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Trucking & Transportation

Motor Truck Cargo Insurance
— Protecting the Load,
Not Just the Truck.

Your commercial auto policy covers the truck. It does not cover the freight inside it. When a load is lost, damaged, or stolen in your care — the shipper holds you responsible. Motor truck cargo insurance is what covers that liability so the cost doesn’t come out of your operation.

What Motor Truck Cargo Insurance Covers

Coverage for the freight you’re hauling — from the moment you take possession to the moment it’s delivered.

Motor truck cargo insurance covers a carrier’s legal liability for freight in their care, custody, and control that is lost, damaged, or destroyed while in transit. When a shipper entrusts their goods to your truck, they’re also entrusting you with the financial responsibility for those goods. If something happens to that freight — an accident, a fire, a theft, a load shift — the carrier is liable for the value of the damaged or lost cargo.

The Carmack Amendment — the federal law that governs interstate freight liability — establishes that carriers are presumed liable for cargo loss or damage unless they can prove one of a limited set of legal defenses. That means the burden of proof is on the carrier, not the shipper. A damaged load is your problem to resolve, and the cost of that resolution without cargo coverage comes entirely out of your operation.

Motor truck cargo insurance is required by most shippers and brokers as a condition of doing business — it’s a standard freight contract requirement alongside commercial auto and general liability. For any trucking operation hauling freight on behalf of others, cargo coverage is not optional.

“Your commercial auto pays when you damage someone else’s property in an accident. Your cargo policy pays when the freight you’re responsible for is damaged, lost, or stolen — whether there’s an accident or not. Both are essential. Neither covers what the other does.”

Cargo policies are typically written with a per-occurrence limit — the maximum the policy pays on any single load — and an annual aggregate. The right per-occurrence limit depends on the maximum value of any single load your operation hauls. A carrier hauling electronics or high-value goods needs a higher per-occurrence limit than one hauling construction materials.

What motor truck cargo covers:

✓
Cargo damaged in an accident
Freight that is physically damaged as a result of a collision, rollover, or other accident involving the hauling vehicle
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Cargo lost in a fire
Freight destroyed in a vehicle fire while in transit — one of the most total and most costly cargo loss events
✓
Theft of cargo
Freight stolen from the vehicle or trailer — including cargo theft at truck stops, rest areas, and unattended parking locations
✓
Load shift and damage in transit
Freight damaged from shifting, vibration, or improper securing during transit — a common cause of cargo claims on long hauls
✓
Refrigeration breakdown (reefer)
Temperature-sensitive cargo lost when refrigeration equipment fails during transit, on policies written for reefer operations
✓
Loading and unloading damage
Freight damaged during the loading or unloading process — when the carrier is actively handling the goods rather than just transporting them

Carrier Liability for Cargo — How Federal Law Works

Federal law presumes the carrier is responsible for cargo loss or damage. Here’s what that means in practice.

The Carmack Amendment to the Interstate Commerce Act is the federal law that governs cargo liability for interstate motor carriers. Understanding it is fundamental to understanding why cargo coverage is non-negotiable for any carrier hauling freight for others.

Carriers are presumed liable

Under the Carmack Amendment, a carrier is presumed liable for cargo loss or damage unless they can prove one of five specific legal defenses: act of God, act of public enemy, act of the shipper, act of public authority, or the inherent vice or nature of the goods. In practice, these defenses are narrow and rarely apply. If freight is damaged in your truck, the default legal position is that you’re responsible for it.

Liability runs from pickup to delivery

Carrier liability for cargo attaches the moment the carrier takes possession of the freight at pickup and runs until delivery is completed and acknowledged. Cargo that is damaged while staged overnight, during a relay handoff, or while stored at a terminal during a multi-day haul is the carrier’s responsibility throughout — not just while the truck is moving.

