Truck insurance statistics span a broad commercial-auto market, federally regulated liability minimums, carrier costs, crashes and litigation outcomes. The figures below identify their population, geography and measurement period so that truck-specific evidence is not confused with broader commercial-auto totals.
Key Truck Insurance Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- In 2023, $55,793,394 million in U.S. commercial-auto net premiums were written.
- In 2023, commercial auto represented 6.5% of total U.S. property/casualty premiums.
- From 2021 to 2024, liability premium cost increased 18.6% among ATRI motor-carrier respondents.
- In 2024, average liability insurance cost was 10.2 cents per mile among ATRI motor-carrier respondents.
- From 2021 to 2024, per-mile liability losses increased 33.1% among ATRI respondents.
- In 2024, the $5 million-$10 million excess layer cost 1.58 cents per mile among ATRI respondents.
- Under the current rule shown by FMCSA in March 2026, for-hire interstate general freight carriers must maintain $750,000 in BIPD financial responsibility.
- Under the same rule, certain hazardous-material carriers have a $1 million BIPD minimum.
- Carriers of explosives, poison gas or radioactive materials have a $5 million BIPD minimum under the federal category described by FMCSA.
- From 1985 to 2019, medical CPI rose 4.6% annually in FMCSA’s comparison.
- Medical CPI outpaced overall inflation in 32 of the 35 years from 1985 through 2019.
- In the 2013 study summarized by FMCSA, catastrophic crashes exceeding current financial-responsibility minimums were estimated at less than 1% of all U.S. CMV crashes.
- Large-truck crashes totaled 510,000 in the United States in 2019.
- Fatal crashes involving large trucks totaled 4,479 in the United States in 2019.
- A Trucking Alliance review tracked 8,692 accident settlements from 2005 to 2011.
- In that review, 42% of monetary exposure would have exceeded $750,000 coverage under the study’s minimum-limit assumption.
- In an ISO-based analysis using 2006-2011 data, the reported chance of a large-truck claim exceeding $1 million was 0.73%.
- ATRI’s review found a $3.1 million mean jury award for awards over $1 million from 2006 to 2018.
Contents
- Key Truck Insurance Statistics
- Commercial-Auto Premiums and Truck Insurance Market Scale
- Truck Insurance Cost Trends per Mile and by Fleet Size
- Federal Truck Insurance Minimums by Carrier and Cargo
- Coverage Adequacy, Inflation and Financial Responsibility
- Truck Crash, Claim and Liability Statistics
- Truck Insurance Settlements, Verdicts and Risk Outcomes
Commercial-Auto Premiums and Truck Insurance Market Scale
Commercial auto is broader than truck insurance, so its figures are useful as market context rather than truck-only totals. The Insurance Information Institute reported the following U.S. net premiums written:
| Year | Commercial-auto net premiums | Commercial-auto growth |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | $46,589,757 million | 16.8% |
| 2022 | $51,657,384 million | 10.9% |
| 2023 | $55,793,394 million | 8.0% |
Source: Net Premiums Written By Line, Property/Casualty Insurance, 2021-2023. The table reports the commercial-auto line, not truck-only policies.
Within that broader line, U.S. commercial-auto liability premiums were $35,469,922 million in 2021, $39,382,484 million in 2022 and $42,508,430 million in 2023. Collision and comprehensive premiums were $11,119,835 million, $12,274,900 million and $13,284,964 million in those same years.
Commercial auto represented 6.5% of total U.S. property/casualty premiums in 2023, according to the same Insurance Information Institute table. Liability, collision and comprehensive figures should not be read as truck-only totals because the line includes more commercial vehicles.
Truck Insurance Cost Trends per Mile and by Fleet Size
ATRI’s 2024 research uses respondent-based motor-carrier data and per-mile measures. It reported average liability insurance cost of 10.2 cents per mile in 2024, while liability premium cost increased 18.6% from 2021 to 2024.
The same research said trucking liability premium growth outpaced its consumer-inflation benchmark by 5.4 percentage points from 2021 to 2024. Per-mile liability losses increased 33.1% over that period among the respondents.
| Coverage measure | 2024 cost | Change from 2021 to 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Liability insurance | 10.2 cents per mile | Premium cost +18.6% |
| $5 million-$10 million excess layer | 1.58 cents per mile | +34% |
| $10 million-$15 million excess layer | 1.05 cents per mile | +45% |
Source: New ATRI Research Analyzes Motor Carrier Responses to Rising Insurance Costs. The excess-layer figures cover only those layers, and ATRI’s results are not an all-carrier census.
ATRI also reported that fleets reducing total purchased coverage had a 2.4% average subsequent reduction in combined liability losses and premium costs after inflation adjustment. That association is not a randomized causal estimate, and liability premium cost is not total insurance cost.
