Cargo policies exclude the one failure a reefer actually has.
Commercial insurance for refrigerated carriers, including the reefer breakdown endorsement without which a spoiled load is not a covered claim.
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.
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.
What refrigerated freight businesses actually need.
Motor truck cargo
The freight itself while you are hauling it. Separate from the liability on the truck.
Without it — A spoiled load is the claim in this class, and without a reefer breakdown endorsement the cargo policy declines it as mechanical failure.
Commercial auto
Vehicles the business owns and the people who drive them for work.
Without it — The filing and the primary liability that keeps the authority live.
Auto physical damage
Damage to your own tractor and trailer. Primary liability pays for what you do to everyone else and nothing for your equipment, so without this a rollover you caused leaves you paying off a truck you can no longer run.
Without it — A reefer trailer with a working unit is one of the most expensive trailers on the road.
Trailer interchange
Damage to a trailer you are pulling but do not own, while it is in your possession under a written interchange agreement. Your own physical damage coverage follows equipment you own, so an interchanged trailer is unprotected without it.
Without it — Pulling somebody else’s reefer under an interchange agreement puts a trailer you do not own behind your truck.
Umbrella & excess liability
Extra limit stacked above general liability, auto and employers liability. Usually the cheapest million dollars on the policy.
Without it — Highway severity in refrigerated lanes is the same as any other long-haul operation.
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 — Loading in a cold dock is where the injuries are.
Truckers general liability
General liability written for a motor carrier: the yard, the dock, loading and customer premises. The auto policy answers for the vehicle; this answers for everything else.
Without it — Yards, docks, loading and customer premises sit outside the auto policy entirely, and brokers ask for general liability by name.
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 the insurance company will ask about your refrigerated freight business
We read 2 applications the markets use for this kind of business and pulled out what they actually ask. Have these answers ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week, because nobody has to come back to you for the missing piece.
About the business
- What type of business structure do you have (individual, corporation, partnership, or other)?
- How long have you owned this business?
- What is your annual revenue?
- What is your total annual payroll?
- Do you own any other businesses involved in trucking or commercial operations?
How you operate
- What commodities do you haul?
- Are your loads truckload size or less than truckload?
- What percentage of your loads come through freight brokers versus direct contracts?
- What percentage of your loads go to regular or fixed destinations?
- What states and major cities do you travel into or through?
Safety and controls
- Do your vehicles have GPS, cameras, or other tracking systems installed?
- Do you have Electronic Log Book systems in your trucks?
- Do you have someone or a system that tracks when drivers need their medical certificate renewals?
- Are drivers required to complete inspection reports on vehicle condition at the end of each shift?
- What are your hiring standards for drivers, and do you check references on driver applications?
Your history
- What claims or losses have you had in the last three years?
- Who was your previous insurance company for the last three years?
- If you did not have prior insurance, what business experience do you have?
Money and people
- What is the maximum cargo value per load you typically haul, and what is your average cargo value?
- What deductibles are you looking for?
- What cargo deductible amount do you prefer?
- What excess liability limits do you need?
- Do any of your customers require you to add them as additional insureds, waive subrogation, or agree to primary coverage?
Have these ready
- Your loss runs from your current insurance company for the last three years (showing any claims)
- Your driver list with each driver's name, date of birth, driver's license number, CDL expiration date, years holding a CDL, and any accidents or violations from the last three years
- A list of all your trucks with the year, current or projected value, and your preferred deductible for each
- A copy of any customer contracts that have insurance requirements or certificate of insurance requests
- A sample of your driver inspection report form if you use one
You answer what you can; a licensed agent fills the rest with you.
What our refrigerated freight clients ask us.
Why was my spoiled load denied?
Almost always because the cargo policy excluded loss caused by the refrigeration unit breaking down, and the endorsement that buys it back was not on the policy. It is the single most common denied claim in refrigerated trucking. Carriers that do add it usually attach conditions: a maintenance record for the unit, a continuous temperature recording, and sometimes a requirement that the alarm was responded to.
What conditions come with reefer breakdown coverage?
Typically proof the unit was serviced, a download from the temperature recorder, and evidence the unit was set correctly and running. Some forms require the unit to have been inspected within a stated period before the loss. These are the conditions that decide the claim, and they are worth reading before the load rather than after.
Does it cover the load if I set the wrong temperature?
Usually not. That is an error rather than a breakdown, and most forms are written around mechanical failure. The temperature instructions on the rate confirmation matter for that reason, and keeping them matters more. It is also a good argument for the contingent cargo conversation if you broker any of your freight.
Can I get reefer insurance on a new authority?
Yes, though fewer of the new-venture markets will write refrigerated freight, and the brokers who load reefers want reefer breakdown on the cargo policy as well as the usual $100,000 limit. Expect the cargo form to ask for a working temperature recorder and unit maintenance records, and have both before the first load rather than after the first claim.
What does a refrigerated freight insurance application ask for?
The applications for refrigerated freight businesses ask about 4 things above all: what type of business structure do you have (individual, corporation, partnership, or other); what commodities do you haul; do your vehicles have gps, cameras, or other tracking systems installed; what claims or losses have you had in the last three years. Have your loss runs from your current insurance company for the last three years (showing any claims) and your driver list with each driver's name, date of birth, driver's license number, cdl expiration date, years holding a cdl, and any accidents or violations from the last three years ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week.
Commercial insurance is 96% of what we do — it is not a department here, it is the whole business. Not ready to talk? The guides answer the questions this page raises in more depth. Already insured with us and need a certificate or a policy change? Ask the service team rather than starting a quote — it is faster and it goes to the people whose job it is. We also write home and auto, which is usually cheaper alongside the business policy than apart from it.
Handed a lease, a vendor packet or a client contract with insurance requirements? Paste it into the COI Requirements Decoder to see what each one means for your business, or read what the requirements mean.