When should a trucking fleet start shopping its renewal?
About 120 days before the policy expires. Use the first month to gather current loss runs, the driver list, the equipment schedule and mileage by state; get the submission to underwriters 75 to 90 days out; leave the last month for quotes, negotiation and the decision. The new insurance company also has to make the federal filing before the old policy ends, so the decision cannot wait for the final week.
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 120-day fleet renewal calendar
Practice, not regulation. Count backward from the expiration date.
- Day 120: order loss runs for every line and prior term; pull current MVRs; update the equipment schedule and driver list.
- Day 105: gather IFTA mileage by state for the last four quarters, revenue, commodity mix and the written safety program.
- Day 90: the submission goes to underwriters, with a short narrative on the fleet, every large claim and what changed.
- Day 75 to 45: underwriter questions, calls or a meeting with the safety director, and the incumbent’s renewal terms.
- Day 45 to 21: quotes compared line by line, including conditions, deductibles and how the excess is layered.
- Day 21 to 0: decide, bind, confirm the federal filing and issue certificates to every shipper and broker that needs one.
The detail
For-hire motor carriers of nonhazardous property in interstate commerce, in vehicles of 10,001 pounds or more, must carry at least $750,000 of public liability; oil and most other hazardous materials require $1,000,000, and hazardous substances carried in bulk require $5,000,000.
No motor carrier may operate a motor vehicle until it has the required minimum financial responsibility in effect, and the policies and endorsements must remain in effect continuously until cancelled on 35 days’ written notice by either the insurer or the carrier.
What this means for you
- Underwriters ration their attention. A complete submission that arrives early is read first and quoted with care. One that arrives late is quoted quickly, cautiously or not at all.
- Loss runs take longer than you expect. Some insurance companies produce them the same day and some take weeks. Order every line, every prior insurance company, at day 120.
- The incumbent should know you are shopping. A renewal quote from the current insurance company is part of the comparison, and it arrives later than you want unless it is asked for early.
- Leave room for the filing. A change of insurance company means a new federal filing and new certificates to every shipper and broker. Plan the switch, do not race it.
Related questions
- Is 60 days enough time to shop a fleet renewal?
For a clean, smaller fleet it can be. For a large fleet with excess layers, open claims or several states, 60 days usually means fewer insurance companies get to quote properly. If 60 days is what you have, send a complete submission immediately and tell the incumbent you need its terms early.
- What happens if the new policy is not in place at expiration?
The fleet is uninsured and the federal filing ends, which puts the operating authority at risk and stops loads, because brokers and shippers check. Never let a policy expire while waiting on a quote; extend or renew with the incumbent and change later if needed.
- When an MC number goes inactive
- How far back do loss runs need to go?
Three years is the minimum most underwriters accept, and five is common for large fleets or after a serious loss. They should be current, ideally valued within the last 90 days, and cover every line: auto liability, physical damage, cargo, general liability and workers compensation.
- How to get loss runs
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.