Trucking resources & guides
Straight answers on compliance, safety, and coverage, written the way an agent would explain it to you, not the way a policy reads.
How to get a certificate of insurance for trucking
What a COI is, what brokers and shippers require on it, the holdups that stall one, and how to get yours issued the same day.
How to look up a DOT number (and read what it tells you)
How to run a DOT number lookup and actually read the results: authority status, safety rating, out-of-service rates, and insurance on file.
Leasing on vs. your own authority: who insures what
What leased-on owner-operators actually need, why 'additional insured' isn't coverage, and why you want your own physical damage policy.
New authority? Here's the insurance FMCSA is waiting on
What insurance a new trucking authority needs before FMCSA activates it: the BMC-91X filing, real first-year pricing, and how to shrink it.
Filing your MCS-150 (without the headache)
What the MCS-150 biennial update is, when yours is due, how to file it, and what happens if you don't.
FMCSA insurance requirements, explained
Every FMCSA insurance filing and dollar minimum (BMC-91/91X, MCS-90, BMC-34, BMC-84), plus the hazmat tiers, in one reference.
Permits & compliance 101
Every registration a first-year authority needs (USDOT, BOC-3, filings, UCR, IFTA, IRP, 2290), in deadline order.
Texas commercial truck insurance requirements
Interstate vs. Texas intrastate authority, TxDMV insurance minimums, and what a Texas trucker actually needs on file to run legal.
How much does commercial truck insurance cost?
Real 2026 premium ranges by operation type, what each coverage line costs, and the 7 factors that actually move your number.
Why is truck insurance so expensive, and how do you lower it?
The real reasons trucking premiums are high (nuclear verdicts, litigation, new-venture risk), and 9 levers that actually cut your bill.
Understanding FMCSA safety scores
How CSA scores and the seven BASICs actually work, who sees them, and how to clean yours up.
Bobtail vs. non-trucking liability vs. unladen
Three terms everyone uses interchangeably, and the claim-time differences between bobtail, NTL, and unladen liability that decide who pays.
Box truck insurance: requirements and cost
What coverage a box truck actually needs, when you need a USDOT number, what Amazon Relay requires, and realistic 2026 cost ranges.
Cargo insurance requirements: the $100k standard
Why every broker wants $100,000 motor truck cargo, when they want more, and the exclusions that get carriers kicked off load boards.
Hotshot insurance: requirements and real cost
What hotshot trucking insurance actually requires, why the 10,001 lb GVWR line changes everything, and honest 2026 cost ranges.
Motor truck cargo: what's actually covered
What cargo insurance really pays for, the exclusions that bite, and the endorsements worth asking about.
Physical damage & non-trucking liability
Coverage for your own truck, ACV versus stated value, and what bobtail and NTL actually protect.
Primary liability, explained like a human
What primary auto liability actually pays for, the federal minimums, the MCS-90, and why brokers demand $1M.