Flatbed freight rides in the open, held on by your straps and chains instead of four trailer walls, so the whole coverage conversation is about securement and value. Steel, machinery, lumber, and building materials are worth more than a lot of dry-van freight, and when a load shifts or comes off, the claim is rarely small. Most single flatbeds run roughly $11,000 to $19,000 a year all-in in 2026. Here's what the requirements and the number look like.

The core stack, with cargo doing the heavy lifting

Liability and physical damage are standard: the broker-standard $1,000,000 auto liability and physical damage priced off your truck's value. Primary liability is explained here. Cargo is where flatbed diverges from a dry van.

  • The limit runs higher than the $100k default for a lot of loads. A coil of steel, a piece of construction equipment, or a bundle of finished building product can be worth well past $100,000. Shippers of steel and machinery commonly want $100,000 to $250,000 in cargo. Here's where the $100k standard comes from and when it isn't enough.
  • The freight is exposed to weather and the road. Open freight gets wet, gets hit by debris, and shifts. Make sure your form covers those causes rather than only collision and fire.

Securement is the claim, and the exclusion to watch

Flatbed cargo claims cluster around one thing: the load moving when it shouldn't. A strap fails, a chain loosens, a tarp tears, a coil shifts, and now you have a damaged load and possibly a road hazard behind you. Two coverage points follow directly:

  • Improper-securement language can sink a claim. Some cargo forms limit or exclude damage tied to how the load was secured, which is exactly how flatbed losses happen. Understand what your form says about securement before you sign, not after a coil is on the shoulder.
  • Document your securement. Photos at pickup, the right number of tie-downs for the weight, tarps in good repair. It's both safer and the difference between a paid claim and a "you didn't secure it right" denial.

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Oversize, overweight, and step-decks

Flatbed work drifts toward big freight, and big freight adds exposure:

  • Oversize / overweight loads need state permits and often pilot cars, and they carry more liability if something goes wrong maneuvering a wide load. Tell your agent if you run oversize regularly; it changes the risk picture and sometimes the market.
  • Step-decks, lowboys, and RGNs hauling heavy equipment push cargo values and securement complexity up together. This is specialist territory and it's priced accordingly.
  • Machinery and rolling stock raise the question of coverage while loading and unloading, which for heavy equipment is when a lot of the damage happens.

DOT, CDL, and getting set up

Interstate flatbed work for hire means a USDOT number, operating authority, and the federal filing behind your $1,000,000 liability. Full-size flatbed combinations are firmly CDL on weight. New to your own authority? Start with new authority insurance requirements, and if you run leased on, read leasing on vs. your own authority so you know which lines are yours.

What does flatbed insurance cost in 2026?

For a single flatbed with authority, working ranges look roughly like this:

  • New authority, one truck: roughly $15,000–$23,000+ the first year. Here's why first-year premiums run high.
  • Established, 2+ clean years: roughly $11,000–$17,000, with regional radius and clean loss runs pulling toward the bottom.
  • The cargo limit you carry for steel or machinery is the main line that runs higher than a dry-van hauler pays.

These are working ranges, not quotes. Commodity, radius, oversize exposure, and your loss history move you inside them.

How McClure helps

We build flatbed coverage around what you actually haul: a cargo limit sized to steel or machinery rather than a $100k default, securement and weather causes covered instead of quietly excluded, and the oversize exposure rated honestly when you run wide. Start a flatbed quote and tell us your commodities and whether you run oversize. Not sure what your DOT profile shows underwriters? Run the free lookup before you apply.