Semi truck insurance cost: what the published numbers say
There is no official average for semi truck insurance cost. The best public markers are Progressive's 2025 national averages of $734 to $926 a month per truck for its own customers, and industry data from ATRI that puts liability premiums at about 10 cents per mile. Your real price depends on your authority, radius, cargo, state, truck and record.
Contents
- How much does semi truck insurance cost per month?
- What does insurance cost per mile?
- What drives the price of semi truck insurance?
- Which policies make up the bill?
- A worked example: turning a premium into cost per mile
- How the payment schedule changes your cash flow
- How to get a reliable number for your truck
- Sources
- FAQ
The short version
- Progressive's figures cover new policies with liability and physical damage and no driver violations. They are one insurer's book of business, not a market survey.
- ATRI measured liability premiums at 10.2 cents per mile in 2024, up 18.6 percent since 2021.
- The biggest levers are whose authority you run under, how far you drive, what you haul and your inspection and crash record.
- Convert every quote to a cost per mile and a cash schedule (down payment plus installments) before you compare it to your rates.
How much does semi truck insurance cost per month?
The only per-truck average we found from a large insurer is Progressive's. On its cost page, Progressive says its 2025 national average monthly cost for commercial for-hire truck insurance ranged from $734 for specialty truckers to $926 for transport truckers. Transport covers general freight and autos.
Read the footnote before you use those numbers as a budget. They are 2025 new-policy premiums per power unit, for liability and physical damage coverage, on policies with no driver violations. That means:
- They describe Progressive's own customers, not the whole market. Another insurer's averages could be higher or lower.
- They exclude drivers with violations, so a record with tickets or crashes will usually price above them.
- They include physical damage. If your truck is paid off and you drop physical damage, your bill will look different; if you add cargo, general liability or occupational accident, it grows.
- They are averages. Many policies in a group can sit well above the average, and a new authority with no history often lands at the high end.
No government agency publishes an average premium for owner-operators. Any page that quotes a single "average cost" without naming who measured it, when and for which policies is giving you an estimate, not a fact.
What does insurance cost per mile?
Per mile is the more useful unit for an owner-operator, because it sits next to your rate per mile. The American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) surveys carriers every year.
- In a May 2026 insurance study, ATRI reported that liability premiums rose 18.6 percent to 10.2 cents per mile between 2021 and 2024, faster than consumer inflation. Over the same period truck-involved crash rates fell 2.6 percent, while per-mile liability losses among respondents rose 33.1 percent.
- In its July 2026 operational costs update, ATRI put the industry-average cost to operate a truck at $2.336 per mile in 2025, the highest in the report's history.
- The trade magazine FleetOwner, reporting on that same ATRI report, gave insurance premiums at about $0.11 per mile in 2025, from $0.10 in the Midwest to $0.12 in the Northeast, and said per-mile insurance premiums jumped 6.4 percent in the first quarter of 2026. We could not read the full ATRI report, so treat these as ATRI figures relayed by the press.
Put together, insurance at roughly 11 cents out of $2.336 is a little under 5 percent of the average per-mile cost of running a truck. ATRI's samples lean toward fleets, and its press releases give no figure for owner-operators or small fleets, so a one-truck operation should expect its own number to differ, often upward.
What drives the price of semi truck insurance?
Insurers do not publish their rating formulas, but they do list what they look at. The table combines the factors named by Progressive and by the broker HUB International, with what each one means for a single truck.
