Primary liability
Pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others with the truck. FMCSA sets the minimum; contracts often set a higher one.
Liability limitsOne truck · one policy · no fleet to average it out
Single truck insurance, explained line by line
See which coverage one truck needs, who requires each line, and what moves the price, before you ask for a quote.
Single truck insurance is a commercial trucking policy written for one power unit, usually an owner-operator's. It is built from four parts: primary liability at or above the federal minimum, cargo, physical damage on the truck, and bobtail or non-trucking liability if you are leased on. The planner tells you which of these apply to you and who requires each one.
Build your coverage list
Three short questions about how you run the truck. You get the lines that apply and who requires each one: the law, your lender, the broker or the carrier.
$750,000federal minimum liability, for-hire general freight, 10,001 lb and up
BMC-91Xproof of insurance your insurer files with FMCSA
4 linesliability, cargo, physical damage, bobtail or NTL
Coverage planner
Runs in your browser. Nothing you choose is sent anywhere.
Your coverage list
Own authority · semi tractor · general freight
Built from your answers. Each line names who requires it, so you can tell a legal minimum from a contract term or a sales pitch. Amounts are minimums, not recommendations.
The four policies a one-truck operation is built on
Most owner-operators end up with the same building blocks. What changes from one truck to the next is who demands each block: federal law, your lender, the broker, or the carrier you are leased onto.
Motor truck cargo
Covers the freight in your care. Not federally required for general freight, but written into most broker-carrier agreements.
Cargo insurancePhysical damage
Repairs or replaces your own tractor and trailer after a crash, fire, theft or storm. A lender will require it until the truck is paid off.
Physical damageBobtail or NTL
Liability for the times you drive outside the carrier's business. The carrier covers you under dispatch; this fills the rest.
Bobtail vs NTLWhat is your insurance costing per mile?
Type the total annual premium from a quote and the miles you expect to run. Put the result next to your rate per mile before you sign, and ask how the down payment and installments are split.
insurance cost per mile
per month, averaged over a year
due at signing
then each of 10 installments
The starting values are an example, not a quote or an average. Installment plans and premium finance can add fees and interest that this calculator does not include.
What makes insurance for one truck different
A fleet policy and a one-truck policy cover the same risks, but the insurer prices them very differently. With fifty trucks, the insurer can look at years of claims across the whole fleet. With one truck, it has your driving record, your years in business, your safety data and not much else, so a single accident or a short history weighs more.
That is why the same limits can cost a one-truck operation more per truck than a large fleet, and why a brand-new authority usually pays the most in its first years. It is also why your own choices matter so much: radius, cargo, where you garage the truck, which drivers you allow, and how you keep your inspection and crash record clean all feed directly into the price. The cost guide takes each of these in turn.
Own authority or leased on: the first fork
Everything starts with whose authority you run under. With your own MC number, you are the motor carrier: your insurer must file proof of liability with FMCSA before your authority is granted, and brokers will check that the filing is active before they tender you a load. Leased onto a carrier, you run under its authority and its liability policy while under dispatch, and the lease decides which other policies you buy. The owner-operator guide compares the two set-ups, and the page on insurance for a new authority walks through the order of steps for a first MC number.
Minimums are a floor, not a target
The federal minimums in 49 CFR Part 387 have not changed for general freight in decades, while the cost of serious crashes has. The minimum keeps your authority legal; it does not tell you how much protection your business needs, and many broker agreements ask for more. Read the federal requirements to see what the law asks, and the liability guide to see how owner-operators choose a limit above it.
Guides for one-truck owner-operators
Not sure which lines you need?
Open the coverage planner →FAQ
Can I get commercial truck insurance for just one truck?
Yes. Insurers that write trucking policies sell them to one-truck owner-operators as well as fleets. A one-truck policy is built from the same parts as a fleet policy (liability, cargo, physical damage and the extras your contracts ask for), but it is priced on your own record and operation alone, with no fleet history to spread the risk.
What insurance does an owner-operator with one truck need?
With your own interstate authority and general freight in a truck rated 10,001 lb or more, the legal floor is $750,000 of primary liability, filed with FMCSA by your insurer. Brokers usually add a cargo requirement, and a lender adds physical damage. If you are leased onto a carrier, the carrier's policy covers liability under dispatch and you typically buy bobtail or non-trucking liability instead. See owner-operator insurance.
Is insurance for one truck more expensive than fleet insurance?
Per truck, it often is: a single truck has no fleet loss history to average out a bad year, and a new authority has no history at all. What you actually pay depends on radius, cargo, state, driving record and the limits you choose. Our guide to semi truck insurance cost explains each factor.
Do I need my own insurance if I am leased onto a carrier?
Usually yes, but not the same policies. The carrier is responsible for liability while you operate under its authority; you normally insure your own truck (physical damage), your liability off dispatch (bobtail or non-trucking liability) and often your own injuries (occupational accident). The lease must say who pays for what. See leased onto a carrier.
Does this planner give me a quote?
No. It lists the coverage lines that apply to your situation and the rule or contract behind each one. Only a licensed agent or insurer can quote a premium for your truck, record and operation. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere.