“Primary liability” is trucking shorthand for commercial auto liability that applies on a primary basis to a covered loss. It may pay covered sums the insured legally must pay because of bodily injury or property damage caused by an accident involving a covered auto. The actual policy—not the shorthand—controls who and what is insured.
A commercial auto coverage form generally addresses third-party bodily injury and property damage arising from ownership, maintenance, or use of covered autos. It may also provide a defense against a covered suit. The limit, defense wording, coverage territory, vehicle symbols, definitions, exclusions, and endorsements must all be read together.
Confirm that the correct legal entity is the named insured, each required power unit is covered, regular drivers are disclosed, and any lessor, lender, or motor carrier has the status required by the contract and endorsement. A certificate alone does not add an insured or change a vehicle symbol.
Federal rules require financial responsibility rather than insurance in every case; authorized self-insurance and surety methods may also be available. For a for-hire carrier transporting nonhazardous property in interstate or foreign commerce in a vehicle with a GVWR of 10,001 pounds or more, 49 CFR 387.9 generally sets a $750,000 minimum. The same table sets $1 million or $5 million minimums for specified hazardous operations.
The table is not a universal requirement for every commercial vehicle. Type of carriage, interstate or intrastate operation, vehicle weight, and commodity determine which row applies. Passenger carriers use a different table.
Florida Statute 627.7415 currently lists combined bodily-injury and property-damage minimums of $50,000 per occurrence for covered commercial motor vehicles from 26,000 to under 35,000 pounds; $100,000 from 35,000 to under 44,000 pounds; and $300,000 at 44,000 pounds or more. Vehicles subject to federal Part 387 must meet the applicable federal amount. Florida's enacted 2026 amendment changes the scope effective October 1, 2026, so policies and operations spanning that date require a current legal check.
When operating authority requires proof of public-liability financial responsibility, a registered provider submits the applicable BMC-91, BMC-91X, or BMC-82 to FMCSA. When insurance is used to satisfy the applicable Motor Carrier Act requirement, the MCS-90 is attached to the policy.
The MCS-90 is not the electronic operating-authority filing and is not ordinary first-party coverage. Subject to its wording, it can require the insurer to pay certain final judgments for public liability within the stated limit even if the policy would not otherwise cover the loss. It excludes cargo and injury to the insured's employees, and the insured may have to reimburse the insurer for amounts paid only because of the endorsement.
A liability policy also may exclude intentional injury, workers' compensation obligations, damage to property owned or transported by the insured, and other listed exposures. The exact form and endorsements control.
A statutory minimum is not automatically the appropriate risk limit. A shipper, broker, lease, or customer may require a different amount or specific endorsement. An umbrella or excess policy may sit above auto liability only if the auto policy is scheduled and the required underlying limit is maintained.
Report it promptly under the policy's notice instructions, protect people and property, preserve dash-camera and electronic data, photograph the scene when safe, and do not promise payment or admit coverage. Give the insurer legal papers immediately. Coverage and fault are separate questions and should be investigated on the actual facts.
To compare liability forms and the rest of the trucking program, start a trucking insurance quote. Include the authority, vehicles, drivers, commodities, radius, contracts, and current loss runs.
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