| Factor | Why it moves the price | What you control |
|---|---|---|
| Own authority or leased on | With your own authority you carry primary liability and full responsibility for accidents, violations and cargo claims. Leased on, the carrier typically covers liability under dispatch. | The business model you choose; see owner-operator insurance. |
| Liability limit | Progressive cites a minimum combined single limit of $750,000 or $1 million depending on cargo and vehicle type. Higher limits cost more. | The limit you buy above the legal floor; contracts may ask for more. |
| Cargo type | Hazmat raises the federal minimum to $1 million or $5 million and changes the risk. High-value or theft-prone freight affects cargo coverage. | The freight you accept. |
| Operating radius | More miles and longer trips mean more exposure. | Local, regional or long haul; what you declare must match what you run. |
| Truck type and age | Affects the value insured under physical damage and the cost to repair. | The truck you buy and the stated value you declare. |
| Driving history | Violations and crashes on the MVR of every listed driver. | Who you put on the policy. |
| Location | Where the truck is garaged and the lanes it runs. | Limited, but it is part of the quote. |
| Inspection and safety data | Underwriters use CSA scores, loss history and years in operation to gauge how likely a claim is. | Maintenance, hours of service, clean inspections over time. |
Two of these deserve more detail because they are where one-truck operators most often lose or win.
Years in business and a new authority
HUB International says underwriters combine CSA data with loss history, years in operation and fleet size. A new MC number has no years in operation and no loss history, so there is little to price on except the driver's own record and experience. We have not found an official or major-insurer figure for how much more a new authority pays, so we do not give one. The steps for a first authority are on our page about insurance for a new authority.
Your CSA data is a two-year window
FMCSA's Safety Measurement System uses roadside inspection and crash data from the last two years and updates once a month. Violations written on an inspection report count even when no citation is issued. HUB International says carriers with elevated BASIC percentiles typically pay more for coverage. Because old inspections age out of the window, a clean year or two matters at renewal. Carriers logged into their own safety profile can see their complete results.
Which policies make up the bill?
A quote for one semi is usually several lines added together. Which ones you need depends on who requires them, which is covered in depth in the guide to trucking coverages.
| Line | Who usually requires it | Cost note |
|---|---|---|
| Primary auto liability | Federal law with your own authority: $750,000 for general freight in a truck of 10,001 lb or more | Often the largest part of the premium; ATRI's 10.2 cents per mile is for liability alone. |
| Physical damage | Your lender or lessor while you owe on the truck | Driven by stated value and deductible. |
| Motor truck cargo | Broker-carrier agreements and shippers (federally required only for household goods) | Driven by limit per load and the commodities you haul. |
| Bobtail or non-trucking liability | Your lease, if you run under a carrier's authority | Insurers define these two differently; check the wording. |
| General liability, occupational accident | Some shippers, docks and carriers | Smaller lines, but they add up. |
When you compare prices from different sources, check that you are comparing the same set of lines. A monthly figure for liability alone and one for liability plus physical damage plus cargo are not the same product. The trucking liability guide explains how owner-operators choose a limit above the federal minimum.
A worked example: turning a premium into cost per mile
This is an example to show the arithmetic, not a quote or a typical price. The numbers are assumptions chosen to be easy to follow.
- Start from an annual premium. Say a transport trucker pays exactly Progressive's 2025 transport average of $926 a month. Over twelve months that is $11,112 a year.
- Estimate your miles. Assume the truck runs 100,000 miles a year. Use your own logs, not a round number, if you have them.
- Divide. $11,112 ÷ 100,000 miles = about $0.11 per mile, which happens to sit close to the ATRI figure reported for 2025.
- Change the miles. The premium does not shrink when you drive less. At 70,000 miles the same $11,112 becomes about $0.16 per mile; at 120,000 miles it is about $0.09.
- Add what this premium leaves out. The Progressive average covers liability and physical damage. If you also buy cargo or occupational accident, add those premiums before dividing.
The point of step 4: insurance is mostly a fixed cost. A truck that sits idle for weeks still pays the full premium, so the cost per mile rises fastest for operators running fewer miles. The cost-per-mile calculator on our home page does this division for any premium and mileage, and splits the premium into a down payment and installments.
Compare the per-mile result to your average rate per mile and to ATRI's total of $2.336. If insurance alone eats a share far above 5 percent of your costs, find out which factor is driving it before you renew.
