Carrier cargo insurance versus your auto policy
Carrier cargo insurance and your personal auto policy answer different questions. Cargo cover, if the certificate states it, applies to the car while the carrier has it, up to the limit in the contract. Your auto policy applies only if that policy says so. Ask the insurer in writing. This page does not guess the exclusion.
Key facts
- Ask, do not assume
- No personal-auto form was read for this page. Whether your policy covers a car on a for-hire truck is a question for the company that writes the policy.
- Cargo limit source
- The cargo number is on the carrier's certificate and in the transport contract. The FMCSA public-liability minimum of 750,000 dollars is a different filing.
- Source: 49 CFR 387.9
- Agreed limits
- For property other than certain household goods, 49 USC 14706(c) allows a written limit on the carrier's liability when the value is reasonable under the circumstances. Read the number you are agreeing to.
- Source: 49 USC 14706, 2023 edition
- Who files the cargo claim
- A claim under 49 CFR 370.3 goes to the carrier, in writing, for a specified amount. Your insurer is not that filing unless your policy tells you to involve them.
- Source: 49 CFR 370.3
The sources are listed on this page.
Your auto policy and the carrier's cargo insurance are not substitutes you can assume. One is a contract you bought to drive. The other, if it exists, is a limit the carrier agreed to while the car is in its care. Ask your insurer whether the road policy applies during shipping. Ask the carrier for the cargo certificate. Do not let either company answer for the other.
This page does not say that auto policies "often exclude" transit. That sentence would be a guess about forms we did not read. It says how to get the answer from the insurer that has your form. It is general information, not coverage advice.
RideShipper does not insure the car and is not your agent with the insurer.
Side by side
| Question | Carrier cargo terms | Your auto policy |
|---|---|---|
| Who wrote it | The carrier's insurer, or a limit in the transport contract | The company on your auto declarations page |
| What you must read | Certificate plus the cargo clause in the shipping contract | The policy, and a written answer about transit |
| Typical trigger | Damage while the carrier has the car, subject to exclusions | Whatever the form says. Ask. |
| Dollar cap | The limit you were shown, which may be a released value under 49 USC 14706(c) | The limits on your declarations page, if coverage applies at all |
| Deductible | Only if the transport contract states one | Your auto deductible, if this insurer pays |
| Who you notify first | The carrier, in the way the contract says, then a written claim | Your insurer, if you want them involved |
| Federal filing that is not this | The 750,000 dollar public-liability schedule in 49 CFR 387.9 | Not an FMCSA filing |
The 750,000 dollar figure is there so you do not paste it into the wrong column. It is financial responsibility for operating the truck (49 CFR 387.9, for the for-hire nonhazardous row at 10,001 pounds or more). 49 USC 13906(a)(4) says the Secretary may require a separate security for the shipper's property. It does not fill in your cargo cell.
What to ask your auto insurer
Send this list by email, or through the insurer's message center, so the reply is in writing. Include the year, make, and model, and say a for-hire motor carrier will transport the car from one state to another. Ask:
- Does this policy cover physical damage to the vehicle while it is in the possession of a for-hire auto transporter?
- If yes, are there exclusions for open transport, personal items, or a vehicle that is not running?
- Do I have to file with the carrier before I file with you?
- Does my collision or comprehensive deductible apply?
- Does anything about this trip risk a cancellation or a non-renewal I should know about before I book?
Save the reply with the transport contract. If the reply is "it depends," ask them to depend on the facts you already gave. If they will not answer, assume you do not have a yes. That is not a finding that you are uninsured. It is a reason to rely on the carrier's certificate until you have a clearer letter.
What to ask the carrier on the same day
- What is the cargo limit per vehicle, and is it on a certificate you will email today?
- Is there a deductible? Who pays it?
- Is the limit a released value I am agreeing to, in writing, under the contract?
- What is excluded? Personal property in the car, undercarriage, acts of God, a car that will not start.
- How many days do I have to note damage, and how many days do I have to file a claim for a dollar amount?
49 USC 14706(c)(1)(A), in the 2023 Code edition opened for this page, allows a carrier to limit liability, for property other than household goods described in section 13102(10)(A), to a value set by the shipper's written or electronic declaration or by a written agreement, if that value would be reasonable under the circumstances. If they offer you a lower limit, you should see the higher limit you are giving up. If they show only one number, ask whether a higher limit is available and what it costs. Write down "not offered" if that is the answer.
The claim itself, if you need it, is a written demand for a specified or determinable amount of money, filed with the carrier inside the contract's time limit (49 CFR 370.3). A photo album is not the claim. The steps are in how to file a damage claim. Noting the damage on the delivery copy is still required by good practice and is explained in noting damage on the bill of lading. The regulation says that note, standing alone, is not the claim.
How the two can interact, without a guess
Three outcomes are possible. Only your papers pick one.
- Your insurer says the auto policy does not apply in transit. Then the carrier's cargo terms are the path, up to that limit and subject to those exclusions.
- Your insurer says the policy applies, and the carrier also has cargo terms. Ask both whether one is primary. Do not subtract one limit from the other in your head.
- The carrier has no cargo certificate, and your insurer has not answered. Do not ship on a slogan. The insurance overview is the wider map. The federal screen is explained in how to read insurance on file.
RideShipper's company pages can show a liability filing on file with FMCSA. That row is not a statement that your auto policy, or the carrier's cargo policy, will pay a claim.
Questions
Can I skip the carrier's cargo limit because I have full coverage?
Do not skip it. "Full coverage" is a phrase people use for their own policy. It is not a term in the federal liability schedule, and it does not tell you what happens on a truck. Ask your insurer. While you wait, get the carrier's cargo limit in writing. You want both answers before pickup.
The carrier says my insurance is primary. Is that true?
That is their sentence, not your insurer's. Forward it to your insurer and ask them to confirm or reject it. The transport contract may also say you must claim against the carrier first, or that their limit is the most they will pay. Those are two different documents. Read both.
Will my deductible apply if the carrier pays?
If the carrier pays under its cargo terms, the deductible in question is the one in the transport contract, if it states one. Your auto-policy deductible applies only if your insurer is the one paying. Ask each company which deductible they mean. Do not subtract both unless both are actually in the claim.
I do not have an auto policy on this car right now. Can it still ship?
Ask the carrier. Some contracts require you to keep your own liability policy for reasons that are not cargo, and some do not. This page cannot invent a requirement. The cargo question is still theirs to answer with a certificate. A lapsed personal policy is not a substitute for that certificate, and a certificate is not a substitute for a policy your state requires you to carry when you drive.