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Bobtail insurance for truckers: what it covers and when you need it

Updated

Bobtail insurance is the trucking name for liability coverage on a tractor running without a trailer. Policies word it differently, so the policy itself decides when it applies. If you run under your own authority, your insurer has to file public liability with FMCSA, at $750,000 or more for trucks of 10,001 pounds and up, and most brokers that publish a liability minimum want $1 million or more.

At a glance

Federal bobtail rule
None by that name
Own authority, federal minimum
$750,000 for trucks of 10,001 lb or more
Own authority, broker ask
$1 million or more (20 of the 21 that publish a minimum)
Files your liability with FMCSA
Your insurer

Check what your coverage opens. If you're moving to your own authority, the load-ready check shows which brokers' published minimums your filed coverage meets. Load-ready check

What bobtail means

Bobtailing is driving the tractor with no trailer behind it, on the way to pick one up or home after a drop. Bobtail insurance is liability coverage for those miles. The federal insurance minimums don't use the word, so what a bobtail policy covers comes from its own wording.

Bobtail also comes up for CDL weight. A tractor running without a trailer counts as a single vehicle for weight-based CDL rules. Once you hook the trailer, the combination counts again.

Bobtail and non-trucking liability

The policy wording decides what bobtail coverage and non-trucking liability each cover. Ask the agent to show you in the wording itself:

  • Whether the coverage applies with a trailer hooked up or only without one.
  • Whether it applies under dispatch or only off dispatch.

Get the answer in writing before you sign a lease that requires it.

Leased on to a carrier

Leased-on owner-operators run under the motor carrier's authority. The lease spells out what coverage you carry yourself, so read it next to the policy. The own authority vs leasing on guide compares the two setups.

Under your own authority

Under your own authority, the coverage that matters to FMCSA is public liability. Your insurer files it on a BMC-91 or BMC-91X, and FMCSA won't grant your authority until that filing is in effect.

  • Federal floor: $750,000 for general freight in trucks of 10,001 pounds or more, and $300,000 when every truck is lighter.
  • Broker minimums: $1 million or more at most brokers. See the requirements page for each broker's figure.

Ask your agent which policy carries your FMCSA filing and get that one quoted first. The new authority insurance guide covers the rest of the setup.

Which vehicles your auto liability covers

Under your own authority, some broker agreements spell out which vehicles your auto liability has to cover. Read the covered-vehicle wording on your policy against them:

  • Werner standard terms: any auto, or owned, non-owned and hired vehicles.
  • Uber Freight power only terms: owned, non-owned and hired vehicles, third-party trailers included.
  • Cornerstone: hired and non-owned vehicles included.
  • Logistics Plus: owned and hired vehicles.

If your policy's wording is narrower than the broker's, ask your agent how to close the gap before you sign the broker's agreement.

Coverage for a trailer you don't own

Power only means hooking up to a trailer you don't own. Damage to that trailer falls under trailer interchange coverage, which applies under a written interchange agreement.

Some programs write it into auto liability instead. Uber Freight's power only terms ask for auto liability covering owned, non-owned and hired vehicles, third-party trailers included.

What to ask before you buy

Ask whether the bobtail policy carries your FMCSA filing or sits beside the policy that does. Then have every agent quote it as its own line, with the wording attached, so you can compare the same coverage across quotes. The quote comparison guide has a sheet for lining quotes up.

Know what each load needs. "What does this load need?" shows what a broker or program publishes, including its liability, cargo and trailer interchange asks, next to the federal rules for your truck. What does this load need?

Frequently asked questions

Does FMCSA require bobtail insurance?

The federal insurance minimums don't include a coverage called bobtail. Under your own authority, FMCSA requires public liability, filed by your insurer, at $750,000 or more for general freight in trucks of 10,001 pounds or more.

What's the difference between bobtail and non-trucking liability?

The policy wording decides what each one covers. Ask the agent to show you whether the coverage applies with a trailer hooked up and whether it applies under dispatch or only off dispatch.

Does bobtail insurance cover a trailer I don't own?

Damage to a trailer you don't own falls under trailer interchange coverage, which applies under a written interchange agreement. Some programs write it into auto liability instead.

How much liability do brokers want under my own authority?

Plan on $1 million or more once you're under your own authority, since 20 of the 21 brokers publishing a liability minimum ask for at least that.