How the payment schedule changes your cash flow
The annual premium and what you pay at signing are two different numbers. Many trucking policies are paid as a down payment followed by installments, and some insurers reward paying in full. Progressive, for example, says most of its customers can save 10 percent or more when they pay the policy in full. That is the insurer's own claim and its discounts vary by state.
Example, not a quote: on an $11,112 premium, a 20 percent down payment is $2,222 at signing, then ten installments of about $889. Paid in full with a 10 percent discount, the same policy would be about $10,001 in one payment. Which is better depends on your cash at the start; just make sure any installment or premium finance fees are included when you compare. Payment options, and what "no down payment" offers usually mean, are covered on our page about cheaper truck insurance.
If an installment is missed and the policy is cancelled, an owner-operator with their own authority loses more than coverage. Federal rules require the policy to stay in effect continuously, and FMCSA requires proof of insurance to stay on file to avoid revocation of your authority.
How to get a reliable number for your truck
No benchmark replaces a quote on your own operation. To make quotes comparable and accurate:
- Have your USDOT and MC numbers, driver licenses and MVRs, truck VIN and value, radius, commodities and any loss runs ready.
- Ask each source to quote the same limits, deductibles and lines, so the prices measure the same thing.
- Declare your real radius and cargo. A cheaper quote on wrong information can leave a claim unpaid.
- Ask for the premium per line, the down payment, the installment count and any fees.
The full checklist, and how agents, brokers and direct insurers differ, is on our page about truck insurance quotes. If your record or history keeps quotes high or gets you declined, the page on high-risk truck insurance explains the nonstandard market. For Texas-only operations, state minimums differ from federal ones; see commercial truck insurance in Texas. And if you need cover for a few days or weeks only, read short-term truck insurance first: it is rarely compatible with an active authority.
Sources
- Commercial Truck Insurance Cost, Progressive Commercial (insurer), consulted October 20, 2026.
- New ATRI Research Analyzes Motor Carrier Responses to Rising Insurance Costs, American Transportation Research Institute, May 19, 2026, consulted October 20, 2026.
- New ATRI Report Details Accelerating Costs and Low Profitability Despite Cuts, American Transportation Research Institute, July 15, 2026, consulted October 20, 2026.
- How do CSA scores affect my truck insurance rates?, HUB International (broker), consulted October 20, 2026.
FAQ
Is semi truck insurance tax deductible?
Generally yes, for the business share. IRS Publication 334 says you can generally deduct premiums for business liability insurance and for vehicle insurance covering vehicles used in your business. If the truck is partly used for personal driving, you deduct only the business part. Sole proprietors report business insurance premiums on line 15 of Schedule C. Ask a tax professional about your own return.
Why did my renewal go up when I had no claims?
Your own record is only one input. Industry-wide, ATRI found that liability premiums rose 18.6 percent from 2021 to 2024 while per-mile liability losses among the carriers it surveyed rose 33.1 percent, even though truck-involved crash rates fell. When claim costs rise across the market, renewals can rise for clean carriers too. Ask the agent which rating factors changed on your file.
Does leasing onto a carrier make insurance cheaper?
Usually your own bill is smaller, because the carrier typically provides primary liability while you are under dispatch. Progressive says leasing to a company is usually cheaper than running under your own authority. You still pay for what the lease leaves to you, often physical damage, bobtail or non-trucking liability, and any charge-backs written into the lease.
Is the price per truck the same for one truck and for a fleet?
Not necessarily. Insurers look at loss history, years in operation and fleet size to build a risk profile, according to HUB International. A one-truck operation has no fleet experience to average out a single bad claim, so its record weighs more heavily in the price.
Related
- Truck insurance quotesGetting a truck insurance quote for one truck: the documents to prepare, how to compare quotes like for like, who sells them, and the traps to check.
- Cheap truck insuranceCheap truck insurance without gaps: the levers that lower a one-truck premium, the shortcuts that backfire, and what no down payment offers really mean.
- Owner-operatorsOwner operator truck insurance for one truck: what you buy with your own authority vs leased onto a carrier, who requires each line, and what to buy first.
Updated October 20, 2026