As you know, motor carriers and carriers of hazmat are obliged to follow the rules set by the FMCSA. One of them is having higher insurance premiums to demonstrate financial security. As a proof you should either have a surety bond or liability insurance.
If you haul non-hazardous property, travel interstate or between countries and your truck’s weight is over 10,001 pounds, you need $750,000 of liability insurance. If besides that you haul hazmat in containers of over 3,500 gallons or bulk explosive and materials toxic for inhalation, you need $5 million of liability insurance.
If your hazmat trucks is less than 10,000 pounds and travels interstate or internationally, and you haul explosives, radioactive materials, any materials poisonous by inhalation of over 3,500 gallons of gases, you also need $5 million of liability insurance.
For private and for-hire trucks weighing over 10,001 pounds that carry any other hazmat, liability insurance of $1 million is required.
If you have a commercial passenger vehicle that travels interstate or internationally, you should have insurance of $5 million dollars for a vehicle with over 16 passengers, and $1.5 million for a vehicle with fewer than 15 passengers – including the driver in both cases.
Taxi cabs and school buses with fewer than 7 passengers and commuter vehicles that travel round-trips on a daily basis with the capacity of less than 16 passengers are not required to have higher premiums.
Motor carriers, freight forwarders and property brokers can have surety bonds in the same amounts instead of insurance.
You should keep the proof of insurance at the main office of your company and in the truck. For the truck you can use a copy. The proof should be either Form MCS-90 or MCS-82.
If a truck driver is caught driving without a proof of insurance, it can result in an inspection of all the vehicles the company has and an investigation by the federal government. The driver and the company can become the subject to fines, and the driver can lose his or her commercial driver’s license.
If you need any help with truck insurance, contact SafeLine Truck Insurance. We will be happy to assist you!