Shippers can — and do — recover from carriers

Shippers and their insurers actively pursue carriers for cargo loss and damage. When a shipper’s cargo insurer pays a cargo claim, they typically subrogate against the carrier — pursuing recovery directly from the responsible party. A carrier without cargo insurance facing a subrogation claim from a shipper’s insurer has few options beyond paying out of pocket or disputing a claim they’re likely to lose under the Carmack framework.

Commercial Auto vs. Motor Truck Cargo — Two Different Policies for Two Different Exposures

The truck and the freight are covered by completely separate policies. Both are required. Neither covers what the other does.

This is the most common misunderstanding in trucking insurance — carriers assume commercial auto covers the freight, or that cargo covers the vehicle. Neither is true.

Commercial Auto Insurance

Covers the truck and third-party liability from accidents

Commercial auto covers your vehicle — physical damage to the truck itself — and your liability to others for bodily injury and property damage caused by an accident. If your truck hits another vehicle, commercial auto covers the other driver’s injuries and vehicle damage. It does not cover the freight inside your trailer.

Example: A carrier’s truck is involved in a collision. Commercial auto covers the damage to the truck, the other vehicle, and any injuries to third parties. The damaged freight inside the trailer is not covered — that’s a motor truck cargo claim.
Motor Truck Cargo Insurance

Covers the freight in your care, custody, and control

Motor truck cargo covers the shipper’s goods while they’re in your possession — from pickup through delivery. It covers damage, loss, and theft of the freight itself. It does not cover the truck, third-party injuries, or your liability to other drivers. It covers your liability to the shipper for their goods.

Example: In the same collision, the freight inside the trailer — $80,000 in electronics — is destroyed. The commercial auto policy covers the truck and third-party claims. The motor truck cargo policy covers the carrier’s liability to the shipper for the $80,000 in destroyed freight.

The complete trucking program: Commercial auto + motor truck cargo + general liability + physical damage. Each covers a distinct exposure. A carrier missing any one of these has a gap that the others don’t fill.

Types of Freight We Cover

Cargo coverage is tailored to what you haul — different commodities, different risks, different policy requirements.

Cargo policies are commodity-specific — what you haul determines your rate, your coverage terms, and what exclusions may apply. We write cargo for a broad range of freight types across Texas and beyond.

General Freight

Palletized goods, dry goods, manufactured products, and mixed loads — the most common cargo type for OTR and regional carriers.

Construction Materials

Lumber, steel, pipe, roofing, and building materials — including oversize and heavy haul loads common in the Texas construction market.

Refrigerated Cargo (Reefer)

Temperature-sensitive freight — food, produce, dairy, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals — requiring reefer trailer coverage including refrigeration breakdown.

Landscaping & Green Goods

Plants, sod, nursery stock, mulch, and landscaping materials — common cargo for carriers serving the landscaping and nursery industry in Texas.

Equipment & Machinery

Construction equipment, agricultural machinery, and industrial equipment transported on flatbeds or lowboys — often high-value loads requiring specific per-occurrence limits.

Household Goods

Personal property transported by moving companies — a specialty cargo class with specific coverage requirements and valuation rules different from commercial freight.

Auto Transport

New and used vehicles transported on car haulers and auto transport trailers — a specialized cargo class with specific coverage for vehicles being shipped as freight.

High-Value Commodities

Electronics, medical equipment, alcohol, tobacco, and other high-theft-risk or high-value commodities requiring higher per-occurrence limits and specific security requirements.

Real Scenarios.

Cargo losses that happen to carriers — and what coverage determines.

01
A load of electronics is stolen from a truck stop overnight
A carrier stops at a truck stop in East Texas and the trailer is broken into overnight. $120,000 in consumer electronics is stolen. The commercial auto policy covers the trailer itself — not the contents. Without motor truck cargo coverage, the carrier owes the shipper $120,000 out of pocket. With it, the cargo policy pays the claim up to the per-occurrence limit. Cargo theft is one of the most frequent and most costly claims in the trucking industry — and one of the clearest cases for adequate cargo limits.

