New authority trucking insurance

How does insurance tie to your authority?

Coverage for a brand-new trucking operation has to match its operating authority. You generally need operating authority, often called an MC number, to haul federally regulated freight owned by others for pay across state lines, but carriers hauling only exempt goods do not need it. Which authority you apply for sets which insurance FMCSA wants and how much of it.

Proof of your policy reaches FMCSA through a filing your insurer sends directly. It's a form, most often the BMC-91X, confirming your liability coverage exists. If you operate under your own authority, ask your agent to confirm that your liability policy has the required MCS-90 endorsement.

The amount depends on what you haul and how heavy your vehicle is, and here is how FMCSA's insurance rules break it down:

Hotshot trucks and weight ratings

Check your truck's weight rating, because it decides whether your minimum is $300,000 or $750,000, and your agent can help if you aren't sure how it combines with your trailer. If each vehicle in your operation falls below the 10,001-pound rating, general freight calls for a federal minimum of $300,000.

The moment a vehicle or combination hits 10,001 pounds or higher, that minimum rises to $750,000. At 10,001 pounds or more, hauling across state lines also requires a USDOT number.

What coverage is required?

Liability is the required piece. It covers injuries and property damage your truck causes to others. The federal rules don't require cargo insurance for freight haulers, only for household goods movers, per J.B. Hunt's carrier requirements, though most brokers still ask for $100,000 in cargo coverage.

Brokers make their own demands, and they tend to go well past the legal minimum. Here's what several big brokers publish:

Company	Liability (auto)	Cargo coverage
C.H. Robinson	$1 million	$100,000
TQL	$1 million	$100,000
Uber Freight	$1 million	$100,000
Amazon Relay	$1 million for each occurrence	$100,000
J.B. Hunt	The $750,000 federal minimum	Nothing federally mandated

On top of that, Uber Freight asks for general liability of $1,000,000. Amazon Relay also wants general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in total, plus $50,000 to replace a trailer and $100,000 in employer liability.

How to register a new authority

First-time registrants begin in the Unified Registration System. Motus is FMCSA's new USDOT registration system. You'll need an authority application, a BOC-3 filing, and proof of insurance before FMCSA can grant your authority.

1. Submit your application for a USDOT number along with operating authority. Property carriers file the OP-1 form, so check which authority type fits your work before applying, since the $300 fee is nonrefundable.
2. Have a process agent submit your BOC-3. This is a person based in a given state who accepts legal documents for you in that state. You need an agent for every state you operate in or pass through, and all of them go on a single BOC-3.
3. Get your insurer to file your liability proof. Once the application is published, your insurer gets 20 days to file, otherwise the application gets dismissed.
4. Wait out the 10-day protest period that every new application goes through after FMCSA publishes it.
5. Register and pay your UCR fee with your base state each year, before January 1 of the registration year.

Expect a new application to run 20 to 25 business days. Further review by FMCSA can stretch it to 8 weeks or more. Once your authority is granted, official documents normally arrive within 3 to 4 business days (call FMCSA at 800-832-5660 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. if 10 or more business days go by past the grant date without a document).

BOC-3 details cause a few common stumbles. The agent has to actually live in the state they represent, a post office box won't work as their address, and naming yourself as agent is allowed for your home state. Keep one copy of the BOC-3 at your main place of business.

What does hotshot authority cost?

If your operation is subject to Unified Carrier Registration (UCR), you must register and pay a fee to your base state each year. Payment is due before January 1 of each registration year. Miss that date and the fee remains owed, with enforcement action possible from the state.

UCR fees for 2027 take effect on October 1, 2026, which is also when the portal opens. Needing 2 separate authority types, say passenger plus household goods, means paying $300 twice, or $600 altogether. Common and contract carrier of property are treated as one type, so a single fee covers both. FMCSA also requires each carrier to refresh its information on a two-year cycle.

What does trucking insurance cost?

Commercial auto insurance for hotshot truckers runs $896 a month on average, which works out to $10,757 a year. Hotshot businesses also pay about $32 a month on average for general liability insurance.

Progressive Commercial's national averages run from about $734 a month for specialty truckers to $926 for transport truckers. Your own price will vary, so treat these as a rough guide.

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