Are truckers required to have special insurance?

Federal law requires that large commercial trucking companies carry insurance in order to compensate people who are injured in truck accidents. Federal law sets minimum insurance limits for large commercial trucks and for the large commercial vehicles, whether they transport hazardous material or carry passengers. If you have been injured in an accident with a large commercial truck, semi-truck, eighteen wheeler, or big rig, call Guest and Gray Law Firm’s experienced personal injury team. Our skilled staff can help make sure that you are paid for your injuries and property loss.

Basically any large truck will have insurance with a policy limit that is greater than that of a typical passenger vehicle policy. Lawmakers recognize the greater capacity for injury posed by trucks. The United States Code of Federal Regulations, Title 49, Section 387, requires insurance coverage from $300,000 to over $5 million, with more insurance required for trucks that are used for dangerous activities.

• Trucks with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 10,000 pounds must have at least $300,000 in liability insurance for most types of property.
• If a truck weighs 10,001 pounds or more and transports nonhazardous property, the minimum required insurance is $750,000.
• If the truck is for-hire and contains oil or certain other types of hazardous materials, then the truck must have $1,000,000 in liability insurance.
• If a truck is for-hire, weighs 10,001 pounds or more and carries certain types of hazardous substances, then the truck must carry at least $5,000,000 in insurance.
• Trucks must have $5,000,000 in liability insurance if they are transporting explosives or HAZMAT items.

Trucking company insurance is designed to cover property damage and medical expenses of an injured party. Even though the trucking company purchased the insurance policy, the insurance can still pay you for your injuries and property losses. If you have been in an accident, call the Guest and Gray Law Firm personal injury team. We can help you by negotiating a settlement or going to court to make sure that you will be fairly compensated for your injuries. Our team has secured verdicts for our Kaufman County and Rockwall County clients with damage awards of over one million dollars in large commercial truck wreck cases.

You don’t have to hire a distant law firm with no local presence. Instead, call the skilled trucking accident team at Guest and Gray Law Firm or visit us at any of our three offices in Forney, Plano, or Rockwall. Guest and Gray Law Firm is the largest and best reviewed law firm in Kaufman County for personal injury and wrongful death claims. Our outstanding team of personal injury attorneys has over thirty years of combined experience representing families in personal injury actions and we’ve probably helped some of your friends and neighbors. We’ll take the pressure off of you and put it on the parties responsible for your accident!