$926 a month
For-hire transport truck auto
Progressive Commercial national average for for-hire transport trucks, 2025
Trucking and transportation
Reefer trucking insurance
For owner-operators and small fleets hauling produce, meat, dairy and frozen freight: what coverage costs, when reefer breakdown pays for a spoiled load and which rules apply.
- Independent brokerage: we compare several insurers
- Licensed agents review every application
- No cost and no obligation to buy
Get reefer trucking insurance quotes
What similar businesses pay
- For-hire transport truck auto
- $926 a month
- Commercial auto
- About $816 a month
- Motor truck cargo
- About $129 a month
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What reefer trucking insurance costs
About $816 a month
Commercial auto
Insureon median for trucking businesses, updated June 2025
About $129 a month
Motor truck cargo
Insureon median for trucking businesses, all freight types, updated June 2025
About $650 a month
Workers y comp
Insureon median for trucking businesses, updated June 2025
No large insurer publishes a reefer-only median we could verify, so these are trucking-wide figures. Insureon’s medians for trucking customers come to about $9,794 a year for commercial auto and $1,553 for motor truck cargo. Progressive’s 2025 average of $926 a month for for-hire transport trucks sits above the $734 it reports for specialty haulers. The cargo median covers all freight and does not separate out refrigeration breakdown, so price breakdown as part of your cargo quote. Your premium depends on what you haul, the cargo limit brokers require, the age and upkeep of your reefer units, your lanes and each driver’s record.
What moves your price
- What you haul: produce, meat, seafood, frozen goods or pharmaceuticals
- The cargo limit and breakdown terms your brokers require
- Age, hours and service history of each reefer unit
- Breakdown wording: waiting periods, driver-error cover and deductible
- Lanes, overnight parking and time in high-theft areas
- Driver records and roadside inspection history
Risks
The risks insurers price for
The reefer unit quits overnight
The unit fails on a long run and a load of frozen meat thaws before anyone notices. Reefer breakdown is written for this, but Avalon Risk Management notes some versions pay only for a sudden and accidental mechanical or electrical breakdown, and some require the unit to have stopped for a set time, such as 12 or 24 hours.
Wrong setpoint or an empty fuel tank
A driver sets the wrong temperature or lets the reefer run out of fuel. Avalon lists incorrect setting and failure to provide adequate fuel or refrigerant among exclusions some breakdown clauses carry. Progressive says its Cargo Plus endorsement covers driver error on refrigerated loads when Refrigeration Breakdown is also bought.
A receiver rejects the load at the dock
The receiver says the product arrived warm. Under 21 CFR 1.908(e), when your agreement makes you responsible for sanitary conditions, you must show on request that you held the shipper y operating temperature, for example with time and temperature data. Without that record, a rejection is hard to dispute.
Food loads are a theft target
CargoNet counted 180 food and beverage thefts in the second quarter of 2025, up 68% from a year earlier and more than 20% of all cargo thefts, with meat among the primary targets. Its average stolen shipment value that quarter was $203,586, a figure worth comparing with your cargo limit.
A loaded trailer sits too long
Detention, a closed receiver or a breakdown can leave a loaded reefer parked for days. Progressive y cargo coverage excludes cargo stored for more than 72 hours, so check how your policy treats parked or stored freight before you drop a loaded trailer.
Pharmaceutical and alcohol loads
Not every cargo policy accepts every load a reefer carries. Progressive lists pharmaceuticals, tobacco and alcohol other than beer or wine among its cargo restrictions. If you haul drug or vaccine shipments, confirm in writing that the commodity is covered before you book it.
Coverage
Coverage to consider
Commercial auto liability
Pays for injuries and property damage your truck causes to others. It is the coverage federal and state filings are made against.
How commercial auto works →Physical damage
Collision and comprehensive for the tractor and reefer trailer, including fire and theft. Progressive notes collision applies even in a single-vehicle accident, such as hitting a pole.
How commercial auto works →Motor truck cargo
Covers freight against perils such as collision, fire and theft. Insureon lists inherent vice, such as spoilage of perishable goods, among common exclusions, so cargo coverage alone leaves a reefer y biggest risk open.
Refrigeration (reefer) breakdown
Added to the cargo policy, it pays for spoilage or a change in temperature caused by a sudden and accidental breakdown of the refrigeration or heating unit, as GEICO and Sentry describe it. Read the breakdown definition, any waiting period and the fuel and maintenance conditions.
Trailer interchange
Covers damage to a trailer you do not own while it is in your possession under an interchange agreement, as when you pull another company y reefer trailer.
Workers y compensation
Covers drivers and dock staff hurt climbing into trailers, moving pallets or slipping on wet trailer floors. Insureon y trucking median is about $650 a month.
How workers’ compensation works →General liability
Covers claims that are not driving accidents, such as damage at a shipper y dock or a visitor hurt at your yard. Insureon y trucking median is about $51 a month.
