Trucking insurance calls may die on the first attempt if you don’t know who to contact. A dispatcher can answer your calls while the truck is on the road. This is why you need to manage some key information before calling. This information includes who controls the truck and how many power units a company runs.
Trucking is a small-business industry. ATA data shows that among the 580,000 FMCSA-registered carriers, about 91.5% run 10 or fewer trucks. There is a high chance you can reach an owner who can buy a policy. However, different scenarios can emerge if you call a business with a larger fleet size or someone who drives a truck on lease.
Key Takeaways
- An owner-operator or corporate officer of the motor carrier can sign the primary liability policy.
- A leased owner-operator buys only the specific liability coverage, like bobtail or non-trucking liability.
- In small fleets, the trucking company insurance decision-maker is the owner.
- In larger fleets, the safety director builds the submission while the CFO or owner signs.
- Call 60 to 90 days before renewal and following specific trigger events.
Who Signs the Trucking Insurance Policy?
An individual with an operating authority can sign a policy. It can be an owner-operator of a truck holding an MC number. This includes owner-operators running a trucking business using their own MC number. In fleets, the owners or CFO may sign the insurance policy while safety directors manage the risk data that underwriters use for pricing.
There are three authority types you need to consider, like you do when contacting someone to sell commercial insurance:
- Owns it: The person who maintains the certificates, loss runs, drive files and renewal date.
- Signs it: The person who gets the coverage and signs the broker of record letter.
- Blocks it: It includes the current insurance agent, a CFO controlling cash flow, or a safety lead who can block the contract. To avoid a block, you need to take strong preparation to handle trucking insurance sales objections.
Authority Type Decides Who You Call First
Check the FMCSA record before calling a prospect. Individuals with different roles, such as independent owner-operators, leased drivers and fleet CFOs, usually don’t buy the same coverage. You also need to consider this fact when calculating trucking insurance lead cost. This is because every lead won’t bring the same value to your business.
Own Authority Owner-Operators and Carriers
- What they have: An MC number and a USDOT number. Their insurer files a BMC-91X with FMCSA and attaches an MCS-90 endorsement to the policy.
- What the law requires: A federal minimum of $750,000 in public liability for general freight. Many brokers and shippers ask for $1 million plus cargo.
- What they buy: Primary auto liability, motor truck cargo, physical damage and often general liability.
- Who to call: The owner of the truck.
- Opening question: “Are you running under your own MC number and when does your liability renew?”
Leased Owner-Operator Insurance
- What the carrier controls: A leased owner-operator uses the motor carrier’s authority. Federal leasing rules give the carrier sole control and total liability for the truck during the lease.
- Who buys what: The lease must include who provides bobtail coverage and what the carrier charges back for it. Primary liability under dispatch belongs to the carrier.
- What the driver buys: Non-trucking liability, physical damage and occupational accident.
- The real buyer: The decision-makers become the carrier’s owner-operator program manager when it runs a coverage program billed through settlement. A single program can cover every leased truck on the roster.
- Opening question for the driver: “Does your lease let you carry your own non-trucking liability or does it come out of your settlement?”
New Authority and New Ventures
- Timing: Insurance must be on file before the authority goes active, so that the owners can buy fast.
- Scrutiny: A safety audit monitors new carrier activity within the first 12 and 18 months.
- Market pressure: Fewer markets write new ventures, so the owners shop hard.
- Who to call: The owner, while the filing is still pending.
- Opening question: “Has your authority gone active yet, or are you still waiting on the insurance filing?”
Private Fleets
- What they are: Companies that use their own transport to carry goods.
- How coverage works: Truck coverage sits inside the company’s commercial auto program.
- Who to call: The CFO, risk manager or operations lead.
The Decision-Maker Map by Fleet Size
The signing requirements and work increase with fleet size. A single individual may handle the deal up to 10 trucks. But when it goes past 50, a risk or safety lead owns the file and finance signs.
One Truck
- Owns it: The owner-operator, often with a spouse handling paperwork.
- Signs it: The owner-operator.
- Blocks it: The one who makes the down payment and the monthly premium against cash flow.
- Opening question: “Who sends your certificate of insurance when a broker sets you up on a load?”
2 to 10 Power Units
- Owns it: The owner, an office manager, or a family member.
- Signs it: The owner.
- Blocks it: The agent who wrote the authority and still holds the relationship.
- Opening question: “Have you added any trucks or drivers since your last renewal?”
11 to 50 Power Units
- Owns it: The safety director or operations manager, who pulls MVRs, loss runs and driver lists.
- Signs it: The owner or president, often with the controller in the room.
- Blocks it: A safety director that you overlooked.
- Opening question: “Who puts together your MVRs and loss runs for the renewal submission?”
51 or More Power Units
- Owns it: A risk manager or a VP of safety and risk.
- Signs it: The CFO or president, usually on the risk lead’s recommendation.
- Blocks it: The current broker of record and the CFO’s view on retention.
- Opening question: “Are you on a guaranteed cost program, or carrying a deductible or self-insured retention?”
Where the Fleet Safety Director Fits
The safety director may rarely sign but owns the data that drives the first. Focus on managing their approval first for mid-sized fleets.
The files or records a safety director maintains:
- Driver qualification files and MVRs.
- CSA BASIC scores and roadside inspection history.
- The accident register FMCSA requires carriers to keep.
- Telematics and camera programs that support loss control credits.
Ask for the loss runs and their read on the CSA picture. Establish a loss control perspective, then let them carry your numbers to the owner or CFO.
Who Not to Pitch
- Dispatchers: They run the main line and act as a B2B gatekeeper. Ask them for the owner’s best callback time instead of pitching.
- Company drivers: They don’t hold any influence over the policy.
- Leased drivers in carrier-run programs: Call the carriers instead because they provide coverage to leased drivers.
- Billing or factoring staff: They don’t track coverage but payments.
Many owner-operators use a personal phone number for business contact. Follow the calling rules that apply to personal numbers before you dial.
When to Make the Call
Timing is important to win new authority trucking insurance accounts. The possibility of winning a contract increases when you call a prospect before another agent reaches out. Calling 60 to 90 days before renewal gives you enough time to compete. Also, watch out for common trucking insurance buying triggers that provide renewal opportunities.
Example of key trigger events:
- A new MC number filed with FMCSA.
- A lease signed with a new carrier.
- Power units added mid-term.
- A new broker or shipper contract that requires higher limits.
Matching each fleet’s renewal window to the right contact is the core of trucking insurance lead generation. This allows you to contact a signer before they renew their current policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who buys insurance at a trucking company?
The small companies such as one with 10 or fewer trucks owners buy the policy. For companies operating large fleets, the safety director or risk manager prepares the documents. Then, the CFO or president signs it.
Does a leased owner-operator need their own insurance?
Yes, but usually for gap coverage. The carrier provides primary liability under dispatch. A driver may carry non-trucking liability, such as physical or accidental coverage following the lease agreement.
Who signs a broker of record letter for a trucking company?
A Broker of Record (BOR) letter requires a signature from someone who oversees the company’s insurance and risk. It can be an owner, president, CEO, CFO, or a designated risk manager.
When should you contact a trucking company about insurance?
You should contact a trucking insurance prospect 60 to 90 days before their policy renews and immediately after a trigger event. These events can be a change of authority, lease, or added power units.
Put the Map to Work
Before making your first call, check the authority type, power unit number and renewal date. Find out who you need to contact to sell trucking insurance. It will help reduce wasted hours fast. To start a conversation with owners, safety directors and CFOs, you can follow our commercial insurance cold calling scripts.
