You haul with a pickup and a trailer, the truck already has insurance, and now a customer wants the load covered too. So you ask for cargo insurance only. Then the questions start: truck, trailer, license, address. This page explains why, and how to get a straight answer the first time.
Key takeaways
- Cargo-only coverage exists, but insurers price it by what you haul, not by the truck.
- Mixed loads are the hard part. Cars on one trip and furniture on the next can split into two different answers.
- License class and years of experience can be a condition, even on cargo alone.
- Describe every load type in your first message. It saves days.
If you want us to check it for you now, start a cargo-only request here. It takes a few minutes.
What is cargo-only insurance?
Cargo-only insurance is motor truck cargo coverage bought on its own, without liability or physical damage on the truck. It covers the goods in your care while you haul them, under the terms and exclusions of the policy. Your truck's own policy stays where it is.
That is the part most pickup haulers get right. The truck is handled. What they did not expect is that the cargo underwriter still wants to know about the truck.
Why the insurer asks about your truck when you only want cargo
On the carrier side, cargo risk is mostly three things. What is on the trailer. How it is carried. Where it sits overnight.
So the questions make sense once you see them that way:
- Truck and trailer. An enclosed trailer and an open utility trailer carry different theft and weather risk.
- Garaging address. Where the rig is parked at night drives theft risk.
- Driver. Some cargo forms ask about license class and years of commercial experience.
- Your auto policy. Cargo cover does not insure the truck itself. A personal policy may not cover business hauling at all. Read the business-use wording on your own policy before you rely on it.
None of that means they want to insure the truck. They want to know what the load is riding in.
The load type decides almost everything
Here's the catch. Underwriters sort cargo into classes. Vehicles are one class. Household goods are another. Appliances, general merchandise and junk or debris each sit somewhere else. Each class has its own price, and some forms take one class but not the next.
For a pickup hauler who takes whatever the customer needs, that matters a lot. Your business might be cars on Monday and a washer and dryer on Thursday. To you it is one business. To a cargo form it can be two.
What to tell the insurer up front:
- Every kind of load you haul, by name.
- Roughly what share of your trips each one is.
- The highest value of a single load, not the average.
- Whether loads are ever mixed on the same trip.
When you send all four, the answer comes back based on what you actually do. When you send "general hauling," it comes back based on the riskiest thing that phrase could mean. You can send us those four answers here and we will check them against the cargo forms we can reach.
A similar hauler we worked with this fall
A one-person operation in the Midwest came to us this fall. He ran a pickup with a small trailer. His truck was already insured, and he wanted cargo coverage only.
His first description read like small moves and odd hauling jobs. Every insurer on our cargo-only market declined that work the same day.
Then he explained what he really wanted covered: vehicles, and higher-value items for customers. That changed the answer. One insurer returned a starting price for vehicles only. Our cargo market would not put vehicles and general goods on one policy, even when he promised separate trips. The vehicle indication also carried a condition. It asked for two years of commercial license experience, which he did not have.
He told us other companies could give him cargo coverage, and he asked us to stop.
What this actually means for you: the answer changed twice because the description changed twice. If he had listed every load type and his license in the first message, he would have had the real answer on day one. That is on us to ask for, and on you to send.
How to get a straight answer faster
- Say "cargo only" in the first line. Then the agent skips the questions that only matter for insuring the truck, like the lender.
- Name your loads. "Cars on a car trailer, and appliances in the bed" beats "hauling."
- State your license. Regular license, commercial license, and how many years.
- Have your customer's requirement handy. If a broker or customer asks for a specific limit or wording, send that page.
- Ask what the indication requires. A starting price often comes with conditions. Read them before you plan around the number.
What to send us
Send these and we can tell you quickly what can and cannot be quoted:
- The kinds of loads you haul, and the share of trips for each
- The highest value of a single load
- Truck year and make, trailer type (open or enclosed) and length
- The address where the truck and trailer are parked
- Your license type and years of experience
- The name of the company insuring your truck now
- The cargo limit your customer asks for, if any
- The start date you need
Start your cargo-only request here, or call 317-427-5599. For limits and how cargo coverage works for motor carriers, see our motor truck cargo insurance guide.
FAQ
Do I need commercial auto on my pickup if I only want cargo insurance?
Cargo insurance covers the load, not the truck. A personal policy on the pickup may exclude business hauling, so read your policy's business-use wording, or ask your auto agent in writing. Cargo coverage does not replace liability on the truck.
Why does a cargo-only quote ask about my trailer?
The trailer is what the load rides in. An enclosed trailer and an open trailer carry different theft and weather risk, so the cargo price and conditions can change with it.
Can one cargo policy cover cars and household goods?
Sometimes not. Some cargo forms take vehicles only, others take general goods only. Tell the agent both, with the share of trips, and ask whether one policy can take both or whether it splits.
How much cargo coverage should I carry?
At least the limit your customers or brokers require in writing, and enough to cover your highest-value single load. Check your contracts before you pick a number.
Does my license matter if I am not insuring the truck?
It can. Some cargo forms set a condition on commercial license experience. Tell the agent your license type and years up front so the condition shows before you plan around a price.