Refrigerated carrier — temperature-controlled cargo.
Reefer breakdown exclusions are where rookie cargo policies fail.

The specialty reality.

You haul produce, pharma, frozen protein. Your last cargo policy excluded reefer breakdown — meaning if your unit fails mid-haul and the load spoils, you pay. Standard cargo markets price reefer breakdown carve-back endorsements at a fraction of what a single spoilage claim costs. Markel and Hudson are the names that write reefer breakdown correctly.

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 →

Situational add-ons

• 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 →
• TI · Trailer Interchange Physical damage to trailers and chassis you're hauling under an interchange agreement. Mandatory for intermodal / drayage.  Detail →
• CYB · Cyber Liability ELD, TMS, and dispatch-system exposure. Increasingly required by broker contracts as ransomware on trucking dispatch becomes routine.  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.

Reefer claims center on: (1) reefer-unit mechanical failure, (2) temperature-recorder dispute, (3) shipper rejection on arrival without verified breakdown. Cargo claim frequency is comparable to dry van; severity per claim is materially higher because loads are time-sensitive perishables.

How we handle specialty claims

Cargo claim handled on the cargo carrier (Markel or Hudson, ideally); temperature-recorder data preserved; chain-of-custody documentation gathered same-day before the load is repurposed or destroyed. Reefer breakdown endorsement language read line-by-line before bind so 'mechanical breakdown' actually covers what the shipper rejects.