03
Refrigeration fails and a reefer load is lost
A carrier hauling frozen food product experiences a reefer unit failure during a long haul overnight. The load — several pallets of frozen protein — is a complete loss by morning. Reefer cargo coverage with a refrigeration breakdown endorsement covers the loss of the temperature-sensitive cargo when the refrigeration system fails. Without it, the carrier absorbs the full value of the spoiled load, which can easily reach $30,000–$80,000 on a full reefer haul.

05
A load shifts and damages both freight and trailer interior
An improperly secured load shifts during a hard braking event, damaging both the freight and the interior of the trailer. The freight damage is a cargo claim against the carrier’s motor truck cargo policy. The trailer interior damage may be a physical damage claim against the commercial auto policy if it’s covered as the carrier’s own property. Both policies work together — neither covers what the other does.

02
A rollover damages a full load of construction materials
A flatbed carrier loses control on a wet highway and rolls the truck, destroying the entire load of steel and lumber. Commercial auto handles the truck, the accident liability, and any third-party injuries. The motor truck cargo policy covers the carrier’s liability to the shipper for the destroyed freight. Without cargo coverage, the carrier pays the full value of the destroyed load — which on a fully loaded flatbed can easily exceed $50,000.

04
A shipper’s insurer subrogates against a carrier after a loss
A carrier is involved in an accident that damages the freight. The shipper files a claim under their own cargo insurance. The shipper’s insurer pays the claim — and then pursues subrogation against the carrier under the Carmack Amendment. The carrier faces a formal subrogation demand for the full value of the freight plus legal costs. The carrier’s motor truck cargo policy responds to the subrogation claim. Without it, the carrier faces the demand with no insurance backstop.

06
A broker requires higher cargo limits to award a load
A carrier is offered a high-value load through a broker. The broker’s requirements specify $250,000 in cargo coverage — the carrier’s current policy has a $100,000 per-occurrence limit. Without the higher limit, the carrier can’t take the load. Cargo limits that reflect the actual value of freight you haul — or want to haul — are both a coverage necessity and a business development tool. We help carriers match their limits to the freight opportunities they’re pursuing.

Why Get Your Cargo Coverage Through McKnight

Trucking insurance is a specialty — and cargo is one of the most commodity-specific coverages in the program.

Cargo insurance isn’t a standard product that prices and covers the same regardless of what you haul. The commodity matters — electronics, food, chemicals, construction materials, and household goods all have different theft risk profiles, different damage frequencies, and different coverage requirements. The right cargo policy for a reefer carrier looks different from the right policy for a flatbed hauling steel. We write cargo for the commodities you actually haul, not a generic policy that may have exclusions for your freight type buried in the fine print.

We also help carriers think through their per-occurrence limit relative to the maximum value of any single load they haul — and relative to the broker and shipper requirements in their lane. A carrier whose freight consistently runs $75,000–$100,000 per load needs a different limit than one hauling $20,000 loads. And a carrier pursuing higher-value freight opportunities needs to match their cargo limits to the requirements before bidding on those loads.

As an independent agency with experience in the Texas transportation market, we build complete trucking programs — commercial auto, cargo, general liability, and physical damage — through carriers that understand the specific exposures of the trucking industry. We don’t assemble trucking programs from general commercial carriers; we place them with markets that underwrite trucking specifically.

Commodity-specific coverage
We write cargo for what you actually haul — not a generic policy with exclusions for your freight type buried in the terms.

Limits matched to your loads
We match per-occurrence limits to the actual value of freight you haul — and to the broker and shipper requirements you need to meet.

Complete trucking programs
Auto, cargo, GL, physical damage — we build the full program through carriers that underwrite trucking specifically.

Real answers when you call
817.277.6166, weekdays 8:30–5pm. A cargo claim on the road, a broker requirement, or a new load type — we pick up.

