What does motor truck cargo insurance cover?

Chapter 01

Why am I responsible for the freight on my truck?

Because federal law says so. A carrier that hauls freight across State lines is liable for the actual loss or damage to it (the federal law on damaged loads). Owners and lawyers call it the Carmack Amendment. You can be liable even without negligence. The shipper only has to show three things: the load was fine when you took it, it arrived damaged, and what the damage cost. You must then prove why you should not be liable (the Supreme Court’s 1964 decision).

Here is how that looks in real life. Say you run two trucks with dry vans under your own authority. On Monday, October 5, 2026, a broker offers you a load of flat screen TVs from Illinois to Georgia. The rate confirmation lists the load’s value as $240,000. Your motor truck cargo insurance has a limit of $100,000 per load. We made up these amounts. Before you say yes, you ask yourself one question. If this load is stolen or wrecked, who pays for it?

You do, first of all. The law makes the carrier that accepts the freight responsible for the loss. It even says that not issuing a bill of lading “does not affect the liability of a carrier” (the federal law on damaged loads). The law dates back to 1906. The Supreme Court explained how it works in a case about a railroad. The railroad hauled 640 crates of honeydew melons from Rio Grande City, Texas, to Chicago (the Supreme Court’s 1964 decision).

The court said the carrier is liable unless it shows the damage was caused by one of five things. The first three, in the court’s words, are “the act of God”, “the public enemy” and “the act of the shipper himself”. The last two are “public authority” and “the inherent vice or nature of the goods”. In plain words: a force of nature, an enemy in war, or something the shipper did. Or an order from the authorities, or a flaw in the goods themselves. And that is not enough on its own. The carrier must also show “that it was free from negligence”, which means it was not careless.

The melon case shows how hard that is. The jury found the melons were fine at pickup and damaged on arrival. It also found the railroad had done its job without being careless. The railroad still lost. It could not prove that the melons spoiled because of their own nature, so it paid. The court also quoted an older ruling. The carrier is responsible “even though the damage or loss be occasioned by the independent act of third persons” (the Supreme Court’s 1964 decision). A thief is a third person. Say your TVs are stolen from a truck stop. Or they burn in a crash that was not your driver’s fault. Either way, expect the claim to come to you.

The law does allow a written limit on your liability. A carrier may limit what it owes to a value the shipper sets. The shipper must declare that value, or agree to it, in writing, and it must be reasonable (the federal law on damaged loads). A carrier and a shipper may also sign a contract that gives up rights under this law. That works only if they both “expressly waive” them in writing (the federal law on contracts with shippers). So the papers you sign can change what you owe. Read your broker contract and the rate confirmation before you accept a valuable load. If a lot of money is at stake, have a lawyer read them.

Chapter 02

Does the law make me carry cargo insurance?

Not for general freight. Federal rules make only household goods movers file cargo insurance with FMCSA. Their minimum is $5,000 for the goods on one truck. For losses at one time and place, it is $10,000 (the minimum amounts, and the rule on insurance filings). A general freight carrier files liability insurance, which pays for harm done to others. Cargo coverage is something your customers ask for.

So the law that makes you liable for the load does not make you insure it. You must still find a way to pay for a loss. Motor truck cargo insurance helps owners cover that expense. Some agents also call it cargo legal liability insurance. Whatever the name on the quote, the wording inside is what counts.

Do not count on your liability policy to pay for the load. FMCSA requires a form on that policy, called the MCS-90. The form says its coverage does not apply to “property transported by the insured, designated as cargo” (the current form on FMCSA’s site). It pays for injury and damage you cause to the public. The load on your own truck is not part of it.

Back to your TVs. When you signed up with the broker, its carrier packet asked for a certificate of insurance showing a cargo coverage limit. That amount is set by the broker’s contract, not by FMCSA. Our guide to the insurance papers brokers ask for explains how that works. We found no official source for what most brokers ask, so we give no typical figure. One big customer does publish its own. Amazon Relay asks for “Cargo coverage of at least $100,000”, as its FAQ read on September 22, 2026 (Amazon’s Relay FAQ). Its full list is in our Amazon Relay guide.

What if you run a cargo van instead of a truck? The law on damaged loads speaks of carriers, not of truck sizes. So the rules on cargo insurance for cargo van owners are the same. There is no federal cargo filing for general freight, and your customers decide the amount. The minimum liability coverage on file is lower for smaller vehicles. For a fleet made up only of vehicles rated under 10,001 pounds, the minimum is $300,000 (the minimum amounts). Amazon Relay does not accept cargo vans. Amazon says “Cargo vans cannot be used for loads on Amazon Relay” (Amazon’s truck requirements).

