Insurance for new trucking authorities

Do you need your own authority?

Operating authority, often called an MC number, is FMCSA's permission to haul regulated freight that belongs to someone else, for pay, across state lines. A company that does that needs it in addition to a USDOT number.

FMCSA lists carriers that don't need operating authority: those hauling only their own cargo, those hauling only exempt commodities (freight that isn't federally regulated), and those that stay inside an exempt commercial zone.

If you're leased on to another motor carrier, you generally run under their authority and this path isn't yours. Our guide to bobtail and non-trucking liability covers that case. A motor carrier is the company that moves the freight, which, once you have your own authority, is you.

The steps, in order

Steps marked as insurance steps are the ones where your insurance company is involved. The rest you handle with FMCSA or another agency.

1. 1

   Get a USDOT number

   The USDOT number identifies your company to FMCSA and tracks your safety record. FMCSA says you need one if you operate a vehicle with a gross weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more in interstate commerce, which means travel across state lines, or loads that start or end outside the state.

   Some states also require a USDOT number for trucks that never leave the state. Check with your state agency.

2. 2

   Apply for operating authority (MC number)

   Insurance step

   First-time applicants apply through FMCSA's online registration. The types of authority you request set the type and level of insurance FMCSA requires, and FMCSA doesn't refund application fees, so request only the types you need.

3. 3

   Name your process agents (BOC-3)

   A process agent is a representative who can receive court papers for you. FMCSA says a motor carrier designates one for each state where it's authorized to operate and each state it passes through. You make the designation on Form BOC-3.

   FMCSA publishes a list of registered companies that act as process agents. Once your authority is granted, you must keep the designation on file with FMCSA.

4. 4

   Your insurance company files your proof of insurance

   Insurance step

   Your insurance company files this with FMCSA electronically. You don't. For liability, which pays for injuries and damage you cause to other people and their property, the form is BMC-91X (or BMC-91). BMC-91X is the proof of liability insurance your insurance company files with FMCSA. Your policy also carries a federal endorsement, the MCS-90.

   A BMC-34 cargo filing is required only for household goods movers. For most other freight FMCSA's chart shows no cargo filing.

   For most for-hire trucks of 10,001 pounds or more hauling non-hazardous freight, the federal minimum is $750,000 of liability. Hazardous materials carriers have higher minimums.

   FMCSA tells new applicants to contact their insurance provider right after they get their docket (MC) number. The business name and address on your insurance filing must match your other filings, such as with your secretary of state, exactly. A mismatch delays your authority.

5. 5

   Wait out the protest period

   Insurance step

   FMCSA publishes a summary of your application in the FMCSA Register, its public list of registration decisions. Other parties then have 10 days to file a protest against it. If no one opposes it, FMCSA grants the authority by issuing it.

   FMCSA won't grant authority until your minimum liability insurance is on file, so a missing or mismatched insurance filing holds it up. FMCSA's Licensing and Insurance website shows whether your authority has been granted.

6. 6

   Register with UCR

   UCR, the Unified Carrier Registration, is a yearly registration and fee for businesses that move property across state lines. You register online with your base state, and the fee depends on how many commercial vehicles you operate. The UCR Plan has a short questionnaire to check whether it applies to you.

7. 7

   Get through the new-entrant period

   Insurance step

   FMCSA monitors a new motor carrier for its first 18 months under the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program. It does a safety audit, within 12 months after you begin operating, and grants permanent authority if you're running safely.

   Insurance is part of the audit. Operating a vehicle without the required level of insurance is one of the violations that automatically fails it. So are having no drug and alcohol testing program and knowingly using a driver without a valid CDL (commercial driver's license).

What insurance companies look at

A new authority has no history of its own, so insurance companies lean on what they can see. We don't show prices on this site. These are the things an agent and the insurance companies look at.

• Driving experience: how long each driver has held a CDL and what kind of hauling they've done.
• Driving records: violations, accidents and claims for every driver on the policy.
• Equipment: the type, age and value of each truck and trailer.
• Radius: how far you run from your home base, and through which states.
• Freight: what you haul. Some freight, such as hazardous materials, is harder to insure than others.
• Prior insurance and claims: if you've had a policy before, under any company name, your claims history (loss runs) helps.
• Limits and deductible: how much coverage you choose, and how much you pay first after a claim.

What to have ready

Gather these first and the questions are easier to answer.

• Your USDOT number, and your MC number once you have it. If your authority is still pending, your application status.
• Your business name and address exactly as they appear on your FMCSA and state filings.
• For every driver: name, date of birth, and driver's license number and state.
• For every truck: year, make, model, VIN (vehicle identification number) and what it's worth.
• Trailer details, if you own trailers.
• Where you run and what you haul.
• Prior insurance, if any: your dec page (the summary page of your current policy) and loss runs.

Common questions