered Property, such as trucks." The specimen we read does not limit coverage to owned trucks, but many cargo policies schedule the trucks they cover, so a rented unit has to be checked.
Federal rules set a cargo minimum only for household goods carriers: $5,000 for loss of or damage to household goods on any one vehicle and $10,000 at any one time and place.
49 CFR 387.303(c), household goods motor carriers: cargo liability
On our calls, one owner said the rental company could provide all of his insurance except the cargo, and another planned to buy physical damage from the rental company and everything else from us if our number was higher.
Boring Insurance call records, calls graded Aug 20 to Oct 4, 2026 (clients and carriers unnamed)
What this means for you
- Buy cargo before the first load, not after the truck is booked. Nothing the rental counter sells covers the freight on a commercial rental. A load lost in a crash or a fire comes back to you and to the shipper unless your own cargo policy pays it.
- Make sure your cargo policy follows a truck you rent. Ask whether the policy covers any vehicle you operate or only the units listed on it. If it lists units, a rental needs to be added for the days you have it, or the policy needs a hired or temporary substitute vehicle provision.
- Hired and non-owned auto counts only if it is primary. The hired half is the part that applies to a rental, and Ryder accepts it. But hired auto liability on a standard form is excess over other insurance, and Ryder asks for a primary and non-contributory endorsement, so check that your policy carries one.
- Non-trucking liability is not rental truck insurance. Bobtail or non-trucking liability covers a leased-on owner operator when the truck is not under dispatch. Ryder names it as unacceptable for a rental, and it does nothing for cargo.
- Physical damage can be split. Taking the rental company’s damage waiver and buying liability and cargo elsewhere is allowed by both companies. Compare the waiver’s cost with hired physical damage on your own policy, because a weekly renter pays for the waiver every time.
Related questions
- Is hired and non-owned auto the same as the auto liability Penske requires?
Only the hired half, and only if it meets the limit and the form Penske asks for. Penske wants a blanket auto policy with at least $1,000,000 combined single limit, and Ryder accepts "Hired Auto (Liability)". Hired and non-owned auto never includes physical damage on the truck, so you still need the damage waiver or hired physical damage.
- Hired and non-owned auto insurance
- Does Penske sell cargo insurance at all?
On consumer moving rentals, yes. Penske’s consumer page sells cargo insurance limited to $15,000 with a $100 deductible for furniture and possessions while in the truck, and says damage while loading or unloading is not covered. That product is for a household move. Its commercial coverage page lists no cargo option.
- I am leased on to a carrier. Do I need my own cargo on a rented truck?
Usually not while you run under the carrier’s dispatch, because the motor carrier’s cargo policy covers the freight it hauls, subject to its terms. Ask the carrier for its certificate and whether its cargo policy covers rented or substituted units, and read your lease for any charge back of cargo claims.
- Non-trucking liability for leased-on drivers
- Do I need cargo insurance if federal law does not require it?
Almost always, because your customers require it. The federal minimum applies only to household goods carriers. Brokers, shippers and load boards ask general freight carriers for cargo limits of their own, commonly $100,000 on the calls we take.
- Motor truck cargo insurance
- What should my certificate show for a rental?
Your policy number and dates covering the whole rental period, auto liability and physical damage evidence, and the rental company named as additional insured and loss payee. Ryder asks for a complete ACORD form signed by the insurer or agent and will not accept handwritten forms or policies that schedule units.
- Certificate holder vs additional insured
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 2026-10-05. See all guides.