Commercial Truck Insurance

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Key Takeaways

Commercial truck insurance, also called truck liability insurance, can help protect your business against claims of property damage and medical expenses, even if it’s a fatal accident.
Owner operators of trucking companies, for-hire motor carriers and private carriers may need this coverage to keep their businesses protected while on the road.
Commercial truck insurance can help cover dump trucks, box trucks, tow trucks, semitrucks and tractor trailers.

The Hartford offers commercial truck insurance for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re looking for coverage for your entire fleet or trying to protect freight in transport, we can help. To make sure you’re getting the coverage you need, find a local agent who will work with you to understand your business and get you the best protection possible.

Are you a small business owner or want to get coverage online? You can get a quote with our partner, Tivly.

What Is Truck Liability Insurance?

If your business owns and operates any cars or trucks, you will need to have liability insurance to help cover costs resulting from an accident. This insurance coverage helps cover trucking risks like bodily injury or property damage that you or your employees cause while operating a company-owned truck for business purposes. Truck liability insurance gives business owners peace of mind knowing that your drivers are protected while they’re on the road.

How Does Commercial Truck Insurance Work?

Commercial truck insurance offers financial protection from different risks associated with operating commercial trucks and business vehicles. Whether you’re distributing products to stores or transporting supplies from your warehouse, it’s important to make sure you’re covered if an accident happens.

A commercial truck insurance policy has coverage limits that outline coverage amounts for claims within those limits. Policyholders pay their premium monthly or annually for commercial truck insurance coverage.

small business owner protected by tractor trailer insurance

Who Needs Insurance for a Tractor Trailer?

The types of individuals or trucking companies that may consider having commercial vehicle coverage for their tractor trailer include:

Owner operators: If you own a trucking company, tractor trailer insurance can help protect your business.
Motor carriers: For-hire motor carriers can stay protected with commercial truck insurance.
Private carriers: If your business transports its own cargo, tractor trailer insurance can help cover you while you’re out on the road.

Types of Vehicles Covered

Commercial truck insurance can be customized based on the type of vehicle(s) your company owns and operates for business. The different types of commercial vehicles covered under business truck insurance include:

Dump Truck

Dump truck insurance can provide coverage for liability and physical damage for your business. Common types of businesses that may need dump truck insurance are landscapers and construction or material haulers.

Box Truck

If you or your drivers are involved in an accident while driving your company-owned box truck for work, box truck insurance can help. Box truck insurance provides liability coverage plus other types of commercial auto insurance coverage.

Tow Truck

If your auto body shop, salvage business or roadside service company owns a tow truck, it’s a good idea to protect your vehicle. With tow truck insurance, you’ll be protected if an accident causes bodily injury or property damage to a customer or third-party while on the job.

Semitruck

Semitruck insurance financially protects your business if an accident caused by you or one of your drivers causes injury or property damage to others.

The standard semitruck insurance policy typically includes liability coverage. This helps protect your business from costly claims if one of your truck drivers causes property damage or bodily injury to someone else while driving a company-owned semitruck. Whether you lease your semitruck to a motor carrier, own a fleet with for-hire drivers or operate under your own authority, it’s crucial to be protected while out on the road.

Tractor Trailer

Tractor trailer insurance can help cover the costs from liability claims if you or one of your employees gets into an accident while driving your company-owned tractor trailer.

What Kind of Insurance Do Trucks and Tractor Trailers Need?

