What is an MCS-90 endorsement?
It is an endorsement attached to a motor carrier’s liability policy that guarantees the public will be paid for injury or damage the carrier causes, up to the federal minimum — even if the policy itself would not have covered the loss. It protects the public, not you: where the insurer pays under the MCS-90 on a claim your policy excluded, it is entitled to come back to you for the money.
Tell us the situation.
A licensed human replies the same business day — not an auto-responder, and not five producers calling at once. We shop it across our carriers and tell you if the policy you already have is the right one.
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
The MCS-90 is required as evidence of financial responsibility for motor carriers operating in interstate commerce under 49 CFR Part 387.
Federal minimum limits are $750,000 for general freight, $1,000,000 for oil and certain hazardous materials, and $5,000,000 for the most hazardous commodities.
The endorsement obliges the insurer to pay a final judgment against the carrier regardless of policy exclusions, and gives the insurer a right of reimbursement against the insured for any payment it would not otherwise have owed.
What this means for you
- An MCS-90 on the policy is not a substitute for the right coverage. It is the reason a carrier can be uninsured for a loss and still see the insurer pay — and then receive a demand for that money.
- The most common way carriers discover this is an unscheduled or misdescribed vehicle. The MCS-90 responds to the injured party, and the reimbursement demand follows.
- It only reaches interstate operations subject to Part 387. Purely intrastate work is governed by the state filing instead, which is usually a Form E.
Related questions
- Does the MCS-90 cover my truck?
- No. It guarantees payment to the public and nothing to you. Physical damage to your own equipment, and any loss your policy excludes, remain your problem — the endorsement simply means the injured party is paid first and you are billed after.
- Is the MCS-90 the same as the BMC-91?
- No, though they travel together. The MCS-90 is the endorsement on your policy; the BMC-91 is the form your insurer files with FMCSA to prove that endorsement exists. One is the promise, the other is the evidence of it.
Need this handled?
We do the filings, and we place the accounts other brokers decline — lapsed authority, claims history, new ventures. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.