TRANSPORTATION INSURANCE
Box trucks, tow trucks, delivery vans, and for-hire trucking operations require different forms and underwriting information. BLIS reviews vehicles, drivers, radius, cargo, loss history, authority, and current contracts before preparing the account for market.
Market review
Carrier fit by lane
We read appetite across auto liability, cargo, and physical damage for your routes and fleet.
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Complete the required contact fields and a few business details. A licensed BLIS representative will review the request.
We only use this information to review your insurance request. BLIS is licensed in California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Florida. CA License 0M74955.
Submitting this form does not bind coverage and does not promise a specific quote, price, or coverage outcome. BLIS reviews submitted details and may follow up for information needed to evaluate the account.
Sector overview
Every transportation account shares one core: vehicles on the road, drivers behind the wheel, cargo at risk, and the liability riding both. But a three-truck towing shop and a box truck fleet are not the same account — and the underwriting knows it. We read the fleet and the freight up front.
Commercial auto liability is the foundation. FMCSA rules set a floor for interstate commerce — $750,000 for most for-hire freight, higher for some cargo. State minimums govern intrastate work. Shipper contracts routinely demand more. Bind to what your contracts require, not the statutory minimum.
Motor truck cargo answers for the freight itself — the goods, not the truck. Shipper contracts usually set the limit. And cargo type drives appetite: reefer loads, electronics, and building materials each carry their own loss patterns.
Physical damage answers for the vehicle. Age, value, and use set the price. A new Class 6 box truck and a well-worn tow truck get read very differently.
Driver records weigh heavier here than in almost any commercial line. MVRs, operating radius, turnover, and fleet size all decide whether a carrier writes the account, and at what rate.
General liability, workers comp, and umbrella close the program. Appetite shifts by operation type — a local delivery market rarely matches a towing or long-haul market. We organize the driver and fleet picture, place it with the right carrier, and keep the certificates and endorsements current.
Trades we cover
Choose the operation closest to yours for the exposures, underwriting details, and documents that usually matter at quote time.
Commercial auto, cargo, physical damage, and GL for local delivery and box truck fleet operations.
Auto liability, on-hook, physical damage, and garagekeepers for towing and roadside recovery operations.
Commercial auto and cargo for small trucking fleets — typically 2 to 10 units, regional or long-haul.
Independent owner-operators — bobtail, non-trucking liability, occupational accident, and commercial auto where it applies.
Auto liability, cargo, physical damage, and GL for local delivery running mixed vehicle types.
Interstate trucking operations — primary liability, cargo, physical damage, and the regulatory filings authority requires.
Cargo coverage for temperature-sensitive freight — reefer breakdown endorsements and spoilage protection included.
Flatbed, lowboy, and specialized freight — oversize load exposure and cargo securement risk built in.
Auto liability and cargo for couriers, last-mile fleets, and contracted delivery van operations.
Commercial auto, cargo, and liability for household and commercial movers running box trucks and vans.
Coverage
These are common lines to evaluate, not a preset package. Operations, current contracts, state requirements, and carrier policy forms determine what belongs in the final program.
This covers bodily injury and property damage when one of your vehicles is at fault. For regulated carriers under DOT or FMCSA authority, limits are set by federal or state rules. For non-regulated fleets, contract requirements from shippers and platforms typically drive the limit structure. Auto liability gets the most underwriting scrutiny in transportation accounts.
Cargo coverage protects the freight in transit — theft, accident damage, water, and other covered perils depending on the form. Cargo limits are often set by shipper contracts. Cargo type matters: refrigerated goods, electronics, and building materials each carry different underwriting considerations. Motor truck cargo is separate from commercial auto — losing a load is not a vehicle claim.
Physical damage covers the vehicle itself — collision, rollover, theft, fire, vandalism, and weather. Lenders typically require it on newer vehicles. For older trucks, the decision to carry it means comparing vehicle value to premium — a calculation that shifts at every renewal.
On-hook coverage is unique to towing operations. It protects vehicles being towed from damage that occurs while in your care. Your commercial auto policy covers the tow truck — on-hook covers what's on the hook. The right limit reflects the types of vehicles you typically handle.
