Your contract already specifies the policy. It is rarely the one you have.
Commercial insurance for last mile and delivery service contractors — written to the limits and endorsements a delivery contract actually requires.
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.
What last mile delivery businesses actually need.
Commercial auto
Vehicles the business owns and the people who drive them for work.
Without it — A fleet of vans making hundreds of stops a day is the highest-frequency auto exposure in transport.
Workers compensation
Required in almost every state the moment you have employees. Priced on payroll and class code, which is why the class code is worth arguing about.
Without it — High turnover, repeated lifting and constant in-and-out is a frequency class, and the contract will require the coverage by name.
General liability
Third-party bodily injury and property damage — the line nearly every contract names by default.
Without it — Package handling, property damage at delivery addresses and premises claims at the station.
Umbrella & excess liability
Extra limit stacked above general liability, auto and employers liability. Usually the cheapest million dollars on the policy.
Without it — Delivery contracts commonly require limits well above primary before you can start.
Hired & non-owned auto
Covers vehicles the business does not own but its people drive on the job — rentals, and employees running errands in their own cars. Their personal auto policy will not cover a business trip, and the claim lands on the business.
Without it — Rented vans and any personal vehicle used for the work are outside the owned schedule.
Motor truck cargo
The freight itself while you are hauling it. Separate from the liability on the truck.
Without it — Packages in the van are somebody else’s property until they are delivered.
Employment practices liability
Wrongful termination, discrimination and harassment claims brought by your own employees. General liability specifically excludes these.
Without it — A large, fast-turning hourly workforce is where employment claims come from.
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)
What last mile delivery operators ask us.
What insurance does a delivery service contract require?
Read the agreement. It specifies the cover rather than leaving it to you. Expect auto liability at $1,000,000, workers compensation with employers liability, general liability and an umbrella. Expect the contracting company to be added as an additional insured, often with primary and non-contributory wording. These are contractual obligations, so a policy without them puts the contract at risk, not just the coverage.
Why is my premium so high for vans rather than trucks?
Because frequency, not size, drives this class. A van making two hundred stops a day in a residential area has far more opportunity for a loss than a tractor running interstate miles, and reversing accidents and pedestrian exposure are constant. Fleet safety technology, camera systems and driver scorecards genuinely move the price here.
Do you write new delivery contractors?
Yes, and the first year is the hard one — no loss history, a new driver roster, and a contract that requires the coverage before you can operate. What helps most is a documented hiring standard, telematics from day one, and starting the placement well before the contract start date rather than the week of.