Businesses who use tractor trailers may consider the following coverage options for their tractor insurance policy:

Motor truck general liability insurance: This type of insurance helps pay for the other driver’s medical expenses if you or your employees cause an accident while operating the truck. It also helps cover claims alleging that you or your employees damaged someone else’s property.
Motor truck cargo: This coverage helps protect any materials that are being transported in a tractor trailer from a covered loss, like theft.
Non-trucking liability: This type of trucking insurance helps cover your motor carrier when you drive it for non-business related purposes.
Trailer interchange: If you pull a trailer for another company under a trailer interchange agreement, this insurance helps cover physical damages that may happen to the truck.
Bobtail insurance: This coverage helps protect your vehicle when you or an employed truck driver are driving it without the attached trailer.
Refrigeration breakdown coverage: If you haul perishable items, this type of insurance helps cover your load in case the truck’s refrigeration system malfunctions.
Rental reimbursement with downtime: If you’re involved in an accident and not able to operate your truck until it’s repaired, this coverage helps reimburse you for the costs to rent another vehicle.

small business owner protected by semitruck insurance

How Much Does Business Truck Insurance Cost?

What you pay for commercial truck insurance will often vary because insurance companies use different factors to calculate the cost for business truck insurance, including:

Truck type
Cargo type
Operating radius
Driving history
Coverage requirements
USDOT authority

How To Save on Truck Commercial Insurance

Anyone who operates a truck knows that the industry can be expensive, given the risks that come with the job. There are a few things you can do to help save money when buying commercial truck insurance, like:

Monitoring your employees’ driving records
Adjusting your coverages
Having a truck fleet
Hiring safe drivers
Implementing risk management policies
Paying your insurance in full at renewal

Frequently Asked Questions About Commercial Truck Insurance

How Much Is Commercial Truck Insurance?

The average cost for commercial truck insurance will vary. Your commercial truck insurance cost is often heavily dependent on your industry and the type of cargo you’re carrying. Other factors that may influence your costs include:

Location of your company
Coverage limits of your policy
Type of truck(s) you own
Driving history of your employees
Claims history of your business

What Is the Minimum Commercial Truck Insurance?

If your business operates commercial trucks, you’ll need liability insurance coverage to help cover the costs resulting from an accident on the job. This coverage could help cover risks like bodily injury or property damage caused by you or your employees while operating a company-owned truck.

What Kind of Insurance Do I Need for a Semitruck?

What Type of Insurance Do I Need for a Tractor Trailer?

If your business owns and operates tractor trailers, you may consider the following coverage options for a tractor trailer insurance policy:

Motor truck general liability insurance
Motor truck cargo coverage
Non-trucking liability
Trailer interchange coverage
Bobtail insurance
Refrigeration breakdown coverage
Rental reimbursement with downtime

Related Resources

Understand and Manage Driver Fatigue

Driver fatigue is a significant factor in the cause of motor vehicle crashes. Get tips to keep your truckers safe on the road.

Motor Truck Cargo Security

Make sure your valuable cargo is protected from theft and crime. Consider these security management programs and technological solutions to help combat threats.

Preventability of Motor Vehicle Collisions

Providing adequate training and holding drivers accountable will help prevent collisions on the road. Learn how your drivers can keep themselves and others safe with these tips.

Do I Need Commercial Auto Insurance?

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This page outlines in general terms the coverages that may be afforded under a policy from The Hartford. All policies must be examined carefully to determine suitability for your needs and to identify any exclusions, limitations or any other terms and conditions that may specifically affect coverage. In the event of a conflict, the terms and conditions of the policy prevail.

All Hartford coverages and services described on this page may be offered by one or more of the property and casualty insurance company subsidiaries of The Hartford Insurance Group, Inc. In Arizona, California, New Hampshire, Texas, and Washington by Hartford Fire Insurance Company, Hartford Casualty Insurance Company, Hartford Accident & Indemnity Company, Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company, Twin City Fire Insurance Company, Pacific Insurance Company, Limited, Sentinel Insurance Company, LTD (CA license #8701), Hartford Lloyd's Insurance Company, Hartford Insurance Company of Illinois, Hartford Insurance Company of the Midwest, Trumbull Insurance Company, Hartford Insurance Company of the Southeast, and Property & Casualty Insurance Company of Hartford and its property and casualty insurance company affiliates, One Hartford Plaza, Hartford, CT 06155.

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