Does a trucking company with a brokerage arm need separate insurance?
Yes. Brokering loads requires separate broker authority from FMCSA and a $75,000 surety bond or trust fund, and neither is insurance. The fleet’s auto liability and cargo policies follow its own trucks, so a load handed to another carrier needs contingent auto liability and contingent cargo coverage, which respond when that carrier’s own insurance fails or is not enough, plus errors and omissions for the brokerage’s mistakes.
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.
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
A property broker must have a surety bond or trust fund of $75,000 in effect, evidenced to FMCSA on Form BMC-84 for a bond or Form BMC-85 for a trust fund.
What this means for you
- The bond protects others, not you. The $75,000 security answers to shippers and carriers the brokerage fails to pay. It does nothing when a hired truck causes a crash and the brokerage is sued.
- Brokered loads are not your trucks. Your auto policy covers the units on your schedule. A claim from a load you brokered lands on the other carrier’s policy first, and on yours only if you bought contingent coverage.
- Plaintiffs name the broker. Negligent selection claims argue the brokerage should not have hired the carrier. Written carrier vetting is the defense and contingent liability is the funding.
- Keep the two operations visibly separate. Separate authority, separate contracts and clear paperwork about who hauled each load keep a brokered claim from being treated as one of your own.
Related questions
- Does our fleet policy cover loads we broker to other carriers?
No. Auto liability and cargo follow the trucks and the freight in your own care. A load you broker is hauled under another carrier’s authority and insurance. If that insurance fails, is cancelled or is too small, contingent auto liability and contingent cargo are what respond for the brokerage.
- Freight broker insurance
- Is the broker bond the same as insurance?
No. The $75,000 bond or trust fund required by 49 CFR 387.307 guarantees payment obligations to shippers and carriers. It provides no liability coverage for the brokerage and no defense if it is sued over a crash.
- Do brokerage employees driving their own cars need coverage?
Yes, if they drive on business. Hired and non-owned auto liability covers the company when an employee runs an errand or visits a customer in a personal or rented car. It is inexpensive and often missed in fleets whose attention is on the trucks.
- Hired and non-owned auto insurance
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.