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Monday–Friday · 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM ET·independent · Insuring businesses nationwide
Trucking · General freight
Commercial truck insurance for general-freight fleets.
From a few power units to a growing fleet, the right submission starts with your authority, trucks, drivers, commodities, and lanes—not a generic business-auto checkbox.
At a Glance
- Operation
- General freight fleets
- Vehicles
- Power units and trailers
- Coverage review
- Auto, cargo, physical damage
- First step
- Short Instant Quote form
Quick answer
Ellie Insurance Group reviews commercial-auto and related coverage requests for general-freight trucking fleets. To start, describe the number of trucks and trailers, authority status, commodities, lanes, garaging state, and renewal date. Federal financial-responsibility and filing rules depend on the operation; an agent must confirm the applicable forms and limits before coverage is placed.
General freight · Not a one-size-fits-all form
Start with the operation—not just the truck count
Power units and trailers
How many vehicles do you run, what classes are they, who owns the trailers, and how are trucks and drivers scheduled? A change to the fleet should trigger a policy review.
Commodities and lanes
General freight, specialized loads, interstate lanes, and local work can present different underwriting questions. Share your usual operations and any shipper requirements.
Authority and contracts
Tell the agent whether you run under your own authority, are leased on, or are preparing a new venture. The relevant filing and limit questions differ by the facts.
Clarify before you bind
Liability, cargo, trailers, and filings are different things
Auto liability concerns damage to others caused by covered vehicles. Physical damage is a separate purchase for your trucks and trailers. Motor truck cargo concerns your responsibility for freight in your care, subject to the policy and commodity terms. A non-owned trailer can require a separate review of contract responsibility.
FMCSA's current filing chart makes a key distinction: for non-hazardous for-hire property carriers, the published federal BIPD financial-responsibility minimum differs below versus at/above 10,001 pounds GVWR. It lists the applicable BMC-91/91X or BMC-82 filing options; the MCS-90 is a separate endorsement for applicable operations. Do not assume a household-goods cargo filing applies to ordinary general freight. Broker and shipper contracts or state rules may call for higher or different terms.
An Ellie agent can help identify the insurance documentation to request; your authority, legal obligations, coverage, and underwriting are verified individually. See the filing guide.
Prepare a clean fleet submission
- Business and contact details, garaging state, authority status
- Power-unit and trailer count; typical vehicle classes
- Commodities, lanes/radius, and applicable contracts
- Requested effective date and renewal information
- Vehicle and driver schedules, current policy, loss runs (when available)
Start with the same short Instant Quote form used across Ellie. Share sensitive documents through an agent-approved secure channel later.
Ready to insure your freight fleet?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
- Ask an agent to review primary auto liability, vehicle and trailer physical damage, motor truck cargo where appropriate, and any non-owned-trailer or non-trucking exposures your contracts and operations create. Not every fleet needs every coverage, and no coverage is automatic.
- No. FMCSA's filing chart differentiates non-hazardous for-hire property carriers by vehicle weight: under 10,001 pounds GVWR and at least 10,001 pounds GVWR have different minimum financial responsibility amounts. Cargo, hazmat, authority type, contracts, and state rules can change what applies; check FMCSA and your requirements with a qualified professional.
- No. FMCSA's chart lists no general cargo-filing amount for ordinary non-hazardous for-hire property carriers. Other operations, such as household goods, have different federal filing rules, and shippers or brokers may separately require cargo coverage by contract.
- Start with power-unit and trailer counts, garaging state, whether you run under your own authority or lease on, usual commodities and lanes, and the desired effective date. Vehicle and driver schedules, USDOT/MC details, current declarations, and loss runs may be requested later.
Keep reading
Explore related coverage
Trucking insurance hub
Explore trucking operations and vehicle types.
Semi-truck insurance
Review power units, trailers, and over-the-road operation details.
Motor truck cargo
Discuss freight and contract cargo limits separately.
FMCSA filings explainer
Check authority-specific insurance and filing questions.
Expedited / hot-shot freight
A different operation from standard general freight.
Broker and shipper COI checklist
Get ready for a broker referral with the right certificate and policy questions.
Brokered-load cargo review
Match the next load's commodity and value to actual cargo terms.
Sources
Authoritative references
- FMCSA — Insurance filing requirements and financial responsibility chart
- Insurance Information Institute — Business Vehicle Insurance
Educational summary, not legal or regulatory advice or proof that a particular policy meets an authority or contract requirement. Verify current rules with FMCSA, applicable states, contracts, the carrier, and your licensed agent. Last reviewed . Requirements and policy terms change — always confirm current rules with the relevant agency and verify coverage against the actual policy and a licensed agent.
Next step
Ready to shop commercial coverage?
Start an instant quote or speak with a commercial agent. We'll review available markets and the carrier's requirements before coverage can be bound.