Insurance
Non-trucking liability insurance for truckers: what it covers and who needs it
Updated
Non-trucking liability, often called NTL, is liability coverage a leased-on owner-operator carries for the truck when it isn't working under the motor carrier's dispatch. The policy wording decides exactly when it applies. If you move to 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 want $1 million.
At a glance
- Who usually carries it
- Leased-on owner-operators
- Federal NTL requirement
- None by that name
- Own authority, federal minimum
- $750,000 for trucks of 10,001 lb or more
- Own authority, most brokers ask
- $1 million liability and $100,000 cargo
- Insurer filing due
- Within 20 days of FMCSA Register publication
See what your own authority would need. The load-ready check shows which brokers' published insurance minimums and authority-age rules you'd meet, and what coverage would open the rest. Load-ready check
When NTL applies
Leased-on owner-operators haul under the motor carrier's authority. NTL is the coverage for the truck's other miles, when it isn't working under that carrier's dispatch. The federal insurance minimums don't use the term, so the policy wording sets the edges.
Before you buy, have the agent show you in writing when the policy applies and when it doesn't. Check how it treats driving with no trailer and driving to or from a load. Carriers often mix NTL up with bobtail coverage, so compare what each policy's wording covers.
Your lease is the other half. It spells out which coverage you carry and which the motor carrier provides, so read the two documents side by side.
Moving from a lease to your own authority
Getting your own authority changes the insurance question. Under your own authority, FMCSA wants public liability on file. Its minimums don't mention NTL.
| Step | Under your own authority |
|---|---|
| Liability on file | Your insurer files public liability on a BMC-91 or BMC-91X |
| Federal minimum | $750,000 for trucks of 10,001 lb or more. $300,000 when every truck is lighter |
| Timing | Within 20 days of your application's publication in the FMCSA Register. Miss it and FMCSA serves a decision giving 60 days to comply |
| What brokers ask | 20 of the 21 brokers that publish a liability minimum on their own pages want $1 million or more. 21 of the 22 that publish a cargo minimum want $100,000 or more |
| Extras by program | Amazon Relay adds $1 million in general liability per occurrence ($2 million aggregate) and workers' comp where you operate |
FMCSA won't grant your authority until the filing is in effect. The new authority insurance guide walks through the order, and the own authority vs leasing on guide compares the two setups side by side.
Authority age rules apply once you're on your own too. C.H. Robinson's own page asks for seven days of active authority, Amazon Relay asks for 180 days and Mode Global asks for a year of continuous authority.
Vehicles your auto liability has to cover
Some broker agreements also spell out which vehicles your auto liability covers:
- Werner's standard terms ask for any auto, or owned, non-owned and hired vehicles.
- Uber's power only program asks for owned, non-owned and hired vehicles, third-party trailers included.
Once you're active, keep the filing continuous. Mode Global counts a year of continuous authority, and CEVA counts its 90 days from your grant or your reinstatement.
Coverage that sits next to NTL
Your own injuries on the job fall under occupational accident insurance or workers' comp, depending on how the lease and your state handle it, and pulling a trailer you don't own is a trailer interchange question.
Pricing NTL
Ask every agent to quote NTL as a separate line with the policy wording attached, and compare the same coverage across quotes. The owner reports on the cost page mix policy types, fleets and leased-on trucks among them, so they don't give an NTL price.
Know what each load needs. Once you run your own authority, "What does this load need?" lists the liability, cargo and extras each broker's load calls for. What does this load need?
Frequently asked questions
What is non-trucking liability insurance?
Non-trucking liability, or NTL, is liability coverage a leased-on owner-operator carries for the truck when it isn't working under the motor carrier's dispatch. The policy wording decides exactly when it applies.
Is non-trucking liability the same as bobtail insurance?
Carriers often mix the two up. Read how each policy treats driving with no trailer and driving to or from a load before you count on either one.
Do I need NTL under my own authority?
FMCSA's minimums for your own authority call for public liability on file and leave NTL out. Your insurer files that liability on a BMC-91 or BMC-91X, at $750,000 or more for trucks of 10,001 lb or more.
How much does non-trucking liability cost?
Owner reports mix policy types, fleets and leased-on trucks, so they can't price NTL alone. A quote that lists it as its own line is the number to compare.