Flatbed carrier — open-deck, securement-critical loads.
Cargo securement is a coverage conversation, not just a DOT conversation.

The specialty reality.

You haul steel coils, structural steel, building materials, machinery. Cargo securement under 49 CFR §393.100-136 is your daily reality, and one strap failure on an unbalanced load is a freeway-shutdown claim. Your cargo carrier's appetite for steel is the gating factor — Markel writes steel well; many general-freight cargo carriers exclude high-value metals or sublimit them.

The lines that anchor this specialty.

• AL · Auto Liability Bodily injury and property damage you cause operating a motor vehicle for hire. The anchor line — every other coverage layers on this one.  Detail →
• APD · Auto Physical Damage Collision and comprehensive coverage for your own tractors, trailers, and equipment. Required when units are financed.  Detail →
• MTC · Motor Truck Cargo Damage to the cargo you're hauling. Required by nearly every broker contract; the line where rookie carriers leak the most premium.  Detail →
• WC · Workers' Compensation State-mandated coverage for on-the-job injuries to your W-2 drivers and employees. Texas is the only fully optional state.  Detail →
• GL · General Liability Premises and operations liability — claims arising from your terminal, yard, or business activities that AL doesn't reach.  Detail →
• XS · Excess / Umbrella Liability Layered limits above your primary AL, GL, and Employers Liability. The line that's no longer optional for any fleet with contractual $5M+ requirements.  Detail →

Situational add-ons

• TI · Trailer Interchange Physical damage to trailers and chassis you're hauling under an interchange agreement. Mandatory for intermodal / drayage.  Detail →
• TR · Trucker's Equipment (Rented) Physical damage to tractors, trailers, and specialty equipment you rent or borrow — distinct from your owned (APD) and interchanged (TI) equipment.  Detail →

Carriers who write this specialty.

From the 12-carrier panel, these are the markets with declared appetite for your specialty. Carriers that exclude or sublimit your specialty get removed automatically — we don't burn the market.

Don't choose a carrier that excludes your specialty

The rookie program-design error on specialty operations is binding with a generalist carrier whose policy sub-limits the very exposure that triggered the bind. We match per line: your AL might go to a generalist; your specialty cargo or pollution layer goes to a carrier that prices the exposure correctly instead of defensively.

What we typically see for this specialty.

Flatbed loss severity centers on falling-load claims (high public-protection exposure, often nuclear-verdict eligible) and cargo damage from improper tarping. Frequency is comparable to dry van; per-claim severity runs materially higher because loads frequently exceed $100K combined.

How we handle specialty claims

Securement documentation preserved at FNOL (load photos, strap inventory, securement audit). XS tower triggered immediately if primary AL exhausted by public-protection claim. Cargo carrier routed to specialty market that prices steel correctly — not defensively.