Trucking insurance in Nebraska

$750,000 Minimum liability for for-hire property trucks over 10,000 lbs

Monthly cost, national figures

$665 to $1,165 a month for an established hotshot with a clean record (Trucking Insurance Services)

$1,000 to $1,800 in the first two years of a new MC number (Trucker Path Insurance)

Own MC number

$300 for the OP-1 application; you name a BOC-3 process agent, UCR is $55 a year for 0 to 2 trucks, more for bigger fleets (UCR Plan), and your insurer files the BMC-91X within 20 days of FMCSA Register publication.

New authority checklist

Liability starts at $750,000 for most for-hire trucks, and for pickup-and-trailer rigs with ratings over 10,000 lbs, under the trucking insurance Nebraska rules. Because the state wrote the federal government's safety and insurance rules into Nebraska law in 1986 (sections 75-363 to 75-368), keeping your trucks inside state lines doesn't reduce the limits on your commercial coverage. Brokers in the freight business, like C.H. Robinson still require auto liability of $1,000,000 plus cargo coverage of $100,000 before they'll let you book a load.

Nebraska intrastate trucking insurance requirements

Intrastate commerce means picking up and delivering loads within the state, without ever crossing a border. If someone pays you to haul their freight, that makes you a for-hire carrier. The Nebraska Motor Carrier Safety Regulations brochure says the state brings intrastate for-hire motor carriers, and carriers hauling certain hazardous materials, under federal Part 387 insurance rules.

Dually pickup with a gooseneck flatbed loaded with a skid steer and steel pipe on a highway shoulder, the rig hotshot insurance covers

Nebraska defines a commercial motor vehicle as a business vehicle whose weight rating, alone or combined, tops 10,000 lbs. Your truck's factory weight limit plus your trailer's factory weight limit gives you the combined weight rating. State law gives its own category to intrastate pickups with trailers where the combined rating tops 10,000 lbs (a CDL isn't always needed). Part 387 insurance limits still apply to those rigs. Agents who write truck policies daily can total the ratings on your truck and trailer, so you get the right policy before you hit the road.

Minimum limits for Nebraska commercial truck insurance

What you haul, whether you haul for hire, and your combined weight rating all decide the liability limit you need. Every registered vehicle needs at least the base state auto limits in Nebraska Statute 60-509, plus uninsured and underinsured motorist limits of $25,000 per person and $25,000 for each accident. Hauling for hire or carrying hazardous materials brings the commercial Part 387 limits into play.

Even when $750,000 satisfies the law, freight brokers often want higher limits before putting freight on your trailer. As one example, C.H. Robinson carrier rules ask for $100,000 in cargo coverage and $1,000,000 in auto liability. A policy that meets state enforcement rules and fits the brokers you prefer is easier to set up with help from a trucking insurance agent.

Vehicle or carrier category	Minimum liability limit	Rule source
Standard registered Nebraska vehicle	$25,000 property damage, plus bodily injury of $25,000 for 1 person and $50,000 for 2 or more people	State Statute 60-509
For-hire property carrier (fleet under 10,001 lbs)	$300,000	49 CFR Part 387
For-hire non-hazardous property carrier (10,001 lbs or more)	$750,000	49 CFR Part 387
Hauling hazardous materials for hire (placarded loads, hazardous waste, or oil)	$1,000,000	49 CFR Part 387
Private or for-hire carrier hauling poison gas, explosives, bulk hazardous tanks, or radioactive materials	$5,000,000	49 CFR Part 387
C.H. Robinson broker requirement	$1,000,000 auto liability and $100,000 cargo	Broker contract

Coverage types in a truck policy

LiabilityPays for injuries and damage your truck causes to other people. The federal minimum is $300,000 to $5,000,000.
Motor truck cargoPays for the load you haul if it is damaged or stolen. Most brokers ask for $100,000.
Physical damageRepairs or replaces your own truck and trailer after a crash, fire or theft.
Non-trucking liabilityCovers a driver working for a trucking company who uses the truck between loads, off the job.
BobtailCovers a truck you drive for a trucking company when it has no trailer, such as a pickup heading home after dropping a load.
Trailer interchangePays for damage to a trailer you pull for someone else under a written trailer-sharing agreement.

Where do you file Nebraska trucking insurance and permits?

Separate state offices take care of your authority paperwork, truck tags, and safety numbers. Operating authority means the government has officially allowed your business to haul loads for pay. Nebraska Statute 75-303, together with sections 75-301 through 75-322, lets the Nebraska Public Service Commission grant intrastate authority only to passenger and household-goods carriers. The commission cannot set rates for hauling livestock. A truck insurance agent with real experience can help you line up your insurance paperwork with the specific state offices you deal with.

County Treasurer: When you register your truck, you show proof of financial responsibility here, and that proof must stay in the vehicle at all times. Trailers don't need separate proof of insurance under Nebraska DMV rules, but the trailer must be covered by the pulling truck's policy.
Nebraska State Patrol Carrier Enforcement Office: Intrastate carriers can get a DOT number application by calling (402) 471-0105. A DOT number is also required for all trucks that must be placarded under State Statute 75-364.
Nebraska DMV Motor Carrier Services: The Nebraska Truck Information Guide says this office manages online registration renewal, IRP, IFTA, UCR, and 72-hour fuel and prorate permits.

Hauling across state lines and federal insurance filings

If your freight crosses into another state, proof of liability coverage must be filed by your insurer with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The insurer files Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X electronically (a BMC-82 bond also works) ahead of your interstate authority going active.

If you run interstate with commercial motor vehicles, you must also complete UCR registration in Nebraska and pay a fleet-size-based fee every year. An agent with daily BMC-91X filing experience keeps small paperwork errors from holding up your authority.

Dually pulling a gooseneck flatbed of strapped round hay bales on a gravel farm road at golden hour

Questions people ask

Must pickup trucks stop at weigh stations in Nebraska?

They do: any pickup rated over 1 ton at the factory must pull into a Nebraska weigh station when signs direct it. Those inspections stay quick when registration and proof of insurance are waiting in the cab.

Do Nebraska farm trucks get an exemption from the commercial safety rules?

Farm trucks registered at 16 tons or less and used strictly inside Nebraska are not bound by the motor carrier safety regulations. When used only in intrastate work, fertilizer or agricultural chemical equipment that isn't placarded and holds 3,500 gallons or less is exempt as well.

Which drivers don't have to follow the Nebraska Part 391 physical requirements?

In Nebraska, the Part 391 rules on physical qualifications do not cover intrastate drivers who hold, or once held, a Nebraska CDL from before 07/30/96. Standard medical requirements still apply to drivers with newer credentials and to those who cross state lines.

Sources

Insuring a truck in Nebraska

A trucking agent who places policies in Nebraska can quote it by phone, or you can send your details.

A quote costs nothing, and you do not have to buy.

Call +1 866 403 5064 Send my details

Desk in a small insurance agency office with a phone and notebook, a dually and gooseneck parked outside the window