About $816 a month
Commercial auto
Insureon median for trucking businesses, updated June 2025
Trucking and transportation
Flatbed trucking insurance
For flatbed, step deck and lowboy carriers hauling steel, lumber, building materials and machinery: what insurance costs, which securement and liability rules apply and what to have ready.
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What similar businesses pay
- Commercial auto
- About $816 a month
- For-hire transport truck auto
- $926 a month
- Workers’ comp
- About $650 a month
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What flatbed trucking insurance costs
$926 a month
For-hire transport truck auto
Progressive Commercial 2025 average, new policies per power unit, liability and physical damage
About $650 a month
Workers’ comp
Insureon median for trucking businesses, updated June 2025
About $129 a month
Motor truck cargo
Insureon median for trucking businesses, updated June 2025
Neither Insureon nor Progressive publishes a flatbed-only figure, so these are trucking-wide numbers. Insureon’s medians for trucking customers who buy through it come to about $9,794 a year for commercial auto, $7,795 for workers’ comp, $1,553 for cargo and $606 for general liability; 64% of those customers pay under $1,000 a month for auto. Progressive’s 2025 average for new for-hire transport truck policies with no driver violations is $926 a month, against $734 for specialty haulers that carry one type of good. A flatbed carrier hauling mixed freight under its own authority should expect to land nearer the transport figure, and Progressive says heavy haul costs more again.
What moves your price
- What you haul and its value: machinery and steel coils rate differently from lumber or drywall
- Heavy haul or oversized loads, which Progressive says cost more to insure
- How long you have held your USDOT authority
- Each driver’s record and years of flatbed experience
- Operating radius and where the trucks are garaged
- The number and type of tractors and trailers, from flatbeds to step decks and lowboys
- The cargo limit, liability limits and deductibles you choose
Risks
The risks insurers price for
Steel or lumber comes off at highway speed
A strap fails or a load shifts and bundles land in traffic. Injuries and vehicle damage fall on auto liability, and Progressive says its cargo coverage also pays debris removal when cargo falls off the truck. 49 CFR 393.106 requires tiedowns with a combined working load limit of at least half the cargo’s weight.
Machinery breaks loose on a step deck
An excavator or loader that shifts under hard braking can slide or roll off the trailer. For machinery of 10,000 lb or more, 49 CFR 393.130 requires at least four tiedowns, with attachments lowered and secured.
A fall while tarping or strapping
Drivers climb onto loads to spread tarps and throw straps, often in wind or rain. A fall from the deck can mean broken bones and weeks off the road: a workers’ comp claim for an employee, and an unpaid loss for an owner-operator without occupational accident cover.
Wide, tall and irregular loads
Progressive says heavy flatbeds are often more prone to accidents than other commercial vehicles because of their oversized, irregularly shaped cargo. A high center of gravity or an overhanging load changes how the truck brakes, turns and clears obstacles.
Rain and road spray on open freight
A flatbed leaves the load exposed to the weather, as Progressive points out. Rust on steel coils or water damage to lumber and drywall can become a shipper’s cargo claim, so check how your cargo form treats wetness and rust.
Damage at a shipper’s yard or job site
A forklift or crane unloads your trailer and a dropped beam damages the customer’s property or hurts a worker you were guiding. Progressive notes that general liability covers accidents not related to driving, such as loading or unloading.
Coverage
Coverage to consider
Commercial auto liability
Pays for injuries and property damage your truck causes to others, including when cargo falls into traffic. Federal and state filings are made against this policy.
How commercial auto works →Physical damage
Collision and comprehensive for the tractor and trailer. Progressive notes lenders usually require both on a financed or leased truck.
How commercial auto works →Motor truck cargo
Pays when freight is damaged or lost in transit. Set the limit to your highest-value load, such as coils or machinery, and confirm which commodities are excluded. Auto liability does not cover your load.
Truckers general liability
Covers claims away from the road, such as damage or injury while loading or unloading at a customer site. Progressive offers it as an add-on to a commercial auto policy or as a standalone policy.
How general liability works →Workers’ compensation
Covers drivers and yard staff hurt strapping, tarping or climbing on loads. Insureon says independent contractor truckers often buy occupational accident insurance instead.
How workers’ compensation works →Non-trucking liability
Needed if you are leased onto a carrier that covers you only under its dispatch; it protects you when using the truck off the clock.
Umbrella or excess
Adds limits above your auto and general liability when a broker or shipper asks for more than your primary policy carries.
How umbrella / excess works →Rules
Requirements and filings
Flatbed carriers answer to two sets of federal rules: the liability minimums in 49 CFR Part 387 and the cargo securement rules in 49 CFR Part 393, subpart I. Brokers often ask for more insurance than the federal floor.
