Trucking and transportation

Intermodal and drayage insurance

For drayage carriers and owner-operators pulling containers from ports and rail ramps: what coverage costs, what the UIIA and port programs require and what to have ready for a quote.

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What similar businesses pay

For-hire truck auto: $821 a month
Commercial auto: About $816 a month
Workers’ comp: About $650 a month

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

Cost

What intermodal and drayage insurance costs

$821 a month

For-hire truck auto

Progressive Commercial median for for-hire transport trucks, 2025 (average $926)

About $816 a month

Commercial auto

Insureon median for owner-operators, updated July 2025

About $650 a month

Workers’ comp

Insureon median for owner-operators, updated July 2025

About $51 a month

General liability

Insureon median for owner-operators, updated July 2025

No major insurer publishes a drayage-only median, so the closest figures are for for-hire trucking. Progressive Commercial’s 2025 numbers for for-hire transport trucks are a median of $821 a month and an average of $926. Insureon’s medians for owner-operators who quote through it are about $816 a month for commercial auto, $51 for general liability and $650 for workers’ comp. Drayage adds pieces those figures may not include: trailer interchange, the UIIE-1 endorsement, additional insured status for each equipment provider and a $1 million general liability limit the UIIA requires. Your price still turns on garaging, driver records and losses.

What moves your price

Where the tractor is garaged and which ports and rail ramps you serve
The trailer interchange and cargo limits your equipment providers set
Whether you run under your own authority or are leased to a drayage carrier
Driver records, CDL experience and turnover
Container values and commodities, including any hazmat
Prior losses, especially chassis damage and cargo claims

Risks

The risks insurers price for

A chassis or container damaged while it is in your care

Scrape a container on a gate post or blow a chassis tire and the bill comes to you. Under Exhibit C of the UIIA, the motor carrier is responsible for listed repair items during the interchange period, and providers may invoice any repair over $50 per unit. Your auto policy does not pay to repair equipment you do not own.

Indemnity for the equipment provider after a crash

Section F.4 of the UIIA has you defend and indemnify the equipment provider against bodily injury and property damage claims, even when the provider’s liability is vicarious or its own negligence, subject to listed exceptions. That contractual promise is why the UIIA requires the UIIE-1 endorsement on your auto policy.

A loaded box stolen or damaged before delivery

Containers often sit at yards between the terminal and the receiver. The cargo is your exposure, and most UIIA equipment providers require cargo coverage; many listed on the IANA limits sheet revised October 2026 ask for $100,000 per vehicle.

A lapse that locks you out of every terminal

The UIIA system expires policies at 12:01 a.m. on the expiration date, so a renewal filed that afternoon is already late. The agreement requires 30 days’ notice of cancellation, or 14 days for nonpayment, and without active coverage providers will not interchange equipment with you.

Hurt cranking landing gear or locking pins

Drivers climb, crank and pull pins on every move. Some providers require statutory workers’ comp and employer’s liability: the IANA limits sheet lists Union Pacific at 500/500/500 and CSX Intermodal Terminals at 100/500/100.

A reportable crash with a provider’s equipment

The UIIA requires you to email the provider within 24 hours of any DOT-reportable accident, and injury and damage claims land on your auto liability.

Coverage

Coverage to consider

Commercial auto liability

Pays for injuries and damage your rig causes to others. The UIIA requires a $1 million combined single limit, primary, marked Any Auto, Scheduled and Hired or All Owned and Hired, with providers named as additional insureds.

How commercial auto works →

UIIE-1 endorsement

The hold harmless endorsement attached to your auto policy that covers your indemnity promise under the UIIA. IANA also accepts CA 23 17 or TE 23 17B in the most current version.

How commercial auto works →

Trailer interchange

Covers physical damage to non-owned chassis and containers in your care, custody or control. IANA says it must include comprehensive, collision, fire and theft, at the limit each provider sets.

Motor truck cargo

Pays for loss or damage to the freight in the box. Most UIIA providers require it.

General liability

Covers damage or injury at terminals and warehouses that is not a driving accident. The UIIA requires $1 million per occurrence with no self-insured portion.

How general liability works →

Workers’ comp or occupational accident

Covers drivers hurt on the job. Some providers require workers’ comp with employer’s liability; leased owner-operators often carry occupational accident instead.

How workers’ compensation works →

Physical damage and non-trucking liability

Collision and comprehensive on your own tractor, and non-trucking liability if you are leased to a carrier that covers you only under dispatch.

Umbrella or excess

Adds limits above auto and general liability. IANA applies an umbrella to your account only if the certificate says which policies it sits over.

