Owner Operator Insurance
If you're an owner operator, you need special truck insurance products and services to keep you fully protected whether you’re under permanent lease to a motor carrier or if you work under your own authority. Progressive understands your truck insurance needs and can help you select the trucking insurance coverages you need to protect your business and your livelihood.
Owner Operators Under Permanent Lease to a Motor Carrier
As an independent driver leased to a motor carrier, your owner operator truck insurance coverage needs are mainly determined by the lease agreement you have with your motor carrier. In most cases, a motor carrier provides Primary Liability insurance coverage when you are working on their behalf. Liability insurance covers injuries or damage to other people or property if you're at fault for an accident.
However, you may need to purchase other owner operator truck insurance coverages, including:
- Non-Trucking Liability insurance – Can provide protection for when you're not under dispatch.
- Physical Damage coverage - Can cover the cost of fixing or replacing your truck if it’s involved in an accident or stolen.
- Motor Truck Cargo insurance - Provides coverage for loss or damage to the load you’re hauling.
While some motor carriers may offer these additional trucking insurance coverages to you, you can often get a better deal by purchasing them yourself. Plus, you'll be able to make choices to customize your owner operator insurance policy to meet your needs and know exactly how much protection you're getting.
Owner Operators Working Under Their Own Authority
If you are operating under your own authority you will need to carry your own commercial trucking insurance coverages, including:
- Liability insurance - Pays for damages that you cause to other people and their property and includes Bodily Injury Liability insurance and Property Damage coverage.
- Physical Damage coverage - Pays for repairs to your vehicle if it's damaged in an accident, whether it's caused by a collision with another vehicle or a falling tree branch.
- Motor Truck Cargo insurance – Can pay for damages to the cargo that you’re hauling in case of fire, theft, or an accident.
- Motor Truck General Liability insurance – Available exclusively through Progressive Commercial’s independent agents, this coverage pays for injuries or property damage you cause as a result of business activities not directly related to operating your truck.
Visit the Commercial Auto Coverages and Services section for a full list of all of our available owner operator truck insurance coverages.
Owner Operator Truck Insurance Limitations
Progressive has a radius of operation restriction of 500 miles for Primary Liability. This limitation helps us provide superior owner operator insurance products and services for regional and local truck drivers. Keep in mind that we calculate our radius of operations as the crow flies instead of in road miles, so 500 miles can actually cover a fairly large area. However, Physical Damage trucking insurance coverage does not have a radius restriction. If you operate as a long-haul Motor Carrier, Progressive may not be able to provide your Primary Liability coverage. We might be able to provide your Physical Damage – and you might be able to save some money.
For Owner Operators that are under Permanent Lease, there are no radius restrictions for Non-Trucking liability.