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Federal minimum liability | For-hire interstate carriers of nonhazardous property in trucks of 10,001 lb or more | $750,000 under 49 CFR 387.9. |
| Hazardous materials minimums | For-hire and private carriers hauling hazardous materials in trucks of 10,001 lb or more | $1,000,000 for most hazardous materials and $5,000,000 for certain bulk materials such as explosives, under 49 CFR 387.9. |
| Aggregate working load limit | Every article of cargo secured with tiedowns | The combined working load limit must be at least half the weight of the article or group of articles, under 49 CFR 393.106(d). |
| Minimum number of tiedowns | Articles not blocked from moving forward by a headerboard, bulkhead or other cargo | One tiedown for articles up to 5 feet and 1,100 lb; two for heavier short articles or those up to 10 feet; two for longer articles plus one per extra 10 feet or fraction, under 49 CFR 393.110. |
| Heavy equipment securement | Wheeled or tracked machinery weighing 10,000 lb or more | At least four tiedowns placed near the front and rear, attachments lowered and secured, articulation prevented, under 49 CFR 393.130. |
| Responsibility for shipper-loaded freight | Motor carriers and drivers | FMCSA guidance on 49 CFR 392.9 says the carrier and driver are responsible for proper loading and securement, and the driver must know securement methods and adjust them when needed. |
| Broker and shipper contracts | Loads booked through brokers or direct with shippers | Many set their own auto liability and cargo limits and ask for a certificate before you load. Check the terms before you book. |
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Pay less
How to lower the cost
- Keep every driver’s record clean and pay the premium in full; Progressive lists both as ways to qualify for a lower flatbed rate.
- Share driving data through a usage-based program, such as Progressive’s Smart Haul, if your insurer offers one.
- Train drivers on the tiedown counts in 49 CFR 393.110 and 393.130 and replace worn straps, so roadside inspections stay clean.
- Use tarping systems or fall protection at your yard and classify drivers correctly; Insureon says workplace safety and correct class codes keep workers’ comp in line.
- Match the cargo limit to what you actually haul and raise deductibles you can afford; Insureon notes lower limits or higher deductibles reduce the premium.
- Compare quotes at renewal; Florin is an independent broker that compares options from several insurers.
Before you start
What underwriters ask for
- USDOT and MC numbers and the date your authority was granted
- Driver list with license numbers, CDL class, dates of birth and years of flatbed experience
- Tractor and trailer schedule with VINs, trailer type (flatbed, step deck or lowboy), values and lienholders
- Commodities you haul and the value of your highest-value load
- Operating radius and the states you run in
- Roadside inspection history, including any securement violations
- Loss runs from your current and prior insurers
- Payroll split between drivers and other staff
- The auto liability and cargo limits your brokers and shippers require
Common questions
Flatbed trucking insurance: questions
How many straps does a flatbed load need?
Under 49 CFR 393.110, an article not blocked at the front needs one tiedown if it is 5 feet or shorter and 1,100 lb or lighter, and two if it is heavier or up to 10 feet long. Longer articles need two plus one for each additional 10 feet.
What are the rules for hauling an excavator or other heavy equipment?
Machinery of 10,000 lb or more must be held by at least four tiedowns near the front and rear, with buckets and other attachments lowered and secured, under 49 CFR 393.130. Articulated machines must also be restrained from bending.
Who is responsible if the shipper loaded my flatbed?
You are. FMCSA guidance on 49 CFR 392.9 says the motor carrier and driver are responsible for making sure cargo is properly loaded and secured, and the driver may have to adjust the securement.
Does my auto liability cover the freight I haul?
No. Auto liability pays for harm you cause to others; damage to the load needs motor truck cargo coverage, which Progressive says also pays debris removal when cargo spills or falls off the truck.
Does a one-truck flatbed operator need workers’ comp?
If you have employees, state law generally requires it. Insureon says truckers who work as independent contractors often buy occupational accident insurance instead, so check your state’s rules and your lease terms.
Why does flatbed insurance often cost more than other trucks?
Progressive says heavy flatbeds are often more prone to accidents than other commercial vehicles because of oversized, irregularly shaped cargo. Its 2025 averages are $926 a month for for-hire transport trucks and $734 for specialty trucks.
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Sources (9)
- Insureon: commercial truck insurance cost (updated June 2025)
- Progressive Commercial: flatbed truck insurance
- Progressive Commercial: how much is commercial auto insurance (2025)
- Progressive Commercial: motor carrier insurance (2025 averages)
- eCFR: 49 CFR 387.9, minimum levels
- eCFR: 49 CFR 393.106, general requirements for securing cargo
- Cornell LII: 49 CFR 393.110, minimum number of tiedowns
- eCFR: 49 CFR 393.130, heavy vehicles, equipment and machinery
- FMCSA: interpretations of 49 CFR 392.9, inspection of cargo
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.