How umbrella / excess works →

Rules

Requirements and filings

Most drayage rules come from contracts, not statutes. The UIIA, the standard interchange agreement run by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), sets baseline insurance, and each equipment provider adds its own limits. Ports and federal rules layer on top.

Requirement	Applies to	What it means
UIIA auto liability	Motor carriers interchanging under the UIIA	$1,000,000 combined single limit, primary, naming providers as additional insured, per UIIA section F.6.a. Any Auto, Scheduled and Hired or All Owned and Hired; Scheduled Only is not accepted.
UIIA general liability	Motor carriers interchanging under the UIIA	$1,000,000 per occurrence with no self-insured portion, per UIIA section F.6.b.
UIIE-1 endorsement	The auto policy of every UIIA motor carrier	UIIE-1, CA 23 17 or TE 23 17B, per UIIA section F.6.c; the insurer must give IANA evidence of it.
Provider limits (Form 5B)	Carriers active with a given railroad, ocean carrier or chassis pool	Trailer interchange of $15,000 to $35,000 and cargo commonly $100,000 on IANA’s sheet revised October 18, 2026; some add workers’ comp.
Cancellation notice	All policies filed with IANA	30 days’ notice to IANA, or 14 days for nonpayment, per UIIA section F.6.d.
UIIA participation	Carriers applying to the UIIA	An NMFTA-issued SCAC and an active USDOT number, plus an MC number if applicable, under the same name, per UIIA Appendix I section VI.
Federal minimum liability	For-hire interstate property carriers at 10,001 lb or more	$750,000 under 49 CFR 387.9; the UIIA’s $1 million exceeds it.
Port of Los Angeles concession	Drayage carriers entering Port of Los Angeles cargo terminals	$1 million CSL auto and general liability naming the Harbor Department as additional insured, a $2,500 concession fee and $100 a year per truck, per the port’s checklist and FAQ.
Ports Drayage Truck Registry	Trucks entering Los Angeles and Long Beach marine terminals	Every truck must be registered; new Port of Los Angeles registrations since October 1, 2018 must be model year 2014 or newer.
TWIC card	Drivers needing unescorted access to secure maritime facilities	$125.25 for a new card, valid five years, per DHS.

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Pay less

How to lower the cost

Set trailer interchange at the highest limit your active providers require on Form 5B, not a guess, and update it when you add a provider.
Ask your agent to use blanket additional insured wording, which IANA allows, so adding a railroad or ocean carrier does not stall your account.
Inspect and photograph every chassis at the gate and report damage at return, as 49 CFR 390.42(b) requires, so you are not billed for someone else’s damage.
Pay on autopay or in full: a nonpayment cancellation needs only 14 days’ notice under the UIIA.
Have renewals posted to IANA before the expiration date, because the system expires policies at 12:01 a.m.
Compare quotes at renewal; Florin is an independent broker that compares options from several insurers.

Before you start

What underwriters ask for

USDOT number, MC number and SCAC
The equipment providers you interchange with and their Form 5B limits
Port concession and drayage truck registry status
Driver list with CDL details, dates of birth, experience and TWIC status
Tractor schedule with VINs, model years, values and any lienholder
Ports, rail ramps and warehouses you serve and your typical radius
Commodities and highest container value, including any hazmat
Loss runs from current and prior insurers
Lease agreements if you use or are an owner-operator

Common questions

Intermodal and drayage insurance: questions

What insurance does the UIIA require?

A $1 million combined single limit auto policy with the UIIE-1 endorsement and $1 million per occurrence general liability. Most equipment providers also require trailer interchange and cargo, and some require workers’ comp.

What is the UIIE-1 endorsement?

A hold harmless endorsement on your auto policy that covers the indemnity you give equipment providers under section F.4 of the UIIA. IANA also accepts CA 23 17 or TE 23 17B.

Does my auto policy cover damage to the chassis or container?

No. Physical damage to non-owned equipment in your care is covered by trailer interchange insurance, which IANA says must include comprehensive, collision, fire and theft.

How much trailer interchange coverage do I need?

Each provider sets its own limit. IANA’s October 2026 sheet lists $20,000 for BNSF, $25,000 for Union Pacific and $35,000 for Milestone Chassis, so carry the highest limit among the providers you use.

Do I need a separate certificate for each railroad or steamship line?

No. Your agent submits one ACORD 22 certificate online to IANA, and under section F.7 of the UIIA providers get your insurance information from IANA.

Do drayage drivers need a TWIC card?

Drivers need one for unescorted access to secure areas of maritime facilities such as container terminals. DHS lists a $125.25 fee for a new card, valid for five years.

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Sources (12)

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