Garagekeepers covers customers' vehicles damaged while in your care, custody, or control — fire, theft, vandalism, or collision damage to stored vehicles. It applies to towing companies with storage lots, repair facilities, or parking operations.
GL covers bodily injury and property damage from non-auto operations — loading and unloading, your business premises, and contractual liability. Many transportation contracts require GL in addition to auto liability. The two cover different things and don't replace each other.
Illustrative scenarios
A few situations to make coverage concrete. These are illustrations only — not actual claims, and not a guarantee of any coverage outcome.
A box truck carrying electronics gets rear-ended. The cargo is damaged beyond repair. The shipper's contract requires $100,000 in cargo coverage. The commercial auto policy responds to the vehicle damage — but the cargo loss is a separate claim under the motor truck cargo policy. If the cargo policy limit is below the shipment value, that gap is uncovered.
Cargo limit accuracy matters before you accept a load, not after you lose it.
A towing company stores recovered vehicles overnight in a fenced lot. A fire in a neighboring property spreads and damages several stored vehicles. The garagekeepers legal liability policy covers the stored vehicles — the commercial auto policy covers only the tow trucks. As storage operations grow, garagekeepers coverage shifts from a secondary item to a real exposure.
The claim scenarios above are illustrative examples only. They do not represent actual clients, actual claims, or guaranteed coverage outcomes. Coverage for any specific situation depends on the policy terms, conditions, exclusions, and the facts of the claim.
After you bind
A certificate summarizes policy information; it does not create or change coverage. The policy and carrier-issued endorsements control.
FAQ
Commercial auto answers for the vehicle — harm you cause others, and damage to your own truck. Motor truck cargo answers for the freight aboard. Wreck a load and the auto policy handles the truck while the cargo policy handles the goods. Two separate lines; neither duplicates the other.
It turns on your operation and whether you cross state lines. FMCSA rules put most for-hire interstate freight carriers at $750,000 or more — higher for hazmat. State rules govern intrastate work and vary. Many shipper contracts demand above the regulatory minimum. Cargo type, route, state, and contract terms set your applicable limit.
Driver behavior drives claim frequency and severity more than almost any other factor here. Carriers review violations, accidents, license class, and years behind the wheel. Some hold firm MVR cutoffs. Certain violations in the past three to five years can make a driver ineligible with a standard carrier — and that constrains the whole account, not just one seat.
Usually, yes. Commercial auto answers for vehicle operation — injury or damage from driving. General liability answers for premises, loading and unloading, completed work, and other off-vehicle claims. Shipper contracts, commercial leases, and platform agreements tend to require both. Each covers different ground; one is no stand-in for the other.
Carry freight across state lines for hire and you likely hold a DOT number, often an MC (Motor Carrier) number too. Carriers writing regulated accounts need both in the submission. If your authority is still pending, that shapes when coverage can bind and which markets open up. Share your DOT and MC status early so nothing stalls.
From the insights library
Workers' comp is required in most states once you have employees. How it's rated surprises a lot of owners. This guide walks through class codes, payroll, the year-end audit, and the experience modifier — so the premium you're quoted still holds up when the year plays out.
See the operations, claims history, exposure data, and supporting records insurers commonly review before deciding whether and how to quote a commercial account.
Learn how certificates, additional insured endorsements, primary-and-noncontributory wording, and waivers of subrogation relate to contract requirements.
Tell us how you operate and what you need reviewed. We'll identify the information required for a submission or policy-service request.
Coverage availability, pricing, terms, conditions, and eligibility depend on underwriting, carrier guidelines, state, operations, loss history, policy terms, and other risk-specific factors. Nothing on this site guarantees coverage, pricing, placement, or savings.
Illustrative claim scenarios are examples only and do not represent specific claims, predicted outcomes, or coverage guarantees. Whether a specific claim is covered depends on the policy terms, conditions, exclusions, and the facts of the specific situation.
FMCSA minimum liability figures cited are general reference points — confirm applicable requirements with a licensed insurance professional for your specific operation.
Blue Lagoon Insurance Services, LLC is an independent insurance agency and is not affiliated with Amazon, FedEx, UPS, or any other parcel delivery platform.
