Truck insurance
How Much Does Commercial Truck Insurance Cost?
No agency sets or publishes commercial truck insurance prices, so any site quoting you one exact number made it up. What does exist on the record: one national insurer's published book averages, the federal liability floor every policy must clear, and the rating factors underwriters apply. This page renders each of those, with a source on every figure.
By Evan Reid, Founder of Haul Handbook · Updated Jul 21, 2026
The only published averages
No government agency publishes commercial truck insurance premiums. Every premium figure in this file comes from a named published industry source; anything those sources do not publish stays null instead of being estimated.
| Trucking segment | Published average monthly premium |
|---|---|
| Specialty truckers | $734 per month |
| Transport truckers | $926 per month |
2025 new policy premium per power unit for liability and physical damage coverage for policies with no violations, as published by Progressive Commercial. One insurer's published book average across its national for-hire trucking policies, not a quote. Individual premiums move with the rating factors listed in this file.
Those averages bundle liability and physical damage. The full stack a carrier actually shops for runs longer, from cargo coverage to bobtail; the coverage types a carrier needs breaks down each one and who forces the purchase.
The federal floor under every quote
Before FMCSA activates operating authority, your insurer must file proof of liability (BIPD) coverage at or above the floor set in federal rule for what you haul. Every amount below renders from the sourced federal record:
These floors are filing minimums, not prices, and your insurer sends the proof to FMCSA for you through the BMC-91 filing your insurer makes. Where insurance sits inside the whole startup budget is covered in what it costs to start a trucking company.
What brokers ask for above the floor
OOIDA reports that while FMCSA sets the federal liability filing floor, most shippers and brokers require one million dollar liability limits before they tender a load. The federal floor itself renders from the federal spine record (49 CFR Part 387 minimums). That makes $1,000,000 in liability limits the working market standard for a general freight carrier, whatever the federal floor says.
For scale on where the premium lands inside your operating budget: ATRI's 2025 industry research puts the total marginal cost of each mile a truck runs at $2.336, and at $1.854 once fuel is stripped out. Insurance is one line item inside that total, which is why a bad premium can decide whether a lane pays.
What moves the quote
Underwriters publish the rating factors even though they do not publish the rates. Each factor below comes from a named insurer's own published guidance:
- Operating radius
- Truckers with a large operating radius usually take on more risk from longer drive times between stops and more varied routes, so wider radii price higher.
- Vehicle type and weight
- The vehicle you run sets part of the price; it generally costs more to cover a heavy semi truck than a lighter pickup or box truck.
- Vehicle age and safety equipment
- Newer trucks with advanced safety features can cost less to insure because they reduce the likelihood of accidents and theft.
- Driving history
- Accidents and violations move commercial truck premiums more than they move personal auto policies; even a minor speeding ticket can raise the price sharply.
State insurance requirements
The figures above govern interstate authority. If you run intrastate, your state sets its own liability minimums and filing forms, and they differ enough to change your quote. The sourced state-by-state breakdowns:
Frequently asked questions
How much does commercial truck insurance cost per month?
- There is no official price sheet, and premiums are set per carrier. The broadest published figure is one insurer's book average: Progressive Commercial reports its 2025 new for-hire trucking policies averaged $734 per month for specialty truckers and $926 per month for transport truckers, covering liability plus physical damage on policies with no violations. Your own quote moves with the rating factors on this page.
What insurance is legally required to run under your own authority?
- FMCSA requires liability (BIPD) coverage on file before it activates operating authority. For a for-hire general freight carrier running vehicles rated over ten thousand pounds, the filing floor is $750,000, and hazmat operations file higher amounts. Cargo and physical damage coverage are not federal filings for general freight; contracts and lenders force those.
How much liability coverage do brokers and shippers ask for?
- OOIDA reports that while FMCSA sets the federal liability filing floor, most shippers and brokers require one million dollar liability limits before they tender a load. The federal floor itself renders from the federal spine record (49 CFR Part 387 minimums).
Why is insurance so expensive for a new authority?
- None of the sources in this registry publish a first-year or new-authority premium figure, so this file carries none. The published rating factors explain the direction: a first-year authority has no inspection history or loss record for an underwriter to rate, so quotes are the only reliable number for a new carrier.
Can I bring the premium down?
- The published rating factors point at what you control: the truck you pick and its safety equipment, the radius you run, the cargo you take on, and above all a clean driving and inspection record. Comparing quotes from more than one trucking insurer matters as much, because each underwriter weighs those factors differently.
Sources
Primary statutes and official agency pages this guide relies on. Laws and fees change, so confirm against the current source before you act.
- Commercial Truck Insurance Cost · Progressive Commercial
- Truck Insurance · Progressive Commercial
- For Owner-Operators with Authority · Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA)
- An Analysis of the Operational Costs of Trucking · American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI)
- Insurance Filing Requirements · Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), U.S. DOT
Haul Handbook publishes educational information about trucking registration and compliance requirements. This is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Rules, fees, and deadlines change; confirm with the agency before you file or pay.