FAQ

Motor truck cargo questions we hear all the time.

What is motor truck cargo insurance and who needs it?
Motor truck cargo insurance covers a carrier’s legal liability for freight in their care, custody, and control that is lost, damaged, or destroyed while in transit. Any carrier hauling freight on behalf of others — owner-operators, small fleets, and large carriers alike — needs cargo coverage. Without it, the carrier is personally responsible for the full value of any freight that is lost, damaged, or stolen while in their possession. Federal law presumes the carrier is liable for cargo loss, making cargo insurance a financial necessity for any trucking operation.
Does my commercial auto policy cover the freight I’m hauling?
No — commercial auto covers the truck and your liability to others for bodily injury and property damage from accidents. It does not cover freight inside the trailer. The two coverages address completely different exposures: commercial auto covers the vehicle and accident liability; motor truck cargo covers the shipper’s goods in your possession. A trucking operation needs both — neither substitutes for the other.
What is the Carmack Amendment and how does it affect me?
The Carmack Amendment is the federal law that governs cargo liability for interstate motor carriers. Under Carmack, a carrier is presumed legally liable for cargo loss or damage unless they can prove one of a narrow set of defenses — act of God, public enemy, act of the shipper, public authority, or inherent vice of the goods. In practice these defenses rarely apply. When freight in your trailer is damaged, the legal presumption is that you’re responsible for it. This is why cargo coverage is not optional for carriers hauling interstate freight — the federal liability framework assumes you’ll pay.
How much cargo coverage do I need?
Your per-occurrence limit should reflect the maximum value of any single load you haul. A carrier regularly hauling loads valued at $75,000–$100,000 needs at least that much in per-occurrence coverage. You also need to meet the requirements of the brokers and shippers you work with — many specify minimum cargo limits in their contracts, often $100,000 or higher for general freight and more for high-value commodities. We look at your typical load values and the requirements of your lane partners and recommend limits that cover both your actual exposure and your business requirements.
Does cargo insurance cover theft at a truck stop?
Yes — cargo theft is a covered cause of loss under most motor truck cargo policies, including theft while the vehicle is parked at a truck stop, rest area, or other location. Some policies have specific requirements for theft coverage — locked vehicles, attended vehicles, or specific security measures for high-value commodities like electronics. For carriers hauling high-theft-risk commodities, it’s important to verify that the cargo policy’s theft coverage terms don’t have conditions that would exclude an unattended overnight theft claim. We review these terms specifically for carriers hauling theft-risk freight.
Does cargo insurance cover reefer breakdown on temperature-sensitive loads?
Standard cargo policies cover physical damage to freight but may exclude temperature-sensitive cargo loss caused by reefer unit failure without a specific refrigeration breakdown endorsement. For reefer carriers, this endorsement is essential — it covers the loss of temperature-sensitive cargo when the refrigeration system fails during transit. Some policies also require pre-trip inspection documentation of the reefer unit’s operating temperature before the endorsement will respond to a breakdown claim. We make sure reefer operators have the right endorsement and understand the documentation requirements that apply.
What commodities are typically excluded from cargo coverage?
Standard cargo policies typically exclude certain high-risk commodities — often including money and currency, jewelry and precious metals, fine art, live animals, and certain hazardous materials. Some policies also exclude specific freight types based on the carrier’s stated operations — a policy written for a general freight carrier may not automatically cover a load of electronics or pharmaceuticals without specific endorsement. This is why it’s important to disclose what you actually haul when placing cargo coverage — a claim on an excluded commodity type is a denied claim. We make sure your policy covers the commodities in your operation.

Get Started

Let’s make sure your loads are covered — not just your truck.

Call us or request a quote. We’ll build the right cargo program for what you haul, match your limits to your loads and broker requirements, and put the full trucking program together in one place.

McKnight Insurance Services  ·  Mansfield, TX  ·  Weekdays 8:30am–5pm