Owner-operator truck insurance: own authority or leased onto a carrier

What you buy as an owner-operator depends on one question: whose authority does the truck run under? With your own MC number, you carry the primary liability FMCSA requires ($750,000 minimum for general freight in a truck rated 10,001 lb or more) plus what brokers and your lender ask for. Leased onto a carrier, the carrier is responsible for liability on the public's behalf, and you usually insure your truck, your off-dispatch driving and yourself.

Contents

Two ways to run one truck, two insurance setups
With your own authority, what is required and by whom?
Leased onto a carrier: what is covered and what you still buy
Starting out: a new authority
What if the semi is not used for hire?
In what order should you buy?
What drives the price for one truck?
Mistakes that leave one-truck operators exposed
Sources
FAQ

The short version

Own authority: primary liability with an FMCSA filing, cargo for brokers, physical damage for your lender or your own equity, plus optional lines.
Leased on: the lease must say who buys what. You typically buy physical damage, bobtail or non-trucking liability, and often occupational accident.
Three sources of requirements: federal and state law set the floor; contracts (broker, shipper, lease) and lenders add the rest.
Words vary: insurers define bobtail and non-trucking liability differently. The policy wording is what counts.

Two ways to run one truck, two insurance setups

Most one-truck owner-operators fall into one of two models. You either hold your own operating authority (an MC number on top of your USDOT number) and haul for brokers and shippers, or you lease your truck to a motor carrier and run under its authority. The truck can be the same. The insurance is not.

The table below shows who normally buys each line in each model. "Who requires it" is the part people often skip: a coverage required by federal law is not negotiable, while a coverage required by a broker or lender depends on the contract you signed.

Coverage	Own authority	Leased onto a carrier	Who requires it
Primary auto liability	You buy it; your insurer files proof with FMCSA	The carrier is responsible for public liability coverage under the lease	Federal law (49 CFR 387), state law for intrastate work
MCS-90 endorsement	Attached to your liability policy	Attached to the carrier's policy	Federal law for for-hire interstate carriers
Motor truck cargo	You buy it	Depends on the lease; check cargo deduction terms	Brokers and shippers by contract; federal cargo filing only for household goods
Physical damage (collision, comprehensive)	You buy it	You buy it; the carrier's liability policy does not cover your truck	Your lender if the truck is financed; otherwise your choice
Bobtail or non-trucking liability	Usually not needed: your primary policy is the policy on the truck	You buy it, or the carrier provides it and charges you back	The lease
Occupational accident	Optional	Optional unless the lease or carrier asks for it	Carrier contracts and leases
General liability	Optional; some shippers and facilities ask for it	Check the lease	Contracts

If you are not sure which column you are in, the coverage planner on our home page asks four questions and lists the lines that apply to your operation.

With your own authority, what is required and by whom?

Running under your own MC number means you are the motor carrier. Every requirement that a carrier would normally handle for a leased driver is now yours.

Primary liability: the federal floor

FMCSA's financial responsibility rule says no motor carrier may operate a vehicle until it has the minimum levels set out in the table in 49 CFR 387.9. For a for-hire carrier hauling nonhazardous property across state lines in a truck rated 10,001 lb or more, that minimum is $750,000. Certain hazardous materials raise it to $1,000,000 or $5,000,000. Trucks under 10,001 lb with operating authority have a $300,000 minimum under a separate section.

The federal amount is a minimum, not a recommendation. Many broker-carrier agreements ask for a higher limit than the federal one, so read the agreement before you choose your limit. Our page on motor carrier insurance requirements has the full federal table, the state examples and the filing forms.

The filing and the MCS-90

FMCSA does not take your word for it. According to FMCSA's insurance filing requirements, your insurer files the proof (Form BMC-91 or BMC-91X) on your behalf, and the agency "will not grant operating authority registration until the registrant has in effect the minimum levels of financial responsibility on file". Once granted, the filing has to stay on record or the authority faces revocation.

Your liability policy also carries the MCS-90 endorsement, which guarantees payment of judgments to the public up to the federal minimum. It protects the public, not you: if the insurer pays a claim only because of the MCS-90, you agree to pay it back.

Cargo: a contract requirement for most freight

Federal rules require a cargo filing only from household goods carriers (BMC-34, with $5,000 per vehicle). For general freight, cargo insurance is a contract matter: brokers and shippers set their own cargo requirements in their agreements. The limit, the commodities covered and the exclusions vary by policy. See motor truck cargo insurance for what to check.

Physical damage: your truck, your lender's rule

No federal rule requires you to insure your own truck. If you financed it, your loan agreement says whether you must carry physical damage and name the lender on the policy. If you own it outright, physical damage is your decision: it pays to repair or replace the truck after a collision or another covered loss. The trade-offs (stated value, deductible) are in our guide to semi truck physical damage insurance.

Other lines you may be asked for

General liability: claims that are not auto accidents, such as damage at a customer's dock. Some shippers and facilities ask for a certificate.
Trailer interchange: physical damage to a trailer you do not own, pulled under a written interchange agreement.
Occupational accident: injury benefits for a driver who is outside the workers' compensation system.

Leased onto a carrier: what is covered and what you still buy

Federal leasing rules (49 CFR 376.12) give the carrier exclusive possession and control of your truck for the duration of the lease, and make it responsible for the operation. The lease must spell out the carrier's legal duty to maintain insurance for the protection of the public, who provides any other coverage such as bobtail insurance, and the exact amount of any insurance the carrier charges back to you.

