Trucking insurance in Hawaii

Hawaii intrastate trucking insurance requirements

People who own or drive a motor vehicle in this state are required to have at least $20,000 for property damage in an accident, $40,000 for bodily injury to one person, and $80,000 for bodily injury in a single accident, the Hawaii Insurance Division says. On top of that, your policy must include at least $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection. Your own medical and rehabilitation costs are paid by Personal Injury Protection after a crash, whoever caused it.

Under state law, your vehicle must stay insured for its entire registration period, as the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs explains. Going without insurance means giving up your license plates and registration certificate, which the county director of finance collects. To hold onto your plates, keep continuous coverage on file; an agent who insures commercial trucks helps you do that.

Motor carrier filings and Hawaii commercial truck insurance

Property and passenger motor carriers are overseen by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, which handles certification, ratemaking, and business regulation. To get or keep an operating certificate or permit, you must complete the commission's mandatory filings.

Under state rules, regulated property haulers are divided into 4 classes. An insurance agent who knows the commission's filings can make sure your policy lines up with the exact cargo class listed in your application.

• General freight
• Household belongings
• Commodities hauled in dump trucks
• Specific freight

Registration and safety cards for heavy trucks

Motor carrier vehicles whose gross vehicle weight rating tops 10,000 pounds face special processing and registration rules from the Hawaii Department of Transportation. The manufacturer sets a maximum operating weight for each vehicle, known as its gross vehicle weight rating. The department's Motor Vehicle Safety Office issues the Vehicle Identification Card you must get, but you can register at the DMV without it.

When you register, the DMV asks for a DOT-certified weighing station's weight slip (shipping weight slips won't do). Also, you must get a Certificate of Motor Vehicle Safety Inspection at an official DOT inspection station. While you collect the weight and inspection paperwork, an agent who handles trucking insurance can get your policy in place.

Do federal rules apply to Hawaii trucking insurance?

For-hire carriers hauling freight across state lines must meet federal liability minimums. The term for-hire carrier means a business that is paid to haul someone else's property. Your insurer sends the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proof of liability coverage, using Form BMC-91, BMC-91X, or a BMC-82 bond. The official certificate proving to federal regulators that your coverage meets legal minimums is Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X.

Light fleets have a $300,000 federal liability minimum; severe hazardous cargo pushes it up to $5,000,000.

Your legal minimum may be $750,000. Big freight brokers such as C.H. Robinson still want carriers to hold $1,000,000 in auto liability plus $100,000 in cargo liability. Agents who write commercial trucks can weigh your legal minimum against the broker limit of $1,000,000.

Operation and freight type	Minimum liability required
Hawaii intrastate auto minimum with $10,000 Personal Injury Protection added	$40,000 / $80,000 / $20,000
Interstate for-hire fleet running only vehicles under 10,001 lbs	$300,000
Interstate for-hire non-hazardous property hauled in vehicles of 10,001 lbs or more	$750,000
Interstate for-hire oil, hazardous waste, or placarded loads	$1,000,000
Standard freight broker expectation, such as C.H. Robinson	$1,000,000 auto and $100,000 cargo
Interstate hauling, for-hire or private, of radioactive materials, poison gas, explosives, or bulk hazardous tanks	$5,000,000

Questions people ask