Bodily injury and property damage you cause operating a motor vehicle for hire. The anchor line — every other coverage layers on this one.
Third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from the operation of a covered power unit and any trailer attached. Auto liability is the federal financial-responsibility line for interstate for-hire motor carriers, mandated by 49 CFR §387.9 at $750K combined single limit for general freight (more for hazmat and household goods). Every for-hire MC carries a Form MCS-90 endorsement on this policy as the federal public-protection backstop. Broker contracts almost universally require $1M CSL; many shipper contracts require $2M, with excess / umbrella layered above to reach $5M+ for sensitive lanes.
These are public-facing baselines for typical risk profiles. The intake re-derives line-specific limits based on your actual operation, contract obligations, and loss profile.
From the panel that ranks top-3 per line for your risk profile. Each carrier clears the A.M. Best A- floor; final selection is made in the piece-out matrix at quote time.
The federal $750K minimum is enough for general freight.
It's the floor for federal compliance — but virtually every broker contract requires $1M+ CSL, and many shipper contracts (FMCSA-tracked lanes, Walmart, retail OTR) require $2M+. Binding at the federal minimum locks you out of half the load board.
MCS-90 covers me like a normal liability policy.
MCS-90 is a public-protection endorsement — it pays third-party claims even when the underlying policy denies coverage, and the carrier seeks reimbursement from you. It's a federal compliance instrument, not a coverage upgrade.
My auto liability covers cargo too.
It does not. AL pays third-party bodily injury and property damage. Damage to the cargo you're hauling is MTC (Motor Truck Cargo) — an independent line that needs its own bind on a carrier with cargo appetite.
No. Your AL carrier files the MCS-90 endorsement with FMCSA's Licensing & Insurance Division automatically on bind. We confirm filing landed in L&I before treating the bind as complete.
$750K is the federal floor for general freight (49 CFR §387.9). $1M is the practical broker-contract floor — nearly every broker and most shippers require it. The premium delta is typically small relative to the access it unlocks.
Hazmat-placarded operations require $5M CSL under §387.9 (or $1M for limited-tier hazmat). The MCS-90B (hazmat-specific) endorsement attaches in place of MCS-90. Carrier appetite narrows significantly — Berkshire-NICO, Great West, and a few specialty markets write hazmat AL well; most don't.
Yes — endorsement adds a pro-rata premium for the remaining policy term based on the unit's risk factors (year, value, garaging zip, driver assignment). We coordinate the endorsement with your carrier and surface the pro-rata cost before you commit.
Yes — this is the heart of multi-carrier piece-out. Excess / umbrella towers commonly layer above a different primary AL carrier, with coordination clauses or 'follow form' language ensuring the tower attaches cleanly. We confirm attachment language at bind.
One intake. Per-line submissions to your top 3 carriers. A coordinated binder.