Cargo insurance
Cargo insurance is coverage for the vehicle while the carrier has it, if the policy and the contract say so. A federal filing, a dollar limit, and a deductible are three different facts. Exclusions matter as much as the limit.
Key facts
- Property carriers
- Cargo insurance filing is not required for non-household-goods property authority
- Source: fmcsa.dot.gov
- Household-goods cargo figures
- 387.303 states 5,000 dollars per vehicle and 10,000 dollars at one time and place, and its note says the section was suspended indefinitely
- Source: ecfr.gov
The sources are listed on this page.
Cargo insurance pays for loss or damage to the freight, within the policy, while the carrier is responsible for it. It is not the liability policy that covers injury and other people's property. It is not a broker's surety bond.
What FMCSA actually requires
FMCSA's types-of-authority page says a motor carrier of property, other than household goods, must file public liability insurance, and that cargo insurance is not required for that authority. The same page says a household-goods carrier must file both. 49 CFR 387.303 states household-goods cargo security of 5,000 dollars for goods on any one vehicle and 10,000 dollars for losses at one time and place. The effective-date note on that section says it was suspended indefinitely on 30 September 2019. Do not treat those figures as a current floor for a car on an auto-transport trailer. Liability insurance is the other filing. A liability limit is not what you would be paid for a scratch.
What to ask the company
Ask the cargo limit in the contract, the deductible, and what is excluded. Personal items in the car are commonly excluded. For property other than household goods, 49 USC 14706 allows a carrier to limit liability to a value set in writing if that value would be reasonable under the circumstances of the transportation. RideShipper does not sell this policy and does not pay claims. A damage claim still goes to the carrier.