If you want to haul intermodal, pulling rail and ocean containers on chassis you don't own, you'll run into the UIIA: the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement, administered by IANA (the Intermodal Association of North America). It's the master agreement that lets a motor carrier interchange equipment with the railroads, steamship lines, and chassis providers. And it comes with insurance requirements that a standard trucking policy does not meet out of the box. Here's what the UIIA actually asks for.
Why a normal policy isn't enough
When you pull an ocean carrier's container on a rail-pool chassis, you're taking possession of someone else's expensive equipment and hauling it into and out of secured terminals. The equipment providers (called IEPs, intermodal equipment providers) won't hand you their chassis on a handshake. The UIIA requires your insurer to make specific filings and endorsements that name and protect those providers, on top of the coverage you'd normally carry. It's not just higher limits; it's specific paperwork filed a specific way.
The core UIIA insurance requirements
The exact limits can vary by equipment provider, but the framework is consistent:
- Auto liability at the UIIA minimum (commonly $1,000,000 CSL, and some providers require more). This is your primary liability, but endorsed to apply to the intermodal operation.
- Trailer/container interchange or physical damage on the interchanged equipment while it's in your care, custody, and control, so damage to the chassis or container is covered while you have it. This is the intermodal cousin of trailer interchange vs. non-owned trailer physical damage.
- Unladen liability at the required limit. Drayage carriers constantly move empty containers and bare chassis, and "I have bobtail" does not satisfy the UIIA. It specifically wants unladen, which we explain in bobtail vs. non-trucking liability vs. unladen.
- The UIIA endorsements themselves, filed electronically through the UIIA's insurance system, that (a) extend coverage to the interchanged equipment, (b) give the equipment providers the required interest / additional-insured status, and (c) commit your insurer to the UIIA's cancellation-notice process so providers are warned before your coverage lapses.
The part people miss: it has to be filed, by an approved insurer
This is where carriers get stuck. It is not enough to have the coverage. Your insurer has to be on the UIIA's approved list and file the endorsements electronically through the UIIA insurance interface. A regular certificate of insurance emailed to a terminal will not register you. Until those filings post in the UIIA system, you are not cleared to interchange, no matter what your COI says.
So there are really two gates:
- You register as a motor carrier in the UIIA (through IANA).
- Your insurer files the required endorsements into the UIIA system so the equipment providers can see your coverage.
Miss either one and you're turned away at the gate.
Get set up to run intermodal the right way
A few watch-outs
- Not every insurer files UIIA. If you're planning drayage, you need a carrier and an agent who can actually do the UIIA filing, not just sell you a policy. Ask up front.
- Per-provider differences. Individual railroads and steamship lines can require higher limits or extra endorsements beyond the UIIA baseline. Check the endorsement requirements for the specific providers you'll interchange with.
- Keep it active. A lapse in the filed coverage doesn't just risk your authority, it locks you out of the terminals immediately. This is coverage you cannot afford to let cancel.
How McClure helps
Intermodal is one of those operations where the wrong agent wastes weeks. We know which markets file UIIA endorsements, what the equipment providers expect, and how to get your filings posted so you're cleared to interchange instead of stuck at the gate. Tell us you're running drayage and who you'll be pulling for. Start your application, and once you're set, request the certificates you need for the terminals.