What truck insurance costs — and why

Why we don’t publish an “average price”

Two operations with the same truck can present very different risks, and the premium follows the risk. A single average would tell you little about your own number, so this guide sticks to what moves the price. The only reliable figure is a quote on your own details.

The market as a whole has been getting more expensive. The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) reported in November 2025 that trucking auto-liability premiums rose 36 percent per mile over the previous eight years, even as truck crashes declined over the past four — and that in 2025 insurance cost and availability was voted the industry’s third-greatest issue.

What moves your premium

A state insurance regulator’s guide to commercial auto insurance (Maryland Insurance Administration) lists these factors:

• Type of vehicle — premiums are linked to the vehicle you drive.
• Safety devices — features like anti-lock brakes and daytime running lights may lower the premium.
• Anti-theft and tracking systems — may reduce the premium.
• Garage location — an indoor garage or locked lot that lowers theft risk may qualify for a lower premium.
• Geographic location — extreme weather, heavy traffic or high theft risk can mean higher rates.
• Driving and claims history — can affect both whether you can get coverage and what it costs.
• Amount of coverage — the higher the limits, the higher the premium.
• Deductible — the higher the deductible, the lower the premium.
• Insurance history — a lapse in required coverage can raise the premium, and an insurer may refuse coverage because of it.

The same guide warns that drivers matter too: the risk your employees present “may exceed the company’s underwriting guidelines” and keep you from getting the insurer you want.

Ways to lower the price without cutting corners

1. Pick a deductible you can actually pay. A higher deductible lowers the premium, but you pay it on every claim.
2. Never let coverage lapse. A gap can raise future premiums, and with your own authority FMCSA starts revocation proceedings if the insurance filing drops off.
3. Hire and keep drivers with clean records, and train them — the guide warns that driver risk can otherwise exceed an insurer’s underwriting guidelines.
4. Invest in safety and tracking equipment, and park where theft risk is lower.
5. Send a complete file. Drivers, VINs, values, commodities, radius and loss runs let the agent send one clean file to every market that writes your kind of trucking.
6. Let markets compete. Different insurers can price the same risk differently — comparing several quotes is the lever that costs you nothing.

Limits: the legal floor and a sensible level

You can’t buy below the law. The federal minimum for for-hire general freight is $750,000 for vehicles rated 10,001 lbs GVWR or more ($300,000 below that; $1,000,000 or $5,000,000 for certain hazardous materials). States set their own floors for intrastate trucks — for example $500,000 in Texas for commercial vehicles over 26,000 lbs, and $100,000 per person / $300,000 per accident / $50,000 property damage for Missouri intrastate for-hire carriers.

The minimum is not a recommendation. The Maryland Insurance Administration notes that a typical commercial auto policy may have a $1 million liability limit, and suggests businesses consider higher limits so coverage can protect both business and personal assets in a lawsuit. Contracts with brokers and shippers can require more as well.

Paying for it

Ask the agent which payment options each quote allows, including premium financing, and compare the total cost — not just the down payment. For the numbers on your own trucks, the fastest route is a quote request.