How general liability works →Rules
Requirements and filings
Reefer breakdown coverage is not required by law, but liability limits are, and hauling food brings FDA duties dry-van carriers do not have. Units that run in California also answer to the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Federal minimum liability | For-hire interstate property carriers with vehicles of 10,001 lb or more | $750,000 for nonhazardous property under 49 CFR 387.9. |
| FDA carrier duties for food | Carriers whose written agreement with the shipper makes them responsible for sanitary conditions | Meet the shipper y equipment specifications, pre-cool each refrigerated compartment as specified and, on request, show the temperature was held (21 CFR 1.908(e)). |
| Food carrier records and training | The same food carriers | Written cleaning, inspection and temperature procedures, plus driver training at hiring with records, each kept 12 months beyond use (21 CFR 1.908(e)(6), 1.910 and 1.912). |
| Small operator exemption | Carriers averaging under $500,000 a year in revenue | Treated as non-covered businesses under 21 CFR 1.904, using a rolling 3-year average adjusted for inflation from 2011. |
| California TRU reporting | Every reefer unit that operates in California, including out-of-state units | Report the unit in CARB y ARBER system and meet labeling rules; units made from December 31, 2022 need refrigerant with a global warming potential of 2,200 or less, per CARB. |
| California trailer TRU engine standard | Trailer reefer units operating in California | Must meet CARB y in-use performance standard 7 years after the engine model year. CARB y June 2025 FAQ says truck TRUs need not be replaced with zero-emission units. |
| Contract cargo terms | Loads from brokers and shippers | Progressive notes the cargo limit can be set by the sender or receiver and that many larger clients require adequate cargo insurance by contract. Check certificate terms before you book. |
Compare reefer trucking 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
- Keep reefer service records current: Avalon notes some breakdown clauses exclude losses when the carrier fails to keep monthly maintenance records.
- Pre-cool to the shipper y setting and keep time and temperature data for every load, the kind of proof 21 CFR 1.908(e) accepts.
- Share driving data: Progressive says new truck customers in Smart Haul save an average of $1,261, and those without an ELD save an average of 6% with Snapshot ProView.
- Ask for breakdown wording that defines breakdown as failure to maintain temperature and covers driver error.
- Park loaded food trailers in secured lots and limit stops on meat loads, given CargoNet y 68% rise in food and beverage thefts in the second quarter of 2025.
- Compare several 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, or your state carrier number
- Commodities hauled, temperature ranges and highest single-load value
- Reefer unit make, model year, engine hours and service records
- Driver list with license numbers, CDL class, dates of birth and years of reefer experience
- Truck and trailer schedule with VINs, values and any lienholder
- Loss runs from current and prior insurers, including any spoilage or cargo claims
- Operating radius and states, including any California runs
- The cargo limit and reefer breakdown terms your brokers require
Common questions
Reefer trucking insurance: questions
Does regular cargo insurance cover spoiled food?
Usually not. Avalon Risk Management says most motor truck cargo policies exclude spoilage and change in temperature unless you add reefer coverage.
Is reefer breakdown coverage required by law?
No. Progressive says it is not legally required, but many larger shippers require adequate cargo insurance by contract, so in practice you often need it to get loads.
Will reefer breakdown pay if my driver set the wrong temperature?
It depends on the wording. Avalon lists incorrect setting as an exclusion in some clauses, while policies that define breakdown as failure to maintain temperature can be broader.
Is a load covered if the reefer runs out of fuel?
Often not. Avalon lists failure to provide adequate fuel or refrigerant among exclusions some reefer breakdown clauses carry.
Can I buy reefer breakdown coverage in California or Florida?
Availability varies by insurer and state. Progressive said in April 2025 that its Refrigeration Breakdown coverage was not available on policies written in California and Florida, so compare insurers if you are based there.
Does the FDA sanitary transportation rule apply to my trucks?
It applies to motor carriers moving food, with carrier duties set by your written agreement with the shipper. Carriers averaging under $500,000 a year in revenue are non-covered businesses under 21 CFR 1.904.
Do out-of-state reefers have to register with CARB?
Yes. CARB says all TRUs operating in California must be reported in its ARBER system, whether they are based in California or not.
Get covered.
Tell us about your business once. We compare options and a licensed agent follows up, usually the same day.
Sources (15)
- Progressive Commercial: refrigerated truck insurance
- Progressive Commercial: commercial auto insurance cost (2025)
- Progressive Commercial: commercial truck insurance
- Progressive Commercial: motor truck cargo insurance
- Progressive: Cargo Plus coverage announcement (April 16, 2025)
- Insureon: trucking business insurance cost (updated June 2025)
- Insureon: motor truck cargo insurance
- Avalon Risk Management: perishables and refrigerated cargo coverage (September 2022)
- GEICO: cargo insurance for trucks
- Sentry: motor truck cargo insurance
- CargoNet: 2025 second quarter supply chain risk trends
- eCFR: 21 CFR Part 1 Subpart O, sanitary transportation of human and animal food
- eCFR: 49 CFR 387.9, minimum levels of financial responsibility
- CARB: Transport Refrigeration Unit regulation (TruckStop)
- CARB: TRU ATCM authorization and implementation FAQ (June 2025)
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.