$737 a month
Commercial auto
Insureon median for tow truck businesses, updated May 2025
Trucking and transportation
Tow truck insurance
For towing and recovery operators running roadside, police rotation, impound, heavy recovery and repossession work: coverage, costs and the limits rotation lists require.
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What similar businesses pay
- Commercial auto
- $737 a month
- Tow truck auto (Progressive)
- $355–$606 a month
- General liability
- $58 a month
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What tow truck insurance costs
$355–$606 a month
Tow truck auto (Progressive)
Progressive 2025 median and average per power unit, new policies
$58 a month
General liability
Insureon median, $1M/$2M limits, tow truck businesses, May 2025
$650 a month
Workers’ comp
Insureon median for tow truck businesses, updated May 2025
Insureon’s figures are medians for tow truck businesses that applied for quotes through it, and Progressive’s are 2025 new-policy premiums per power unit for liability and physical damage on policies with no driver violations. Progressive notes that a few expensive outliers pull its $606 average above its $355 median. A light-duty consent tow truck in a small town and a heavy wrecker on an urban police rotation can land far apart, because rotation lists and state permits set higher liability and on-hook limits. Insureon’s yearly medians are $8,839 for commercial auto, $700 for general liability and $7,795 for workers’ comp.
What moves your price
- Type of towing: consent, motor club, police rotation, private property impound or repossession
- Truck type and age: wheel lift, rollback, wrecker or rotator
- Liability, on-hook and garagekeepers limits required by permits and rotation lists
- Location and where towed vehicles are stored
- Driving history and claims history
- Share of revenue from repossession, which some insurers will not write
Risks
The risks insurers price for
A driver struck at the roadside
NIOSH counted 191 deaths in the towing industry from 2011 through 2016, a rate of nearly 43 per 100,000 workers, more than 15 times the 2.8 for all private industries. The leading cause was motor vehicle incidents, and the AAA Foundation counted 123 roadside assistance providers struck and killed from 2015 to 2021.
A customer’s car damaged on the hook
A car slips off the wheel lift on a ramp, a flatbed winch cable snaps or a transmission is damaged by towing on the drive wheels. These are damage to the vehicle in your care, which on-hook coverage is built for.
A stolen or vandalized car in your impound lot
Once a vehicle is parked at your yard, theft, vandalism or fire there is a garagekeepers claim rather than an on-hook claim. Operators who store vehicles usually need both.
A disputed non-consent tow
Non-consent tows, impounds and repossessions put you between an owner who did not ask for the tow and a vehicle that may come back damaged or missing personal property.
An injury hooking up or winching
NIOSH reported a nonfatal injury rate of 204 per 10,000 full-time towing workers, more than double the 98 for all private industries, led by contact with equipment and overexertion.
A lapse that drops you from rotation
Under the California Highway Patrol’s 2025–2026 Tow Service Agreement, a lapse in required insurance immediately removes the operator from the rotation list.
Coverage
Coverage to consider
Commercial auto liability
Pays for injuries and damage your truck causes to others, including while you are pulling another vehicle. Permits and rotation agreements set the minimum limit.
How commercial auto works →On-hook towing
Covers the customer’s vehicle against collision, fire, theft and vandalism while it is being towed. Progressive sells it as an add-on to the liability policy.
How commercial auto works →Garagekeepers legal liability
Covers customers’ vehicles parked at your yard or shop. Progressive sells it only as a package with liability and on-hook, and notes that in Texas and Virginia it is called storage location insurance.
How commercial auto works →Physical damage
Collision and comprehensive on your wrecker, rollback or rotator, often a large share of the business’s value.
How commercial auto works →Medical payments and uninsured motorist
Progressive lists both as core tow truck coverages, paying medical bills after a covered accident and protecting you when an at-fault driver has no insurance.
How commercial auto works →General liability
Covers non-driving claims at a roadside scene, your lot or a customer’s property, such as a damaged driveway during a pickup. Progressive also offers roadside general liability.
How general liability works →Workers’ compensation
Covers drivers hurt hooking up, winching or working beside traffic. NIOSH lists contact with equipment and overexertion as the leading causes of nonfatal towing injuries.
How workers’ compensation works →Umbrella or excess
Adds limits when a rotation list, municipal contract or motor club asks for more than your primary policy provides.
How umbrella / excess works →Rules
Requirements and filings
The kind of tow you run sets the rules. Texas licenses tow trucks under three permits, police rotation lists set their own limits by truck class, and federal rules apply only to interstate for-hire work. TDLR amounts are per truck per incident.