In practice, that leaves you with three gaps to fill:

Your truck. Progressive notes that while many motor carriers provide primary liability for leased owner-operators, they don't include physical damage on your truck.
Driving off dispatch. Bobtail and non-trucking liability fill this gap, but the terms are not used consistently. Progressive describes bobtail as driving without a trailer for a business purpose, and non-trucking liability as cover for non-business use. HUB International, a broker, describes bobtail as driving without a trailer and not under dispatch. Read the definitions in the policy you are offered, and compare them with what your lease says. Our bobtail insurance page compares the two.
Yourself. As a contractor, you are usually outside the carrier's workers' compensation. Occupational accident insurance pays injury benefits that workers' compensation would pay an employee, and your carrier may ask for it in the lease.

The lease is the document that decides all of this. Our page on insurance requirements for leased owner-operators walks through 376.12 clause by clause, with the questions to ask before you sign.

Starting out: a new authority

A first MC number comes with a deadline. After FMCSA publishes your application in the FMCSA Register, your insurer has 20 days to file proof of coverage; if nothing is filed, FMCSA sends a notice that the application will be dismissed unless you comply within 60 days. A new carrier also has no loss history or safety record for underwriters to look at. The steps, the forms and how to prepare your file are in new authority truck insurance.

What if the semi is not used for hire?

Some owners keep a tractor to pull their own RV, horse trailer or race car, or use it on the farm. These trucks raise different questions: whether federal trucking rules apply at all, and whether any personal or commercial policy will accept the vehicle. Non-trucking liability is not the answer, because it is designed for trucks on a lease. See how to insure a semi for personal use.

In what order should you buy?

Decide the model. Own authority or lease. This decides who carries liability and whether you need an FMCSA filing.
Collect every written requirement. Lease, broker-carrier agreements you plan to sign, lender's insurance clause, and any state rules if you run intrastate. Write down the limit and the certificate holder each one asks for.
Buy the legal floor first. With your own authority, that is primary liability at or above your 387.9 tier, with the BMC-91X filing. On a lease, that is whatever the lease assigns to you.
Add the contract lines. Cargo at the limit your brokers ask for; physical damage with your lender as loss payee; bobtail or non-trucking liability on a lease.
Then the optional lines. Occupational accident, general liability, trailer interchange, depending on your loads and contracts.
Check the paperwork. Exact legal name and address on every filing and certificate, matching your FMCSA registration.

What drives the price for one truck?

There is no official average premium for owner-operators; the figures you see online are insurers' own numbers or estimates. Progressive, for example, lists these rating factors: your authority (own or leased), the coverage limits you need, cargo type, operating radius, truck type and age, driving history and location. It says leasing to a company is usually cheaper than running under your own authority, and that a carrier you are leased to typically covers primary liability while you are under dispatch.

Progressive also publishes its own 2025 national average monthly cost for for-hire truck insurance: from $734 for specialty truckers to $926 for transport truckers, per power unit, for liability and physical damage on new policies with no driver violations. Those are figures from one insurer's book of business, not a market average. Underwriters also look at your safety data: FMCSA's Safety Measurement System uses roadside inspections and crash reports from the last two years.

Example

An industry benchmark helps you check a quote against your miles. FleetOwner, reporting ATRI's 2026 cost study, puts liability and cargo insurance premiums at about $0.11 per mile on average in 2025. At an assumed 100,000 miles a year, that benchmark works out to $11,000. This is an illustration of the arithmetic, not a quote: your own price depends on the factors above.

Our pillar on semi truck insurance cost explains each factor and how to budget the down payment.

Mistakes that leave one-truck operators exposed

Assuming the carrier's policy covers your truck. On a lease, the carrier's liability policy protects the public, not your equipment.
Names that don't match. FMCSA says any difference between the name and address on the insurance filing and on the authority application delays the grant of authority.
Letting the policy lapse. Liability policies stay in force until cancelled with 35 days' written notice between insurer and carrier, and an FMCSA filing cannot be withdrawn until 30 days after notice to FMCSA. When the filing ends, your authority is at risk.
Buying the minimum without reading contracts. A $750,000 policy satisfies FMCSA but not a broker agreement that asks for more.
Trusting the product name. "Bobtail" in one policy may mean what "non-trucking liability" means in another. Check what triggers coverage: under dispatch or not, with or without a trailer, business or personal use.

Sources

49 CFR 387.9, Financial responsibility, minimum levels, eCFR, consulted October 20, 2026.
Insurance Filing Requirements, FMCSA, consulted October 20, 2026.
Commercial Truck Insurance Cost, Progressive Commercial (insurer), consulted October 20, 2026.
Owner-operator truck insurance, HUB International (broker), consulted October 20, 2026.

FAQ

Can I switch from a lease to my own authority without a gap in coverage?

You need two different setups, so plan the changeover date. Under your own authority, your insurer must have your liability filing on record with FMCSA before the authority is granted, and that policy has to be in force on the day you first run under your own MC number. The non-trucking or bobtail policy you carried on the lease is not a substitute. Ask your agent to line up the effective dates with the end of the lease.

Does owner-operator insurance cover me when I drive the truck for personal errands?

It depends on your setup. Under your own authority, your commercial auto policy is the policy on the truck; check how it treats personal use. On a lease, personal use is usually what non-trucking liability is for, but insurers word this differently, so read the definitions in your own policy.

Are owner-operator insurance premiums tax deductible?

IRS Publication 334 says business vehicle insurance premiums are generally deductible. If the truck is partly for personal use, only the business share is deductible, and if you use the standard mileage rate you cannot also deduct insurance premiums. Ask a tax professional how this applies to your return.

Do I need a separate policy for my trailer?

If you own the trailer, it can be listed for physical damage like the tractor. If you pull trailers you do not own under a written trailer interchange agreement, insurers sell trailer interchange coverage for physical damage to that non-owned trailer.

Updated October 20, 2026