Owner-operator truck insurance

Map responsibility across the lease

Under your own authority, you arrange insurance for your business's trucking operations. Under a permanent lease, the motor carrier commonly provides primary auto liability for covered work performed for that carrier. That arrangement does not establish that the carrier insures your truck against damage or covers every trip you make.

Request the lease's insurance provisions and an explanation of the applicable policies. For each coverage, write down who purchases it, who pays the deductible, when it applies, and whom you contact after a loss. Include any chargebacks or insurance deductions in your review of the agreement.

Describe the trip before choosing a coverage label

Non-trucking liability generally addresses liability to other people during covered personal use of a truck leased to a motor carrier. It does not serve as cargo insurance or physical damage coverage for the truck itself. Progressive's explanation excludes accidents under dispatch from its non-trucking liability coverage.

Do not assume an empty trailer or a tractor without a trailer makes a trip personal. Describe examples such as returning from a delivery, repositioning for the next load, traveling for maintenance, and running a personal errand. Ask the insurance professional to explain how the actual policy treats each situation. The terms bobtail, deadhead, and non-trucking liability should not be treated as interchangeable promises.

Check protection for the equipment you depend on

Physical damage coverage addresses covered loss to your own truck. Collision and comprehensive cover different causes of loss, and your financing or lease agreement may require coverage. Review the valuation method, deductibles, attached equipment, and settlement terms. A stated vehicle amount should not be assumed to guarantee a payment of that amount.

If you pull another company's trailer, provide the interchange agreement or other contract. Trailer interchange coverage can address covered damage to a non-owned trailer held under a written interchange agreement, subject to the policy's terms. Ask whether the proposal matches your actual possession and use of the trailer, including time detached from the tractor.

Bring the paperwork that explains your arrangement

Keep the carrier's promises, your own coverage, and the equipment agreements together so they can be reviewed as a whole. Prepare:

• The signed motor-carrier lease and insurance provisions, or your own authority information.
• Current policy declarations and relevant endorsements, plus the carrier's coverage information.
• Truck and trailer VINs, equipment values, lender details, and interchange agreements.
• Driver experience and loss history, freight types, travel area, and examples of off-dispatch use.

Questions before you request terms