Trucking insurance in Maine

Minimum limits for Maine commercial truck insurance

The Maine Secretary of State says a for-hire property carrier operating in Maine must carry at least $350,000 as a combined single limit. Combined single limit means 1 total dollar amount that pays for injuries as well as property damage in a collision.

Standard state auto rules apply instead to private trucks carrying only the tools or materials you own. Base minimums set by the Maine Bureau of Insurance are $50,000 a person and $100,000 an accident for injuries, along with $25,000 to cover property damage (a combined single limit of $125,000 also counts). Every Maine policy also carries medical payments coverage of at least $2,000 per person. It adds uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of at least $50,000 for each person and $100,000 for each accident.

Meeting the state minimums gets your plates issued, but freight brokers usually want higher limits. One example: C.H. Robinson requires auto liability of $1,000,000 and cargo coverage of $100,000. To match your limits with the loads you intend to haul, it helps to speak with an agent who handles commercial truck coverage.

Filing your Maine trucking insurance with the state

A paper insurance card handed over at the counter isn't enough to register a vehicle used for livery, rent, lease, or hire. Unless a federal declaratory judgment lets you self-insure, the Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles requires insurance evidence signed by an authorized representative of your insurer before it issues plates. This proof must be on file with the Secretary of State for intrastate and interstate for-hire operators alike.

Maine's central office for fuel taxes, overlimit permits, Unified Carrier Registration, and these insurance filings is BMV Motor Carrier Services. State records keep your policy active for 30 days past the moment the Operating Authority Unit gets a Form K cancellation notice. Dropping coverage without a replacement means your registration and plates are immediately suspended or revoked. We've watched new carriers stall when a general auto agent overlooks a state filing; with a commercial truck agent, your plates keep moving.

Do Maine intrastate trucking insurance requirements include a USDOT number?

Intrastate means your loads are picked up and delivered without the truck ever leaving Maine. The federal government's safety tracking number is the USDOT number, and both sides of your cab display it. Since July 19, 2015, Maine's Chapter 4 Rule, together with state law, has exempted intrastate carriers from needing a USDOT number when their trucks carry a 10,000 to 26,000 lb rating; buses and hazardous materials are not covered by that exemption.

Even if it never leaves Maine, a truck over 26,000 lbs must carry a USDOT number, and intrastate and interstate carriers alike must follow the federal vehicle marking rule. At registration, no USDOT number is required from owner-operators who never run under their own USDOT number or authority. You can call the Maine State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit at 207-624-8909 with exemption questions, or ask a truck insurance agent before you register.

• Pickup commercial plates: Maine commercial vehicle rules say trucks and pickups register at their true gross weight, meaning the truck and its load. Passenger plates cap a pickup at 6,000 lbs gross weight; once a pickup tows a combined weight past 6,000 lbs, commercial plates are required.
• Registration taxes: before a Maine registration is issued, you must pay the yearly municipal excise tax; at your initial registration, sales tax is also due (unless you show proof of exemption).
• Decals for intrastate fuel: any non-gasoline vehicle above 26,000 lbs, or any power unit with 3-plus axles, running solely within Maine must carry fuel decals and track mileage. No fuel tax reports are due from intrastate carriers.

Out-of-state trips from Maine

Haul for-hire freight over a state line, and federal authority rules apply on top of what Maine requires. Your insurer has two jobs here: submit Form BMC-91, BMC-91X, or a BMC-82 bond to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and deliver your state proof of insurance to the Maine Secretary of State. Under federal financial responsibility standards, non-hazardous property in vehicles at 10,001 lbs or above needs liability of at least $750,000, while $300,000 covers fleets whose vehicles all stay under 10,001 lbs.

Heavier interstate trucks also join the International Registration Plan and set up an International Fuel Tax Agreement account via the Maine Motor Carrier Services office. Registering in the plan is required when a power unit carries 3 or more axles, or when a 2-axle power unit or combination goes over 26,000 lbs in 2 or more jurisdictions, and registrants must list the USDOT number of each carrier responsible for fleet safety. Your state and federal paperwork can be lined up on the 1st try by an agent filing truck authorities daily.

Questions people ask