Chapter 03

What does a cargo policy pay for, and what can it leave out?

Motor truck cargo insurance coverage is for loss of or damage to the freight you haul, up to your limit and less your deductible. But it pays only for the causes, the goods and the trucks your policy covers. No federal rule sets that wording for general freight. We found no standard policy form in public view, so we could not check what policies on the market leave out. Check your own policy for the terms that apply to you. Read it before a loss, not after.

That evening you take out your policy. Your insurer sent it when you bought the coverage. If you cannot find it, ask your agent for a full copy. The certificate is not enough. ACORD writes the standard certificate form. It says a certificate does not “alter in any way the terms of an insurance policy” (ACORD’s certificate FAQ). So the certificate the broker sees shows your limit. It does not show the rules that decide whether a claim is paid.

Here is what to look for, in this order:

1. The first pages, called the declarations. Find your limit and what it applies to: each load, each truck or each loss. Find your deductible, the part of each loss you pay yourself.
2. The trucks and trailers. Check whether the policy covers any truck you use, or only the ones it lists. If it lists them, make sure the truck and trailer on this load are there.
3. The goods. Look for a list of goods the policy does not cover, or pays less for. Check your load against it.
4. Theft. Look for conditions on a loaded truck left alone: locks, where it may park, and for how long.
5. The reefer. If you haul chilled or frozen loads, look for what happens when the reefer unit breaks down.
6. Reporting. Find how soon you must tell the insurer about a loss.

Say you find a limit of $100,000 per load and a deductible of $2,500 in your policy. Both trucks and both trailers are listed. TVs are not on the list of goods left out. And there is a rule for a loaded truck left alone at night. These policy terms are also part of our example. Your policy may say something quite different, which is the point of reading it. Ask your agent about each clause you do not understand, and ask for the answer in writing.

The melon case matters here too. If you haul reefer loads, the law treats goods that spoil the same way as goods that do not (the Supreme Court’s 1964 decision). If a load spoils, you must prove you were not careless and that the goods spoiled because of their own nature. So keep your reefer records and your temperature settings with the bill of lading. Whether insurance pays for the loss is a separate question. Check your policy’s terms for refrigerated freight.

Chapter 04

What if the load is worth more than my cargo limit?

Then the gap is yours. The law makes you liable for the actual loss (the federal law on damaged loads). Your policy pays only up to its limit, less the deductible. Before you take the load, you have three options. Raise your limit, get the shipper to agree on a lower value with the shipper in writing, or turn the load down. If a loss happens anyway, the federal claim rules apply.

Do the math for your TVs. The load is worth $240,000 and your limit is $100,000. Say the whole load is stolen and the policy pays in full. That still leaves $140,000, plus your $2,500 deductible, for you to pay. For a company with two trucks, one load like that could end the business. The price of coverage is in how much truck insurance costs.

First, ask your agent about a higher limit. Call before you accept the load. Ask whether the limit can be raised for this load or for your policy, and what it would cost. We cannot say whether your insurer will do it, or at what price. Get the answer in writing before the truck is loaded.

Second, ask the shipper about an agreed cargo value. The law lets a carrier limit what it owes to a value the shipper sets. The shipper must declare it, or agree to it, in writing, and it must be reasonable (the federal law on damaged loads). The broker is not the shipper, so ask for the shipper’s written agreement. A line you add to the rate confirmation on your own may not be enough. Have a lawyer check the wording.

Third, you can turn down the load. Say your agent quotes a price that eats the profit on the load, and the shipper will not agree to a lower value. You pass on it. There will be other loads that fit your limit.

Now suppose you accepted a load within your limit, but it arrived damaged. The claim then follows federal rules. You must confirm in writing within 30 days that you got a written cargo claim (the rule on confirming claims). Within 120 days you must pay it, refuse it or make a firm offer (the rule on deciding claims). The shipper gets at least 9 months to file. After you refuse in writing, it has at least 2 years to sue (the federal law on damaged loads). For help handling the claim with your insurer’s adjuster, read our guide to insurance claims. If a broker holds back your pay for the load, see what to do when a broker does not pay.

What has changed, and what could we not check? The core of the law has stood since 1906. The Supreme Court read it this way in 1964, and the words in today’s law still make the carrier liable for the actual loss. We could not read the wording insurers use in cargo policies, because we found none in public view. We found no official figure for what brokers usually ask. And we did not read any State’s insurance laws. So check your own policy and your own contracts.

If you want someone to keep your certificates, policy papers and renewals in order for every truck, here is what we offer.