Insurance Coverage Evaluation Checklist

Request declarations pages for auto liability, motor truck cargo, general liability, workers' comp, and umbrella from the agent of record. Note effective dates, named insureds, premium, and any open endorsements.

Reconcile the carrier's current fleet roster against the schedule on the policy — VIN, year, make, model, GVW, garaging address, radius of operation. Units added mid-term but never reported to the underwriter are a common coverage gap at renewal.

Download the FMCSA SMS public snapshot and any private intervention thresholds. Underwriters price off Unsafe Driving, HOS, Vehicle Maintenance, and Crash Indicator BASICs — score deterioration drives premium more than fleet count.

Document new lanes, new commodities (especially hazmat, refrigerated, autos, steel coils, or high-value targeted freight), and changes to operating radius. A dry-van fleet that picked up hazmat work mid-term is operating without proper auto liability limits until the policy is endorsed.

General freight interstate: $750,000 minimum per 49 CFR 387.9. Most shipper contracts require $1M combined single limit. Confirm the declarations page shows CSL at or above contract requirements, not split limits.

Oil and Class 3 flammables in cargo tanks over 3,500 gallons: $1M. Most other hazardous materials including bulk: $5M per Part 387.9. Confirm the MCS-90 endorsement is attached and the limit matches the commodity hauled.

The MCS-90 is a public-protection endorsement, not coverage for the insured. Confirm it is in place and the limit shown matches the commodity. Missing MCS-90 on an interstate carrier is an automatic conditional rating at the next FMCSA review.

Compare stated values against current ACV or loan payoff for each tractor and trailer. Lender loss-payee clauses must list the correct lienholder address. Underinsured equipment after a total loss is the most common renewal-season dispute.

Required if owner-operators run under the carrier's authority, if office staff drive rentals on company business, or if the carrier brokers loads to third-party carriers. Trip-lease arrangements without non-owned coverage leave the motor carrier on the hook for the leased unit's accidents.

Standard van carriers run $100K cargo; reefer and high-value targeted commodities (electronics, pharma, alcohol, tobacco) routinely require $250K-$500K. Pull the prior 12 months of BOL values and confirm the limit covers the 95th-percentile load, not the average.

Standard cargo forms exclude jewelry, fine art, livestock, tobacco, alcohol, and frozen/refrigerated goods unless specifically scheduled. Reefer breakdown coverage is a separate endorsement with its own warranties — a tripped reefer with a maintained pre-cool record covers; a skipped reefer download does not.

Required for any reefer operation. Most carriers require download of temperature-recorder data after each load and PM records on the reefer unit within 30 days of the loss. Missing PM = denied claim.

Trailer interchange covers damage to trailers pulled under a written interchange agreement (intermodal drayage, drop-and-hook with shippers). On-hook covers towing operations. Limits typically $25K-$50K — confirm against the trailer values actually pulled.

Section 3.A. of the policy lists covered states. Monopolistic states (OH, WA, WY, ND) require separate state-fund coverage and a stop-gap endorsement on the GL. Drivers domiciled in an uncovered state generate uncovered claims.

States increasingly reclassify owner-operators as statutory employees for workers' comp. Confirm whether the carrier carries occ-acc on 1099 drivers, the lease agreement disclaims employee status, and which state-specific tests apply (CA AB5, NJ ABC test).

Occ-acc fills the gap for 1099 drivers — accident medical, AD&D, temporary total disability. Confirm aggregate limits across the fleet are not exhausted by a single multi-driver incident.

Standard $1M/$1M/$1M is rarely enough for a serious driver injury. Confirm the umbrella drops over employer's liability — many umbrellas exclude EL or require a higher underlying limit.

GL covers the yard, terminal, dock, and shop — slip-and-falls at the guard shack, fuel spills outside loading. Most policies exclude auto exposures; that gap is filled by auto liability, not GL.

Pull each active shipper master services agreement. Common requirements: shipper named as additional insured on auto + GL, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory wording, 30-day notice of cancellation. Mismatch between MSA and policy is the single most common cause of contract violation findings.

Confirm the umbrella schedules underlying auto liability, GL, and employer's liability with the correct limits. A nuclear-verdict trucking suit ($10M+) is now common; $1M auto with a $4M umbrella is the floor, not the ceiling.

Follow-form umbrellas inherit primary exclusions; some add their own (assault and battery, abuse and molestation, punitive damages, sexual misconduct on dedicated routes with passenger contact). Note any exclusion that breaks the tower and flag for the broker.

Have the broker market to at least three carriers (Great West, Progressive Commercial, Sentry, Northland, Canal, Acuity, Berkley Prime). Compare by limits, exclusions, deductibles, and underwriter loss-control requirements — not premium alone.

Owner or CFO signs off after reviewing the side-by-side. Capture the decision, reviewer notes, and bind authority in writing — bind orders made by phone without documentation create E&O exposure for the agent and coverage disputes for the carrier.

The new insurer files proof of financial responsibility electronically with FMCSA. Confirm filing acceptance before the prior policy cancels — a 1-day gap triggers automatic authority revocation and a 30-day reinstatement process.

Pull the active shipper and broker list from the TMS. Issue COIs with each customer named per their MSA (additional insured, waiver of subro, primary and non-contributory as required). Stale COIs on file with brokers cause loads to be re-tendered to other carriers.