The national bus market, plus a tight north-east trucking book.

The bus program is the national one

Charter, school (district, private, church and contractor), inter-city, urban, sightseeing, transit and limousine, in every state except Hawaii, Louisiana, Montana and West Virginia.

Without it — Passenger transportation is a specialist line and the list of real markets for it is short.

Trucking, but only in four states

Local (fifty-mile) and intermediate (three-hundred-mile) trucking, warehouse to warehouse, in Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania only. New York matters here — most trucking markets are absent from it.

Without it — A New York local trucker has few admitted options, and this is one of them.

The wider commercial auto book

Tow trucks, contractors across the full artisan spread, mobile equipment, delivery and service businesses, food trucks and caterers, driving schools, and dealer and transporter plates — all in the same four states.

Without it — For a north-east contractor with a mixed fleet this is one submission rather than several.

The equipment and driver rules

Three hundred mile maximum radius, drivers with three years of experience and three years CDL on heavy equipment, at least seventy-five per cent commercial vehicles on the schedule, and no physical damage on vehicles fifteen years or older. Tractors must have scheduled trailers.

Without it — The scheduled-trailer rule catches operators who pull whatever is available.

Will Lancer write my new authority?

Not on the Local and Intermediate Trucking program. There is a real distinction worth spelling out, because a quick look at their appetite suggests otherwise: Lancer does say "new ventures considered" — but on the Dealer and Transporter Plates and Used Car Dealer programs, which are dealer operations rather than motor carrier authority. For a new trucking authority, this is not the market.

The markets that do write new authority

Why does Lancer only write trucking in four states?

Because the trucking and contractor book is a regional program while the bus program is national — two different operations under one name. It is a common structure, and it means the answer to "does Lancer write this" depends as much on where you are as on what you do.

Is Lancer a good market for school bus contractors?

It is one of the established ones. School transportation is underwritten differently from freight — the exposure is passengers, most of them children, with the abuse and molestation question sitting alongside the auto liability rather than behind it. Markets that write it seriously are few, and a contractor bidding district work should be talking to them rather than to a general commercial auto carrier.

Why passenger transport carries an abuse exposure

Is this appetite current?

It reflects the carrier’s own market guidance as of the third quarter of 2026, and appetite moves — classes get added, states get pulled, and tenure requirements tighten after a bad quarter. Treat it as a strong indication of whether you are worth submitting rather than as a promise of a quote. We check the live guidance before submitting anything.

Why go through a broker instead of buying direct?

Because it does not cost you anything, which is the part that surprises people. Broker compensation is built into the carrier’s rate whether you use one or not — buying direct does not remove the cost, it removes the person being paid to be on your side of it.

The other five reasons, and what it costs you