Car Shipping Insurance Explained: Coverage and Claims

Who is insuring the car

Three parties can be involved, and only one of them is actually on the hook for transit damage.

The carrier. The trucking company that loads your vehicle is legally responsible for it from the moment the driver signs the Bill of Lading at pickup until you sign at delivery. Carriers back that responsibility with a cargo insurance policy. Federal rules require cargo insurance filings only from household-goods movers (49 CFR 387.303(c)), so an auto carrier is not legally required to carry it, which is exactly why a reputable broker will not dispatch a load until a current certificate is on file.

The broker. A broker does not insure your car. What a broker holds is a $75,000 surety bond (form BMC-84) or an equivalent trust fund, a figure MAP-21 raised from $10,000 in 2013. That bond protects against the broker failing to pay a carrier or otherwise breaching its contractual duties. It is not damage coverage, and any company that describes its bond as protection for your vehicle is misleading you.

Your own auto policy. Some personal comprehensive policies extend to a vehicle in the care of a commercial carrier, and many do not. Call your insurer before pickup and ask specifically about transport by a third party. Do not assume either way. A car that spends the winter in Florida meets a separate state rule after 90 days, covered in shipping a car to Florida for the winter.

What the coverage limits look like

The cargo ranges below are common limits cited by trucking insurance agents (LogRock, Trucker Path Insurance); the carrier’s certificate shows the actual figure for your load.

Note the phrase per load. The cargo limit is shared by every vehicle on the trailer at the same time, not assigned to each one individually. On a full open hauler that matters if a single event damages several cars. For a vehicle worth more than a comfortable share of that limit, enclosed transport with a higher policy is the usual answer.

What is covered

Cargo policies respond to damage caused by the carrier’s handling of the vehicle. In practice that means:

• Scratches, scuffs and dents from loading, strapping or unloading.
• Damage from the vehicle shifting or contacting the trailer in transit.
• Broken glass or mirrors caused by carrier negligence.
• Fluid drips from vehicles on the upper deck of an open trailer.
• Theft of the vehicle while in the carrier’s custody.

What is usually not covered

Read the certificate and ask the carrier, because exclusions vary. These come up most often:

• Pre-existing damage. Anything already marked on the pickup BOL, or anything not marked on the delivery BOL.
• Personal items. Belongings inside the vehicle sit entirely outside the cargo policy.
• Weather and road debris on open trailers. Hail, dust, salt spray and small rock chips are often treated as ordinary exposure rather than negligence.
• Mechanical or electrical failure. A car that will not start at delivery is only a claim if the carrier caused the fault.
• Undercarriage contact. Low or modified cars can scrape on ramps, and many policies exclude this unless the driver was plainly careless.
• Aftermarket parts and loose accessories. Spoilers, racks, antennas and convertible tops are frequent exclusion items.
• Acts of God. Floods, tornadoes and similar events are commonly carved out.

Deductibles

Some carrier cargo policies carry a deductible, and some carriers try to pass that cost to the customer. Ask before pickup whether you would owe any deductible on a valid claim, and get the answer in writing from the broker or carrier. A careful broker can state the assigned carrier’s deductible position before pickup, so treat a vague answer as a reason to keep asking.

How to verify the coverage before pickup

1. Ask the broker for the carrier’s legal name and MC number.
2. Search the Licensing and Insurance system and confirm the insurance filings are active.
3. Request the carrier’s certificate of insurance and check that the named insured matches the MC record exactly.
4. Check the policy expiration date against your delivery date.
5. Confirm the cargo limit is at least the value of your vehicle plus a margin.

The company verifier walks through these lookups, and licensing and insurance explained covers what each filing type means.

How a claim works, step by step

The claim process is where preparation pays off. Most disputed claims fail because the damage was never written down at delivery, not because an insurer refused a documented loss.

1. Inspect before you sign. Walk the car in good light and compare it to the pickup BOL and your photos.
2. Write the damage on the delivery BOL. Be specific: panel, location, size. Have the driver sign next to it.
3. Photograph everything at delivery, including the truck and the driver’s copy of the BOL.
4. Notify the carrier and broker in writing the same day. Email is fine. Attach photos, the BOL and the vehicle details.
5. Get a repair estimate from a body shop and send it to the carrier’s claims contact or insurer.
6. Follow the federal timeline. Under 49 CFR Part 370, a carrier must acknowledge a written claim within 30 days and must pay, decline, or make a settlement offer within 120 days of receiving it.
7. Escalate if needed. If the carrier stalls or denies a documented claim, you can file with the FMCSA National Consumer Complaint Database, pursue the carrier’s insurer directly, involve your own insurer, or use small claims court.

Common claim mistakes

• Signing a clean delivery BOL and reporting damage the next morning. Without a note on the document, the carrier will argue the damage happened after delivery.
• Letting the driver leave before the inspection because it is dark or raining.
• Reporting to the broker only. The broker will help, but the claim has to reach the carrier in writing.
• Accepting a cash offer on the spot without a repair estimate.

Should you buy extra coverage?

For a daily driver on an open trailer, the carrier’s policy is normally sufficient. Consider more when the car is worth a large share of a typical open cargo limit, when it is a collector vehicle, or when it is going a long distance with many stops. Options include an enclosed carrier with a higher limit, a rider on your own policy for the transit period, or supplemental transit coverage offered through some brokers. Ask for the policy wording, not just a headline number.

A request through our quote form goes to one licensed auto transport broker. Before any money changes hands, ask that broker for the assigned carrier’s certificate of insurance and run it through the five verification steps above.

HaulFare is a price guide and referral service, not a broker or motor carrier. Quote requests go to our licensed transport partner, an FMCSA-licensed auto transport broker, who arranges transport with FMCSA-registered carriers. HaulFare receives a referral fee from our licensed transport partner; you pay HaulFare nothing.