The Best Commercial Truck Insurance

Wondering if your business needs commercial trucking insurance? This guide to commercial truck insurance will answer all your questions and point you toward the best providers.

Matt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.

• WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY

  Matt Sherman Matt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.

  Lead Staff Writer

  Last updated onUpdated May 9, 2024



Shelbi Wescott began working for Merchant Maverick in 2019 after 17 years as a journalism educator and publications advisor, where she has extensive knowledge of newsroom systems and editorial workflows. She has overseen multiple print and online publications and mentored hundreds of emerging writers. Shelbi is also an award-winning journalist, published author, and former small business owner with a Master of Arts in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

REVIEWED BY

Shelbi Wescott Shelbi Wescott began working for Merchant Maverick in 2019 after 17 years as a journalism educator and publications advisor, where she has extensive knowledge of newsroom systems and editorial workflows. She has overseen multiple print and online publications and mentored hundreds of emerging writers. Shelbi is also an award-winning journalist, published author, and former small business owner with a Master of Arts in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.

Managing Editor

The best commercial trucking insurance provides complete protection for your fleet of commercial trucks and everything you transport in them.

Does your business need commercial truck insurance? If so, how can you find the best provider? Not every insurance provider offers commercial truck insurance, but you have some great options. We found six great providers to help you start your search.

Learn More About Our Top Picks

Read more below to learn why we chose these options.

The 6 Best Commercial Trucking Insurance Providers

The best commercial truck insurance providers offer the protections your trucking business needs, at a price you can afford.

• Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best Overall Commercial Truck Insurance
• The Hartford Small Business Insurance: Best Commercial Truck Insurance For Specialty Trucks
• State Farm: Best Commercial Truck Coverage For Small Operations
• Nationwide Commercial Insurance: Best Commerical Truck Insurance For Public Auto
• Milepost Insurance: Best Commercial Truck Insurance For Tractor-Trailers

Top Commercial Trucking Insurance Providers Compared

Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best Overall Commercial Truck Insurance

Progressive Commercial Insurance	Visit Site

Get Started With Progressive Commercial Insurance

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The Hartford Small Business Insurance: Best Commercial Truck Insurance For Specialty Trucks

Get Started With The Hartford Small Business Insurance

Read our in-depth review

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State Farm: Best Commercial Truck Coverage For Small Operations

State Farm	Visit Site

Get Started With State Farm

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Nationwide Commercial Insurance: Best Commerical Truck Insurance For Public Auto

Get Started With Nationwide Commercial Insurance

Read our in-depth review

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Milepost Insurance: Best Commercial Truck Insurance For Tractor-Trailers

Milepost Insurance	Visit Site

Get Started With Milepost Insurance

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Business Insurance Review Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing business insurance since 2020. Our writers have tested over twenty different major insurance companies. In each review, we evaluate pricing, features, customer service, and user reviews.

Read more about how we rate business insurance providers.

When comparing different business insurance companies, we consider many data points, including relative pricing, the number of standard insurance policies available, and the ability to create custom policies. Our lists of the best business insurance providers include only those we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points and often share qualities such as low cost, a variety of niche business insurance policies, multiple ways to file claims, and excellent customer support.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, ensuring that the business insurance companies included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.

Commercial Trucking Explored

Commercial truck insurance is a type of commercial auto insurance. More specifically, it’s a bundle of insurance policies that offer comprehensive protection for trucking businesses and independent owner-operators. The exact combination of insurance your business needs depends on the specifics of your operation.

Here are some common elements you can include in your commercial truck coverage:

• Primary Liability Truck Insurance: Just as personal auto insurance is legally required, you may be required to carry commercial auto liability insurance if your business involves trucking. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), a part of the US Department of Transportation, enforces strict requirements for coverage between $750K and $5 million that vary depending on the types of cargo you carry and where you carry it. Factors include truck weight and size as well as cargo hazards.
• General Liability Truck Insurance: You can add extra coverage to pay for damages done to someone else’s property. This may also protect you from lawsuits involving slander, libel, and false advertising claims.
• Physical Damage Coverage: You’ll need an additional policy to cover damage to your truck and equipment in an accident or disaster. This type of coverage is voluntary.
• Non-Trucking Liability: This type of coverage adds protection when you use your truck for a non-business purpose.
• Bobtail Insurance: This type of coverage covers you when your truck is being driven without a trailer attached.
• Motor Truck Cargo Insurance: The value of your cargo could exceed the value of the truck that’s hauling it. If you want to insure it against loss or damage, you’ll need a separate cargo insurance policy. This type of cargo insurance is not available in every state or for every trucking situation. Talk to your insurance agent to see if it’s a good idea for you.
• Rental Reimbursement With Downtime: This policy kicks in when your vehicle is kept off the road because of an accident. It helps you recover the costs of renting a vehicle, helps you make your truck payments, and covers other bills.
• Trailer Interchange Coverage: If you routinely use your trucks to haul trailers that you do not own, this type of insurance protects you if the trailer becomes damaged due to a collision, theft, fire, explosion, or vandalism.

Who Needs Commercial Trucking Insurance?

Commercial truck insurance is not the same as commercial auto insurance. Even if you routinely use work vehicles, including trucks, for your business, you may not qualify for commercial truck insurance.

If you and/or your employees haul cargo within the state where you do business, you may need only general liability. Interstate haulers who use large semi-trucks to haul cargo through multiple states may be subject by state or federal authorities to a different set of insurance requirements.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires certain insurance minimums before you’re allowed to register as a hauler with the FMCSA. If you’re planning to transport interstate cargo, either independently as an owner-operator or through lease agreements with employees, you must acquire FMCSA authority to do so. Once you receive valid Motor Carrier (MC) and Department of Transportation (DOT) numbers, you’ll have 90 days to acquire the appropriate insurance.

Final Verdict

Hopefully you have a better idea of what to expect from a variety of companies when it comes to insuring your trucking business. There are many  companies that can give you a wide range of coverages depending on your various needs but you’ll need to decide if you want to go with one of the larger firms that may have more resources at their disposal, or a more niche insurance company that can give you some customized plans.

Thanks for checking us out and be sure to look at some of our other insurance blogs if you have any additional questions!

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