Truck insurance cost estimator: turn your quotes into cost per truck
This truck insurance cost estimator is a worksheet, not a quote. Enter the annual premiums from the quotes you have for each coverage line and see the cost per truck per month and per working day.
Truck insurance cost worksheet
EXAMPLE VALUES, REPLACE WITH YOURSA worksheet, not a quote. Enter the annual premiums from the quotes you have. Only an insurer or licensed agent can quote your trucks.
PER TRUCK, PER MONTH
$1,900
insurance per truck per month
- Primary auto liability
- $1,208
- Physical damage
- $433
- Motor truck cargo
- $133
- General liability
- $75
- Other (trailer interchange, occupational accident)
- $50
- Total per year, all trucks
- $22,800
- Per truck per working day
- $86
Insurance is $1,900 per truck per month, about $86 every working day, whether the truck moves or not.
By Edwin Horton · Updated
How the worksheet works
Insurance quotes come as annual premiums per coverage line, often for the whole policy. That makes it hard to see what insurance costs each truck each day it runs, which is the number that matters when you price loads. The worksheet converts it.
- Annual total = sum of the annual premiums for every coverage line
- Per truck per month = annual total ÷ trucks ÷ 12
- Per truck per working day = per truck per month ÷ working days per month
- Share by line = each line's premium ÷ annual total
EXAMPLE A one-truck carrier's quote: primary liability $14,500, physical damage $5,200, cargo $1,600, general liability $900 and $600 for other coverage. Annual total: $22,800. Per truck per month: $1,900. With 22 working days, about $86 every working day, whether the truck moves or not.
The federal minimums
Interstate for-hire carriers of general freight must carry at least $750,000Minimum liability, general freight$750,00049 CFR 387.9: for-hire interstate carriage of nonhazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 lb GVWR or more.49 CFR 387.9Checked Oct 2026 in liability; oil and most hazardous materials need $1,000,000Minimum liability, oil and most hazmat$1,000,00049 CFR 387.9 entry (3): oil, hazardous waste and hazardous materials not covered by the $5,000,000 entry, 10,001 lb GVWR or more.49 CFR 387.9Checked Oct 2026, and bulk hazmat in cargo tanks $5,000,000Minimum liability, bulk hazmat$5,000,00049 CFR 387.9 entry (2): hazardous substances in bulk cargo tanks or hopper vehicles, certain explosives, Zone A materials and highway-route-controlled Class 7.49 CFR 387.9Checked Oct 2026. Many brokers and shippers set higher liability and cargo limits in their carrier packets. Those are their rules, not federal law, and they vary, so check each packet before you buy a policy.
What insurers weigh
We don't publish premium estimates, because they'd be guesses. These are the factors agents tell carriers move the price: equipment type and value, years under your authority, the states you run, cargo type and limit, every driver's age, experience and record, your safety scores, and claims history. Ask each agent which of these moved your quote.
What insurance does not cover
Liability, cargo and physical damage pay for accidents and losses. They don't pay for a failed engine, transmission or aftertreatment system, which can cost more than a month's revenue. That's what a repair reserve is for, and some owners also buy a breakdown protection plan.
Use it with your costs
Insurance is one line in your cost per mile; put the result into the trucking cost per mile calculator, and include it when you check the how much truck can I afford calculator. Our guides to the truck business plan and how much it costs to start a trucking company show where it fits. Every idle day still costs this premium; small fleet dispatch is how we help keep insured units working. This page is not insurance advice; talk to a licensed agent.
Bring the worksheet to your agent. When you can show what each coverage line costs per truck per month, it's easier to ask the right questions: which deductibles change the premium most, whether a cargo limit is higher than your freight needs, and what a clean year would do to next year's price. The agent quotes; the worksheet just keeps the numbers clear.
This is a worksheet, not a quote
- Use annual premiums from written quotes
- Enter each coverage line separately
- Match the truck count to the policy
- Note each quote's deductibles and limits beside the premium
Insurance cost questions
01How much is commercial truck insurance per month?
It varies widely with equipment, years in business, state, cargo, driver records and claims history, so any single number would mislead you. Get quotes from agents who write trucking, then put them in this worksheet to compare them per truck per month.
02What insurance does a trucking company legally need?
Federal rules set minimum liability for interstate for-hire carriers: $750,000 for general freight, more for hazmat. Brokers, shippers and lenders often require more, plus cargo and physical damage coverage.
03Why is insurance so expensive for new authorities?
Insurers price risk from history, and a new MC has none. Premiums often come down after a year or two of clean operation. Shopping the policy at each renewal matters.
04Does truck insurance cover engine breakdowns?
No. Liability, cargo and physical damage pay for accidents and losses, not for a failed engine, transmission or aftertreatment system. Those repairs come from your reserve or a breakdown protection plan.
05How can a small fleet lower insurance costs?
Clean driver records, a few years of no claims, good safety scores, and shopping the policy at renewal with agents who write trucking. Higher deductibles lower premiums but raise what you pay when something happens.
Insurance runs every day. So should the truck.
A dispatcher brings you loads to keep each insured unit earning. You approve every one.
4% for 2+ trucks, 5% for one, 7% while your MC is new