Your contract already specifies the policy. It is rarely the one you have.

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. It is 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. Pricing depends entirely on HOW it is bought: as an endorsement on a general liability policy we write, HNOA often costs a few hundred dollars; as a stand-alone (monoline) policy it runs $2,500 to $5,000, and association practitioner programs (CPH, CM&F and similar) generally cannot take the endorsement, so "add HNOA to my existing policy for $300-$800" is usually not a real option. A package carrying GL, professional liability and HNOA together is typically cheaper than the monoline.

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.

What insurance does a delivery service contract require?

Read the agreement. It specifies the coverage 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.