Guides & Glossary
The Full Coverage trucking insurance glossary defines bobtail, non-trucking liability, motor truck cargo, certificates of insurance, surety bonds, and other coverage terms in plain English.
Free Checklist
Trucking Insurance Quote Checklist
Every document an underwriter wants before pricing your trucks, and why.
Compliance Guide
Trucking Safety Compliance and Your Insurance
Inspections, hours of service, hazmat and drug testing on one calendar, and how each affects your premium.
Owner-Operator Guide
Lease-Purchase Trucking: Read the Deal Before You Sign
The real weekly settlement, the clauses that take the truck back, equipment scams and who insures what.
Underwriting Guide
Why Big Trucking Insurers Say No, and Who Says Yes
The six screens behind most declines, the reasons on our own submission board and what to do after a no.
New Authority Guide
The New Authority (2027): Start a Trucking Company, Chapter by Chapter
Twelve questions from filing to cost per mile, each with checked fees and rules, a recording and official videos.
New Authority Guide
Broker Carrier Setup Packet: What Each Document Is Checked Against
The carrier setup packet, what each document is checked against and the insurance pieces your agent controls.
New Authority Guide
FMCSA Insurance Filing Rejected: What It Means and How to Fix It
Why a BMC-91 filing bounces, who corrects each kind of mismatch and the deadlines that keep running.
Authority Guide
Motus Shows Your Authority Inactive: Record Error or Real Lapse?
How to tell a records problem from a missing filing, who fixes each cause and how to keep loads moving meanwhile.
Cost Guide
Slow Freight Market? Cut Truck Insurance Costs Without Losing Your Authority
What can safely come down, the cuts that cost you your authority, and parking vs cancelling vs leasing on.
Fleet Guide
Captive Insurance for Trucking: What a Member Signs Up For
Group captives, cells and risk retention groups, where the premium goes, who fits and what leaving costs.
Industry Watch
Trucking News That Changes Your Insurance: The 2026 Watch List
Which national rules, rulings and verdicts reach your policy, and the question each one puts on your renewal.
Freight Broker Guide
How Much Is Contingent Cargo Insurance for Freight Brokers?
A real 2026 broker quote line by line, what moves the price and how the premium is built.
Freight Broker Guide
Carrier's Cargo Claim Denied? When a Broker's Contingent Cargo Pays
Why carrier cargo claims get denied, when contingent cargo responds and what to do the day a load is lost.
Freight Broker Guide
Contingent Auto Liability for Freight Brokers: What It Covers
Why brokers get sued over crashes they did not cause, what contingent auto pays and how underwriters judge carrier selection.
Driver Guide
Pre-Trip Inspection Checklist, Step by Step
An animated walk-around of a tractor-trailer: fluids, gauges, lights, tires, brakes, coupling and the air brake check.
Comparisons
Trucking Insurance Comparisons
Terms that get mixed up and do different jobs, side by side with a short answer at the top.
Bobtail Insurance
Coverage for driving your truck without a trailer attached, outside of dispatch.
Certificate of Insurance (COI)
A document proving you carry active insurance coverage, required by shippers and brokers.
Contingent Cargo Insurance
Backup cargo coverage that activates when a carrier's own cargo policy fails to pay.
Inland Marine Insurance
Coverage for equipment, tools, and property in transit or stored at temporary locations.
Loss Run Report
A claims history report from your insurance company used when shopping for new coverage.
Motor Carrier Authority
The federal operating license (MC number) required to haul freight for hire across state lines.
Non-Trucking Liability (NTL)
Liability coverage for using your truck for personal purposes when not under dispatch.
Occupational Accident Insurance
Medical and disability coverage for independent truckers injured on the job.
SR-22 Filing
A state-required proof of financial responsibility filed by your insurer after certain violations.
Surety Bond (BMC-84)
A $75,000 bond required by the FMCSA for freight brokers and freight forwarders.
Motor Truck Cargo Insurance
Coverage for the freight a motor carrier hauls for its customers, up to the policy's cargo limit.
Carmack Amendment
The federal law that makes an interstate motor carrier liable for loss of or damage to the freight it hauls, and the rules a cargo claim follows.
Physical Damage Coverage
Coverage for damage to your own truck and trailer from a collision, theft, fire and other causes.
Trailer Interchange Insurance
Coverage for damage to a trailer you do not own while you hold it under a written trailer interchange agreement.
Have Questions?
Our team is happy to explain any insurance term or concept. No question is too basic.