Here's something that catches a lot of trucking companies off guard: your commercial auto liability policy—the one the FMCSA requires you to carry—doesn't protect you from every lawsuit your business might face. Let's say you're delivering freight to a warehouse and accidentally knock over an expensive display with your hand truck. Or a customer visits your office, trips on a loose floor mat, and breaks their ankle. Your truck insurance? It won't pay a dime for those claims. That's where general liability insurance comes in.
If you run a trucking or transportation business, you're managing risks both on the road and off it. General liability insurance fills the gaps your commercial auto policy leaves behind, covering the day-to-day business activities that happen when you're not actually driving—meeting with clients, loading and unloading cargo, maintaining an office or warehouse space, and marketing your services. Let's break down exactly what this coverage does, why you need it, and how much it actually costs.
What General Liability Insurance Actually Covers
Think of general liability as your safety net for everything that happens outside your cab. This coverage protects your company from lawsuits involving bodily injury and property damage to third parties during your regular business operations—just not the ones directly related to driving your truck.
Here's what a standard general liability policy covers for trucking businesses: bodily injury to customers or other third parties at your business location or job sites, property damage you cause while conducting business (like damaging a client's loading dock during delivery), personal and advertising injury (including libel, slander, or copyright infringement in your marketing), and medical payments for minor injuries regardless of who's at fault. The policy also includes damage to rented premises—if you lease office or warehouse space and accidentally cause fire damage, your general liability policy typically covers up to seven days of property damage. Many commercial landlords actually require this coverage in your lease agreement.
What general liability doesn't cover is equally important to understand. Your cargo while it's in your care, custody, and control requires separate cargo insurance or warehouse legal liability coverage. Injuries to your own employees fall under workers' compensation insurance. And most importantly, any liability arising from actually operating your truck on public roads is covered by your commercial auto liability policy, not general liability.
Why Trucking Companies Need General Liability
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration doesn't require general liability insurance—but that doesn't mean you can skip it. Here's why most trucking companies carry it anyway.
First, your business partners will demand it. Shippers, brokers, and warehouse facilities routinely require trucking companies to provide certificates of insurance showing general liability coverage before they'll work with you. These certificates prove you can cover damages if something goes wrong during a pickup or delivery. Without this coverage, you'll lose business opportunities—simple as that.
Second, the off-road risks are real and expensive. Consider these common scenarios: you're at a shipper's dock and accidentally damage their equipment with a forklift while loading. A client visits your office to sign contracts and trips over equipment, requiring surgery. You deliver a shipment to the wrong address, and the recipient's property is damaged when they try to return it. A competitor claims your advertising uses their trademarked slogan. None of these situations involve your truck moving down the highway, so your commercial auto policy won't respond. But each one could cost you tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and settlements.
Third, if you operate warehousing, logistics, or freight brokerage services alongside your trucking operation, your exposure multiplies. Loading and unloading operations, cross-docking activities, temporary storage, and customer meetings all create liability risks that extend beyond what happens on the road. General liability insurance is the standard business coverage that addresses these everyday risks.
Standard Coverage Limits and What They Mean
The industry standard for general liability insurance in trucking is a $1 million per occurrence limit with a $2 million aggregate limit. Here's what those numbers actually mean for your business.
The per occurrence limit—typically $1 million—is the maximum your insurance will pay for a single incident, no matter how many people are injured or how much property is damaged. If someone sues you for $1.5 million after a slip-and-fall at your facility, your insurance pays the first $1 million, and you're personally responsible for the remaining $500,000.
The aggregate limit—typically $2 million—is the total amount your policy will pay for all claims during your policy year. Once you hit that aggregate, you're on your own for any additional claims until your policy renews. This is why some larger trucking operations purchase excess liability or umbrella coverage in $1 million increments. Carriers like Great West Casualty offer up to $4 million in excess limits that sit on top of your base general liability policy, giving you additional protection if you face multiple large claims in a single year.
Most general liability policies also include a $750 deductible, meaning you pay the first $750 of each claim out of pocket. That's a small price compared to what you'd face without coverage—a single premises liability lawsuit can easily generate $50,000 to $100,000 in legal defense costs alone, even if you win the case.
What You'll Actually Pay for Coverage
The good news: general liability insurance is one of the more affordable coverages for trucking companies. According to 2025 industry data, trucking businesses pay an average of $51 per month—about $606 annually—for general liability coverage with the standard $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate limits. Nearly half of trucking companies (46%) pay less than $50 per month, and 70% pay less than $100 monthly.
Your actual premium depends on several factors: the size of your operation (more trucks and employees mean higher premiums), the types of services you provide (warehousing and logistics increase your risk profile), your claims history (even one large claim can spike your rates for years), and your annual revenue (insurers assume higher revenue means more exposure). Some carriers report premium ranges between $3,600 and $7,200 annually for larger operations or those with more complex exposures.
You can reduce your costs through bundling and smart payment choices. Purchasing general liability, commercial auto, and cargo coverage from the same carrier typically saves 10-20% on your total premiums. Paying your annual premium in full instead of monthly installments saves another 5-10%—that's $250 to $500 back in your pocket on a $5,000 annual premium. Many insurers also offer discounts for implementing safety programs, maintaining a claims-free record, or installing security systems at your facilities.
Getting the Right Coverage for Your Operation
Don't think of general liability as optional add-on coverage. It's a fundamental business insurance that protects assets your commercial auto policy doesn't touch—your business reputation, your physical location, your customer relationships, and your bank account when someone gets hurt during non-driving operations.
Start by talking with an insurance agent or broker who specializes in trucking and transportation. They'll help you identify your specific exposures—do you operate a warehouse? Meet clients at your office? Provide loading and unloading services? Each activity affects what coverage you need. Be upfront about your operations, because failing to disclose something can give your insurer grounds to deny a claim later.
Review your coverage annually, especially if your business is growing. That $1 million per occurrence limit might have been plenty when you ran two trucks, but if you've expanded to ten trucks and added warehousing services, you may need higher limits or additional coverage types like warehouse legal liability insurance. And whenever you bid on a new contract, check the insurance requirements carefully—some shippers require $2 million or even $5 million in general liability coverage before they'll put you on their approved carrier list.
Bottom line: general liability insurance costs a fraction of what you pay for commercial auto coverage, but it protects you from risks that could put you out of business just as quickly as a major truck accident. For less than the cost of a couple tanks of diesel each month, you get protection from lawsuits, peace of mind with your customers, and the ability to compete for contracts that require proof of coverage. That's a bargain worth taking.
