How Much Insurance Do Trucking Companies Carry?

No matter what you drive, your car is no match for a truck. A crash with an eighteen-wheel truck may lead to serious injury or death.

If you are seriously injured in a truck crash, you could be unable to work for years. If the unthinkable happens and a death occurs, the love and support is lost. That could cause hundreds of thousands and perhaps millions of dollars in medical expenses and lost wages.

That raises the question: how much primary security or insurance are trucking companies required to carry? The answer: not enough.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires trucking companies or motor carriers involved in interstate commerce to maintain certain levels of insurance:

http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulations/administration/rulemakings/rule-programs/new_rulemakings.aspx?cat=final

For freight trucks larger than 10,001 lbs., the liability insurance level is $750,000.

For freight trucks hauling hazardous materials, the liability level is $5 million.

Is that enough to make you whole if you are a victim of a catastrophic truck crash? Probably not. When someone is hit by an 80,000-pound truck, medical care and loss of earning capacity may reach millions of dollars.

With the cost of health care rising by 10 percent every year, you would quickly run out of money if you were debilitated by a truck crash. How would earning losses be replaced for you and yoru family? Please consider contacting your elected officials and urge them to support raising the financial responsibility limits for trucking companies and motor carriers.