About $909 a month
Commercial auto
Insureon median for box truck businesses, updated June 2025
Trucking and transportation
Box truck insurance
For owner-operators and small fleets running straight box trucks, with or without a CDL, on local delivery, expedited freight and final-mile routes.
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What similar businesses pay
- Commercial auto
- About $909 a month
- Workers’ comp
- About $673 a month
- General liability
- About $52 a month
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What box truck insurance costs
About $673 a month
Workers’ comp
Insureon median for box truck businesses, updated June 2025
About $52 a month
General liability
Insureon median for box truck businesses, updated June 2025
$926 a month
For-hire transport truck auto
Progressive Commercial average per power unit, 2025
Insureon’s medians for box truck businesses that apply for quotes through it come to about $10,910 a year for commercial auto, $8,080 for workers’ comp and $621 for general liability. Workers’ comp is the second-largest line, well above general liability, because drivers and helpers load and unload the freight themselves. Progressive’s 2025 averages, $926 a month for for-hire transport trucks and $734 for specialty trucks, are per power unit for new liability and physical damage policies with no driver violations. Progressive says box truck premiums depend on cargo, travel radius and the size of the truck.
What moves your price
- Truck size and weight rating, including whether it needs a CDL
- What you carry and the value of a single load
- Travel radius and the cities you run in
- Drivers’ safety records and any defensive driving training
- Payroll for drivers and helpers who handle freight
- Liability and cargo limits, and your deductibles
Risks
The risks insurers price for
Backing into cars and dock doors
Box trucks spend the day in city traffic, alleys and loading docks, so backing into a parked car or a dock door is a common claim.
Tall box meets low clearance
A box can strike a low canopy, a drive-through or a parking garage entrance. Damage to the truck generally falls on physical damage, and damage to the structure on auto liability, subject to policy terms.
Lifting and liftgate injuries
On multi-stop routes the driver handles the freight. Amazon Relay, for example, expects box truck drivers to bring a pallet jack and load straps and to load and unload freight themselves, so lifting and liftgate injuries fall on you and your helpers.
Medium trucks in serious crashes
NHTSA counts trucks rated 10,001 to 26,000 pounds as medium trucks. In 2023 they made up 29% of the large trucks involved in fatal crashes (1,535 trucks) and 39% of those in injury crashes.
Damaged or lost freight
A pallet shifts, a load gets wet or a delivery goes missing. Auto liability covers harm you cause to others, not the goods in the box, so cargo claims need their own coverage.
Coverage
Coverage to consider
Commercial auto liability
Pays for injuries and damage you cause to others on the road and at stops. Insureon notes commercial auto is required for business-owned vehicles in almost every state.
How commercial auto works →Physical damage
Collision and comprehensive for the chassis, the box and equipment such as the liftgate. Confirm the truck’s stated value includes them.
How commercial auto works →Motor truck cargo
Pays for freight lost or damaged in the box. Amazon Relay requires $100,000 of cargo coverage.
Non-trucking liability
Needed if you are leased onto a carrier that covers you only while you are under its dispatch.
General liability
Covers non-driving claims, such as a pallet that damages a customer’s floor during a delivery. Amazon Relay asks for $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate.
How general liability works →Workers’ compensation
Insureon notes most states require it once you have employees, including driver helpers who load and unload.
How workers’ compensation works →Rules
Requirements and filings
Federal rules turn on weight and on whether you cross state lines; state rules govern intrastate work. For load boards and shippers, the contract usually sets the real minimum.
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| USDOT number and operating authority | Interstate trucks rated at 10,001 lb or more; authority for for-hire freight | Required by FMCSA. FMCSA also lists 38 states and Puerto Rico that require USDOT numbers for some intrastate carriers. |
| Federal minimum liability | For-hire interstate carriers with trucks of 10,001 lb or more | $750,000, per FMCSA’s filing chart; $300,000 for fleets made up only of vehicles under 10,001 lb. |
| Commercial driver’s license | Straight trucks rated at 26,001 lb or more | A Group B vehicle under 49 CFR 383.91. Trucks rated at 26,000 lb or less need no CDL unless they carry placarded hazardous materials. |
| DOT medical card | Interstate drivers of trucks rated at 10,001 lb or more | A current medical examiner’s certificate under 49 CFR 391.41. |
| Short-haul logs exception | Drivers within 150 air miles who are released within 14 hours | Time records kept for 6 months can replace logs under 49 CFR 395.1(e). |
| Texas TxDMV number | Intrastate vehicles over 26,000 lb | $500,000 liability, per the Texas DMV. A truck rated at exactly 26,000 lb falls below the line. |
| Amazon Relay carrier minimums | Carriers booking Relay loads | $1 million auto, $100,000 cargo, $1 million/$2 million general liability and authority active at least 180 days (February 2026). |
Compare box truck 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
- Share ELD data: Progressive says new truck customers in its Smart Haul program save an average of $1,261.
