Commercial Auto & Trucking Insurance Requirements: What Freight Brokers Demand — and How to Meet Them

Two layers of requirements

Every motor carrier answers to two sets of insurance rules at once. First the federal floor from the FMCSA — the minimum you must carry to hold operating authority and run interstate. Then the private requirements that brokers, shippers, and platforms like Amazon Relay demand before they’ll hand you a load — almost always higher and broader than the federal minimum. You have to clear both.

The federal floor: FMCSA minimums

For interstate for-hire carriers, federal law (49 CFR Part 387) sets the minimum auto liability by what you haul:

• $750,000 — general (non-hazardous) freight.
• $1,000,000 — oil and certain hazardous liquids.
• $5,000,000 — the most dangerous hazmat (some materials fall between $1M and $5M).

Two pieces of paper make it official. The MCS-90 endorsement attaches to your liability policy and guarantees the public is compensated up to that federal minimum — it must stay on file with the FMCSA. And your insurer files a BMC-91 (or 91X) with the FMCSA as proof you actually carry the required liability for your authority. Let either lapse and your authority is at risk. But here’s the catch: the federal floor is rarely enough — most brokers want more.

A real example: what Amazon Relay requires

Amazon Relay — the program that lets carriers book Amazon freight — publishes its requirements plainly. As of its current guidelines, a carrier needs:

• $1,000,000 auto liability per occurrence — above the federal floor, and standard across major freight brokers.
• $100,000 motor truck cargo for the freight being hauled.
• $1,000,000 per occurrence / $2,000,000 aggregate general liability.
• $50,000 trailer interchange for semi operators — covering trailers that aren’t yours.
• Workers’ compensation plus $100,000 employers liability for carriers with W-2 employees.
• An active MC number for at least 180 days, a certificate of insurance on file, and renewals submitted at least 5 days before the policy expires.

Those figures are Amazon’s, and requirements like these change — always work from the current contract. But the shape is the same everywhere: named coverages, minimum limits, and proof.

The trucking coverages a contract names

• Primary auto liability. The core coverage for injury or property damage you cause on the road — the number the federal floor and every broker set first.
• Motor truck cargo. Protects the freight you haul against theft, fire, and damage. $100,000 is a common ask; refrigerated loads usually need a reefer breakdown endorsement.
• Trailer interchange. Physical-damage coverage for trailers, chassis, or containers that aren’t yours, used under a written interchange agreement. (It doesn’t cover the freight — that’s cargo.)
• Physical damage (comp & collision). Repairs or replaces your own tractor and trailer. If the truck is financed or leased, the lender requires it.
• Non-trucking liability / bobtail. Covers the truck when it’s driven off-dispatch or without a trailer — the gap a primary policy leaves open.
• General liability. Business accidents not directly involving the truck — slips at a dock, loading-area injuries.
• Workers’ comp / occupational accident. For injured drivers and employees — required almost anywhere you have them, and by most brokers with W-2 crews.

The fine print that trips carriers up

The limits are the easy part. What catches carriers off guard are the endorsements a contract demands by name:

• Additional insured. The broker or shipper gets added to your policy so it protects them too. The most common ask — and the one most often missing from a certificate.
• Primary & non-contributory. Your policy pays first and in full, without forcing their insurance to chip in.
• Waiver of subrogation. Your insurer gives up its right to come after the broker or shipper later to recover a claim.
• Notice of cancellation. You or your insurer must warn them if the policy lapses or cancels — so they’re never unknowingly exposed.

None of it counts until you can prove it. The certificate of insurance (COI) — usually an ACORD form from your agent — lists your coverages, limits, and endorsements and names the broker as additional insured where required. On the federal side, your MCS-90 and BMC-91 filing do the same job. The details have to match exactly: a cargo limit that’s $50,000 short, or a missing “additional insured” line, is enough to hold up a load.

What falling short actually costs

• You get pulled. Miss Relay’s 5-day renewal window and you can’t book loads; miss a broker’s certificate and the load goes to someone else.
• Your authority is at risk. A lapsed MCS-90 or BMC-91 filing can put your operating authority — and your ability to run at all — in jeopardy.
• You breach the contract and can owe damages if a loss happens while you were short on required coverage.
• A claim lands on you personally when the coverage a contract required wasn’t actually in force.
• You overpay the other way — carrying far more than any contract needs on every truck quietly bleeds money too.

How to meet it — without overpaying

Before you sign with a broker or shipper, hand the insurance section to an independent broker who actually writes trucking. A good one will:

• Match every named coverage and limit — using an umbrella / excess layer to reach a high required number cheaply instead of inflating each underlying policy.
• Add exactly the endorsements the contract names — additional insured, primary & non-contributory, waiver of subrogation — and keep your MCS-90 and BMC-91 filing current.
• Right-size cargo for what you actually haul, with a reefer or commodity endorsement where the freight needs it.
• Issue certificates fast and run a renewal calendar so nothing lapses against a live load or your authority.

The bottom line

For a motor carrier, insurance isn’t just protection — it’s your ticket to run. Clear the FMCSA floor, match what the broker or shipper demands on top, keep the endorsements and filings current, and the coverage becomes the thing that keeps you loaded instead of parked.

Hauling in Michigan or nationwide? Send us your broker’s requirements and your current policy — Domham matches every limit and endorsement, keeps your filings straight, and places it with A-rated carriers who write trucking. Explore our commercial coverage or our Transportation & NEMT program.