Insurance for new trucking authorities
Your authority is not active until insurance is on file. We walk you through every step of your first 24 months. Michigan license pending.
Getting active, step by step
Get insurance on file
Once your application is published in the FMCSA Register, your insurer files your BMC-91 or BMC-91X and your process agent files the BOC-3. FMCSA wants both within 20 days.
Go active
After the 10-day protest period ends and filings are on record, your authority can go active. Check your status before you haul.
Set up to run
Drug and alcohol consortium, ELD, IFTA, IRP plates, and driver files. Shippers and brokers will ask for certificates.
Pass your audit
The new entrant safety audit usually comes in your first year. Clean records here help your first renewal.
What you need on day one, and what can wait.
Primary auto liability
Required to get your authority active. Covers injury and damage you cause to others. FMCSA minimum is $750,000 for most for-hire freight; many shippers and brokers ask for $1,000,000.
Motor truck cargo
Covers the freight you haul. FMCSA does not require it for general freight, but most brokers do, often $100,000.
Physical damage
Repairs or replaces your own truck and trailer after a crash, theft, or fire. Your lender will usually require it.
Bobtail and non-trucking liability
For owner-operators leased onto a carrier. Covers you when you drive without a trailer or off dispatch.
No history means more risk to price.
Insurers price new authorities higher because there is no loss record yet. Driver experience, a clean MVR, the right radius, and a safety plan all help. Two to three years of clean history is what moves the number most.
Read the guidesCommon questions
When do I need insurance for a new authority?
Your insurer should file proof of coverage soon after your application is published in the FMCSA Register. FMCSA asks for it within 20 days of publication, and dismisses the application if nothing is on file after about 90 days.
How much liability do I need?
For-hire general freight in trucks of 10,001 pounds or more needs at least $750,000. Many brokers and shippers ask for $1,000,000.
Can Helm quote me now?
Not yet. Our Michigan license is pending, and we do not quote until we are licensed. Subscribe to the Dispatch and we will let you know.
The First 24 Months: A New Authority Playbook
Every filing, deadline, and renewal from your grant through year two, in order. Get the 24-Month Playbook free when you subscribe to the Dispatch.
What the playbook covers
- FilingsBMC-91X, BOC-3, MCS-150
- Go activeProtest period and status checks
- SetupUCR, IFTA, IRP, ELD, consortium
- AuditNew entrant safety audit prep
- Year twoRenewals, rate, and growing past one truck