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Texas consent tow permit (TDLR) | Tows the vehicle owner requests | $300,000 liability per truck per incident, filed electronically by the insurer |
| Texas private property permit (TDLR) | Non-consent tows from parking lots | $300,000 liability plus $50,000 cargo or on-hook per truck |
| Texas incident management permit (TDLR) | Police-initiated and accident tows | $500,000 liability plus $50,000 cargo or on-hook per truck |
| CHP Tow Service Agreement 2025–2026, Class A | Light-duty trucks on California Highway Patrol rotation | $750,000 combined single limit plus $50,000 on-hook and garagekeepers |
| CHP Tow Service Agreement 2025–2026, Classes B to D | Medium and heavy trucks on CHP rotation | $1,000,000 combined single limit plus $100,000 (B), $200,000 (C) or $250,000 (D) on-hook and garagekeepers |
| CHP garage liability and notice | All CHP rotation operators | Liability limits include hired and non-owned auto; $500,000 garage liability, 30 days’ written notice of cancellation and 3 verifiable years of for-hire towing experience |
| FMCSA financial responsibility | For-hire tow trucks of 10,000 lb or more making interstate emergency moves | $750,000; secondary moves need the limit for whatever the towed vehicle carries |
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Pay less
How to lower the cost
- Train every driver in traffic incident management and keep the records; the CHP agreement requires documented training for rotation drivers.
- Photograph each vehicle before hookup and at drop-off to defend on-hook and garagekeepers claims.
- Fence, light and put cameras on your storage lot, since garagekeepers covers theft and vandalism there.
- Match on-hook limits to the most valuable vehicles you actually tow rather than buying the highest class by default.
- Keep repossession below the revenue share your insurer accepts, or place it with an insurer that writes repo work; Progressive declines trucks earning more than 25% from repossession.
Before you start
What underwriters ask for
- Truck schedule with VINs, GVWR, type (wheel lift, rollback, wrecker or rotator) and values
- Revenue split between consent, motor club, police rotation, private property and repossession tows
- Driver list with licenses, CDL class where needed, towing experience and motor vehicle records
- Storage lot address, fencing, lighting, cameras and the most vehicles stored at once
- State permit or certificate numbers, such as a TDLR tow company license
- Rotation agreements and the limits each contract requires
- Loss runs, including on-hook and garagekeepers claims
Common questions
Tow truck insurance: questions
What is the difference between on-hook and garagekeepers coverage?
Progressive explains that on-hook covers a customer’s vehicle while you are towing it, while garagekeepers covers it once it is parked at your lot or garage. Operators who store vehicles usually need both.
How much insurance do I need for police rotation tows?
It depends on the agency. The California Highway Patrol asks for $750,000 to $1,000,000 in liability by truck class plus on-hook and garagekeepers of $50,000 to $250,000, and Texas requires $500,000 and $50,000 on-hook for incident management permits.
Does tow truck insurance cover repossession work?
Not always. Progressive will not insure tow trucks that earn more than 25% of their revenue from repossession, so repo operators should confirm that the insurer accepts their revenue mix.
Do tow trucks need federal insurance filings?
Only for interstate for-hire work. FMCSA guidance says for-hire tow trucks of 10,000 pounds or more making emergency moves across state lines need $750,000, while secondary moves need the limit for whatever the towed vehicle carries.
How much does a Texas tow truck permit cost?
TDLR charges a non-refundable application fee of $75 per truck, and your insurer must file proof of the required coverage electronically using your certificate number.
Why is workers’ comp so expensive for towing companies?
Injury rates are high. NIOSH reported a nonfatal injury rate of 204 per 10,000 full-time towing workers, more than double the 98 for all private industries, and Insureon’s median for tow truck businesses is $650 a month.
Who can compare tow truck insurance quotes?
An independent broker that compares options from several insurers, such as Florin, can match your truck classes, storage lot and rotation contracts to insurers that write that work.
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Sources (10)
- Insureon: tow truck insurance cost (updated May 2025)
- Progressive Commercial: how much is commercial auto insurance (2025 data)
- Progressive Commercial: tow truck insurance
- Progressive Commercial: garagekeepers legal liability
- Progressive Commercial: what we do not insure
- NIOSH Research Rounds, Volume 4, Issue 8 (February 2019): towing industry injuries and deaths
- AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety: roadside assistance providers fatally struck by vehicles (January 2024)
- TDLR: apply for a new tow truck permit
- California Highway Patrol: 2025–2026 Tow Service Agreement (July 2025)
- FMCSA guidance: when are tow trucks subject to financial responsibility coverage?
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.