- Run MVRs on every driver before hiring and once a year; Insureon counts employee driving history among the main price factors.
- Fit backup cameras and keep a spotter rule for docks and alleys.
- Train helpers on liftgate and pallet jack use to cut workers’ comp claims.
- Set cargo limits to the highest-value load you actually carry, and raise physical damage deductibles on older trucks you could repair yourself.
- Compare quotes before renewal; Florin is an independent broker that compares options from several insurers.
Before you start
What underwriters ask for
- Each truck’s VIN, GVWR, box length, liftgate and stated value, plus any lienholder
- USDOT number, operating authority if any and roadside inspection history
- Drivers’ license numbers, CDL status and years of commercial driving
- Your radius, main cities and the customers or platforms you haul for
- What you carry and the highest value of a single load
- Loss runs from current and prior insurers
- Payroll for drivers and helpers
Common questions
Box truck insurance: questions
Do I need a CDL to drive a 26-foot box truck?
Only if the truck is rated at 26,001 pounds or more, which makes it a Group B vehicle under 49 CFR 383.91. A box truck rated at 26,000 pounds or less needs no CDL unless it carries placarded hazardous materials.
Do I need a USDOT number for a box truck?
You do if the truck is rated at 10,001 pounds or more and operates in interstate commerce. FMCSA also lists 38 states and Puerto Rico that require USDOT numbers for some intrastate carriers, including California, Florida and Texas.
Does commercial auto cover the freight in my box truck?
No. Auto liability covers harm you cause to others, so you need motor truck cargo coverage for the goods you carry. Amazon Relay, for example, requires $100,000 of cargo coverage.
What does Amazon Relay require for box trucks?
Its box truck guidance asks for a working tuck-under liftgate, a pallet jack, load straps and the DOT number displayed, even on a rented truck. Its insurance page requires $1 million auto, $100,000 cargo and 180 days of active authority.
Do box truck drivers need a DOT medical card?
Yes, for interstate driving in a truck rated at 10,001 pounds or more, which is a commercial motor vehicle under federal rules. Under 49 CFR 391.41, the driver must carry a current medical examiner’s certificate.
Do local box truck drivers need an ELD?
Often not. Under 49 CFR 395.1(e), drivers who stay within 150 air miles and are released within 14 hours can use time records kept for 6 months instead of logs.
Which box trucks can I drive without a CDL?
The largest non-CDL box trucks sit in Class 6, which the Alternative Fuels Data Center defines as 19,501 to 26,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating. Above 26,000 pounds the truck needs a CDL.
Get covered.
Tell us about your business once. We compare options and a licensed agent follows up, usually the same day.
Sources (15)
- Insureon: box truck insurance cost (updated June 2025)
- Insureon: box truck insurance
- Progressive Commercial: box truck insurance
- Progressive Commercial: how much is commercial auto insurance (2025)
- Progressive Commercial: commercial truck insurance
- Alternative Fuels Data Center: vehicle weight classes and categories
- NHTSA: Large trucks, 2023 data (DOT HS 813 717, April 2025)
- Amazon Relay: box truck loads
- Amazon Relay: understanding insurance requirements (February 2026)
- FMCSA: do I need a USDOT number?
- FMCSA: insurance filing requirements
- eCFR: 49 CFR 383.91, commercial motor vehicle groups
- eCFR: 49 CFR 391.41, physical qualifications for drivers
- eCFR: 49 CFR 395.1, hours of service scope and exceptions
- Texas DMV: TxDMV number and insurance requirements
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.