Coverage guide

Truck physical damage insurance

For owner-operators and small fleets who need to protect their own tractors, straight trucks and trailers: what collision and comprehensive pay for, what they cost and who requires them.

Independent brokerage: we compare several insurers
Licensed agents review every application
No cost and no obligation to buy

Get truck physical damage insurance quotes

What similar businesses pay

Physical damage: $1,500–$4,000 a year
Liability and physical damage: $734–$926 a month
All insurance, leased-on owner-operator: $300–$400 a month

Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.

Cost

What truck physical damage insurance costs

$1,500–$4,000 a year

Physical damage

Schneider owner-operator estimate, September 2023, repeated by Insurify, November 2025

$734–$926 a month

Liability and physical damage

Progressive Commercial 2025 average new-policy premium per power unit, no driver violations

$300–$400 a month

All insurance, leased-on owner-operator

Schneider estimate per truck, September 2023

Physical damage is priced mainly on the value you insure. Progressive asks for a stated amount, your best estimate of the truck’s current value, and bases the premium on it. Schneider estimates owner-operators pay $1,500 to $4,000 a year for physical damage, a range Insurify still cited in November 2025. Progressive’s 2025 averages of $734 to $926 a month per power unit combine liability and physical damage, so the physical damage share is smaller. A late-model tractor with a low deductible sits at the top of the range. A paid-off older truck may not need the coverage at all, since it is optional once there is no loan or lease.

What moves your price

The stated amount you put on each tractor, straight truck and trailer
The deductible you choose for collision and for comprehensive
Full comprehensive versus the narrower fire and theft with CAC
Where the truck is parked overnight and its exposure to theft and hail
Driver records, years of experience and your own claims history
Permanently attached equipment and upgrades included in the value

Who it’s for

Who needs truck physical damage insurance

Your truck is financed or leased

Progressive says physical damage is usually required for a truck with an outstanding loan or lease, and Schneider lists it as an owner-operator cost under the equipment finance agreement. Once the truck is paid off, the coverage becomes optional.

An at-fault crash or rollover

When you cause the accident, no one else’s insurer pays to fix your rig, and your liability coverage only pays for damage to others. Collision pays when your truck hits another vehicle or object or overturns, including single-vehicle wrecks such as sliding off an icy road.

A tractor or trailer is stolen

NICB counted 8,676 cargo vehicle thefts in 2017, about 24 a day, with most on weekdays. Comprehensive or fire and theft with CAC pays to replace a stolen truck up to the stated amount, minus your deductible.

Hail, flood, fire or a deer strike

Comprehensive covers non-collision losses: Progressive lists fire, theft, vandalism, windstorm, hitting an animal and glass breakage. Its fire and theft with CAC form also names hail, flood, earthquake, lightning and explosion.

You owe more than the truck is worth

After a total loss, Progressive pays the lesser of the stated amount and actual cash value. If your loan balance is higher, the difference is yours unless your policy includes gap or financed value cover.

Coverage

What truck physical damage insurance covers

Collision

Pays to repair or replace your truck when it collides with another vehicle or object or overturns, whoever is at fault. Progressive requires comprehensive or fire and theft with CAC to buy it.

Comprehensive

Covers almost everything except a collision: theft, fire, vandalism, windstorm, animal strikes and broken glass. Progressive notes some states offer full glass protection or no glass deductible.

Fire and theft with CAC

A cheaper named-perils version of comprehensive built for heavy trucks. It covers fire, theft, wind, hail, flood, vandalism and animal strikes, but not windshield claims.

Owned trailers

Each trailer you own can be scheduled with its own value and deductible. Progressive applies a combined single deductible, so when a tractor and trailer are damaged in one accident you pay only the highest applicable deductible.

Trailer interchange

Your physical damage does not cover trailers or containers you don’t own. Trailer interchange covers them under an interchange agreement, where the trucker in possession is typically responsible for damage.

Physical damage only policy

Useful when the carrier you are leased to provides liability: Progressive sells a policy with just collision and either comprehensive or fire and theft with CAC.

Downtime and roadside add-ons

Standard business auto towing covers only private passenger vehicles. Progressive’s heavy truck roadside pays up to $500 labor and $5,000 towing per breakdown with a $250 deductible, and rental reimbursement with downtime can replace income for up to 30 days.