Federal Truck Insurance Minimums by Carrier and Cargo
FMCSA’s insurance chart shown in March 2026 distinguishes financial-responsibility requirements by carrier, vehicle and cargo category. These are federal minimums, not typical premiums or recommended purchased limits.
| Carrier or cargo category | Federal minimum shown | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| For-hire interstate general freight | $750,000 BIPD | Regulated U.S. interstate carriers |
| For-hire non-hazardous property, under 10,001 pounds GVWR | $300,000 BIPD | Where the entire fleet is below the threshold |
| For-hire non-hazardous property, at or above 10,001 pounds GVWR | $750,000 BIPD | Federal minimum |
| Certain hazardous-material carriers | $1 million BIPD | Cargo-specific category |
| Explosives, poison gas or radioactive materials | $5 million BIPD | For-hire and private hazmat carriers |
| For-hire household goods, at or above 10,001 pounds GVWR | $5,000 cargo insurance | Separate cargo requirement; BIPD minimum is $750,000 |
Source: Insurance Filing Requirements. Requirements vary by authority, cargo and vehicle category.
The same FMCSA material lists a $75,000 bond or trust requirement for property brokers and freight forwarders. That is financial security for intermediaries, not truck liability insurance.
Historically, before October 1, 2013, the property-broker minimum was $10,000, or $25,000 for household-goods brokers, while freight forwarders had a $0 minimum financial-responsibility requirement. These are historical requirements and should not be treated as current limits.
Coverage Adequacy, Inflation and Financial Responsibility
FMCSA’s May 2022 report compared the purchasing power of federal limits with medical and core CPI from 1985 through 2019. Medical CPI rose 4.6% annually, versus 2.6% annually for core CPI, and medical CPI outpaced overall inflation in 32 of the 35 years.
| Historical limit | 2019 dollars using core CPI | 2019 dollars using medical CPI |
|---|---|---|
| $750,000 general-freight limit | $1,763,317 | $3,360,687 |
| $1 million low-hazardous-materials limit | $2,351,089 | $4,480,916 |
| $5 million high-hazardous-materials limit | $11,755,444 | $22,404,581 |
Source: Final Letters and Report – May 2022. These are inflation-adjusted comparisons, not new legal limits.
The report summarized a Volpe 2013 estimate that catastrophic crashes exceeding current financial-responsibility minimums represented less than 1% of all commercial-motor-vehicle crashes. In the same study summary, severe and critical injury crash damages could exceed $1 million.
FMCSA also noted that comprehensive premium data for higher limits were unavailable and that underwriting is carrier-specific. The available evidence therefore supports comparisons of required limits and selected outcomes, not a uniform premium estimate for higher coverage.
Truck Crash, Claim and Liability Statistics
The FMCSA report defines a large truck as a vehicle with GVWR over 10,000 pounds. Observed U.S. large-truck crash counts rose from 434,000 in 2016 to 450,000 in 2017, 499,000 in 2018 and 510,000 in 2019.
| Year | Large-truck crashes | Fatal crashes involving large trucks |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 434,000 | 4,177 |
| 2017 | 450,000 | 4,366 |
| 2018 | 499,000 | 4,415 |
| 2019 | 510,000 | 4,479 |
Source: Final Letters and Report – May 2022. The counts cover U.S. large trucks, not every insured commercial vehicle.
An ISO-based analysis using 2006-2011 data recorded 85,632 reported crashes and $961,591,721 in incurred claims. For large-truck policies over 26,000 pounds, the reported chance of a claim exceeding $500,000 was 1.40%, exceeding $1 million was 0.73% and exceeding $2 million was 0.31%.
Those ISO findings came from two of the 10 largest trucking insurers and exclude umbrella and excess coverage. FMCSA’s report also says several external-study findings were not independently verified by FMCSA.
Truck Insurance Settlements, Verdicts and Risk Outcomes
A Trucking Alliance review tracked 8,692 accident settlements from 2005 to 2011 among member companies. The review estimated that 42% of monetary exposure would have exceeded $750,000 coverage under its minimum-limit assumption.
An ISO review found that 6.5% of large-truck policies were written below $1 million limits, 83% were written at $1 million limits and 10.5% were written above $1 million. The analysis used 2006-2011 data for large trucks over 26,000 pounds and excluded umbrella and excess coverage.
ATRI’s review of 600 trucking litigation cases found a $3.1 million mean jury award for awards over $1 million from 2006 to 2018, with a $1.75 million median. These figures describe cases selected for having jury awards over $1 million, not all trucking claims.
Verdicts over $1 million increased from 79 cases in 2005-2011 to 265 cases in 2012-2019, a reported 235% increase. The compared periods have different lengths and case-collection periods, so the counts are not annualized rates.
The average verdict was $22.3 million over 2010-2018, versus $3.1 million over 2006-2018. Both figures concern awards over $1 million and are period-specific averages.
These settlement and verdict datasets can be selective, and many settlements are confidential. Their value is in showing measured exposure in defined samples, not in establishing a universal probability or a typical truck-insurance claim outcome.