Garbage truck insurance

Federal minimums by load and weight

For ordinary garbage, these federal minimums apply to for-hire carriers hauling across state lines. If you haul hazardous waste, federal rules can apply even when you never leave your state. Ordinary trash inside one state follows that state's rules. A city fleet, or a business that transports only its own waste, falls outside that rule. When all your hauling stays inside a single state, that state sets the liability minimum. The filing is often a Form E from your insurer.

The gross vehicle weight rating for your truck tells you the most it can weigh when fully loaded, according to the manufacturer. Most of these minimums depend on whether that number reaches 10,001 pounds. The federal rule at 49 CFR 387.9 lays out most of these limits:

That $300,000 figure traces back to the federal filing rule. Hazardous waste is handled under a different provision. Under 49 CFR 387.3(b), these rules can apply even to trips that stay inside one state when the load is hazardous waste.

Getting your insurance on file

Operating under your own authority across state lines means the federal government wants proof that you have coverage. The FMCSA, the federal agency in charge of registering trucking companies, receives that proof straight from your insurer instead of getting it from you. Here is what you need to do:

1. Get a USDOT number, which every interstate truck rated 10,001 pounds or more needs.
2. Apply for operating authority, also known as an MC number, and pay the one-time $300 fee.
3. Your insurer files a form called BMC-91 or BMC-91X for you. It has to arrive within 20 days after your application is published, or the application is dismissed.
4. Ask a process agent to submit Form BOC-3, listing every state where you work.
5. Register for UCR every year; for 2027, the cost is $55 for 0 to 2 trucks.

After your application is published, a 10-day protest period also runs. Your liability policy must carry the MCS-90 endorsement, the federal form FMCSA asks for.

Coverage for your truck and equipment

Progressive Commercial writes policies for the kinds of trucks most private waste companies operate: front-loading, rear-loading, and roll-off dumpster trucks. Minimum insurance only pays for damage you cause others, as Progressive points out, so many owners also cover their own truck and equipment.

• Collision: pays toward repairs to your own truck after a crash, overturn, or rollover, according to Progressive.
• Specialty equipment: Progressive says a garbage truck policy can cover mechanical arms, dumpsters, and compactors if they suffer accidental damage.
• Hired and non-owned auto liability: pays for claims involving vehicles you use but do not own. Prime Insurance Company names it as one of its garbage truck coverages.

Service records matter for reasons beyond safety. Progressive warns that coverage may be denied for a truck that has missed legally required maintenance.

Pollution coverage for waste haulers

Under 49 CFR 387.5, environmental restoration falls within public liability. A federal minimum policy therefore already has to answer cleanup claims following a spill. Some specialty programs offer more:

• Amwins offers auto liability coverage that includes pollution, and you can add an MCS-90 endorsement.
• XINSURANCE includes clean-up coverage for pollution stemming from the business.

Some insurers simply will not take trash routes. The Hartford says it does not write policies for garbage haulers and sends those businesses to Tivly. Prime, meanwhile, covers garbage trucks along with the companies and drivers that operate them in most states. It operates in the surplus-lines market, where insurers take on risks that standard carriers often decline. Prime says it writes for businesses that other insurers canceled or turned down before.

What it costs

There is no reliable garbage truck premium average in the sources here. Ask an agent for a quote based on your truck, routes, waste and equipment. One software vendor, Fleet Rabbit, puts auto liability alone at $4,000 to $15,000 a year for each truck, and it does not cite a source for that range. Amwins' waste hauler program has a $15,000 minimum auto premium, aimed at larger fleets rather than a single truck.

Broader trucking numbers add some perspective, though they do not reflect garbage truck pricing, and Insureon says hotshot truckers pay an average of $896 a month for commercial auto insurance. According to Progressive's national averages, monthly premiums for truck insurance ranged from $734 to $926, depending on the kind of trucking.

Questions haulers ask