What it doesn’t cover

Injuries and damage you cause to others, which auto liability covers
Wear and tear, freezing and mechanical or electrical breakdown
Blowouts, punctures and other road damage to tires, unless the whole truck is stolen
Trailers and containers you don’t own, unless you add trailer interchange
Loss in resale value after a repair (diminution in value)
Audio, video and data electronics that are not permanently installed, and radar detectors
The freight you haul, which needs motor truck cargo coverage

Rules

Requirements and filings

No federal or state law makes you insure your own truck against damage; government minimums cover harm to others. The requirement usually comes from contracts: your lender or lessor, your lease with a motor carrier and any trailer interchange agreement.

Requirement	Applies to	What it means
Government minimums	All commercial trucks	Federal and state laws require liability for injuries and damage you cause to others. Insureon notes states don’t usually require collision or comprehensive.
Truck loan or equipment lease	Financed or leased tractors, straight trucks and trailers	Progressive says physical damage is usually required with an outstanding loan or lease and is optional once the truck is paid off.
Lease with a motor carrier	Owner-operators leased onto an authorized carrier	49 CFR 376.12(j)(1) requires the lease to say who provides insurance beyond the carrier’s public liability and any amount charged back to you.
Insurance bought through the carrier	Owner-operators who buy physical damage from or through their carrier	Under 49 CFR 376.12(j)(2), the carrier must give you a certificate listing the insurer, policy number, coverage, your cost and deductible, plus a copy of the policy on request.
Trailer interchange agreement	Truckers pulling trailers or containers they don’t own	The trucker in possession is typically responsible for damage, and standard physical damage excludes non-owned trailers, per Progressive. Trailer interchange fills that gap.
Stated amount	Heavy trucks quoted on a stated-amount basis	Progressive requires your best estimate of current value, including permanently attached equipment, and pays the lesser of that amount and actual cash value at claim time.

Compare truck physical damage insurance options.

One application, quotes from several insurers, reviewed by a licensed agent. Start with your email and finish later if you need to.

Pay less

How to lower the cost

Raise the deductible to one you could pay at any time; Progressive calls it an easy way to lower the price.
Set an accurate stated amount using Price Digests, Truck Paper or a dealer, and lower it as the truck depreciates so you don’t pay for value you can’t collect.
Choose fire and theft with CAC instead of full comprehensive on a heavy truck if you can live without windshield claims.
Drop physical damage on paid-off older units you could afford to replace, as Insureon suggests some owners do.
Share ELD data: Progressive says new customers in its Smart Haul program saved an average of $1,261 between February and August 2025, and paying in full can save 10% or more.
Compare quotes at renewal; Florin is an independent broker that compares options from several insurers.

Before you start

What underwriters ask for

VIN, year, make, model and mileage for every truck and trailer
The stated amount for each unit and how you set it
Lienholder or lessor name, address and loan balance
Permanently attached equipment, upgrades and engine rebuilds
Where each truck is parked overnight
Driver list with license numbers, CDL class and years of experience
Loss runs from your current and prior insurers
Your lease with the carrier and any trailer interchange agreements

Common questions

Truck physical damage insurance: questions

Is physical damage insurance required for a semi truck?

Not by law. Federal and state rules require liability for harm to others, but your lender or lessor will usually require physical damage until the truck is paid off.

What is the difference between stated amount and actual cash value?

The stated amount is the value you declare when you buy the policy. Progressive pays the lesser of that figure and the truck’s actual cash value after a loss, so overstating the value raises your premium without raising the payout.

Does physical damage cover a blown engine or tires?

No. The standard business auto form excludes wear and tear and mechanical breakdown, and it excludes tire blowouts and punctures unless the whole truck is stolen.

Do I need physical damage if I am leased onto a carrier?

Usually yes, if your truck is financed. Schneider says leased owner-operators are typically responsible for their own physical damage, and 49 CFR 376.12(j) requires the lease to spell out who carries which insurance.

Should I buy comprehensive or fire and theft with CAC?

Fire and theft with CAC costs less because it covers only named perils such as fire, theft, hail, flood and vandalism. Comprehensive covers almost any non-collision loss, including windshield claims.

Does my policy cover a trailer I pull but don’t own?

No. Physical damage applies to the vehicles listed on your policy, so you need trailer interchange coverage for trailers or containers you pull under an interchange agreement.

Will insurance replace my income while my truck is in the shop?

Not under physical damage alone. Progressive’s rental reimbursement with downtime can replace lost income for up to 30 days when no rental truck is available, though not every truck type is eligible.

Get covered.

Tell us about your business once. We compare options and a licensed agent follows up, usually the same day.

Sources (15)

Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.