What is the difference between bobtail and non-trucking liability insurance?

How do bobtail and non-trucking liability compare?

Both are liability coverages. They protect other people, not you and not your truck. They come up when you own a tractor and are leased, with your driving, onto another carrier. The carrier's authority and insurance respond while you haul for it. These two coverages are about the other times.

How the terms are defined, and which situations count, varies by insurer. Some policies combine the two under one name, some separate them, and some leave gaps between them. The table shows the general idea, not any one policy.

Why do people mix them up?

The names overlap in everyday use. "Bobtail" is trucker shorthand for a tractor with no trailer. "Non-trucking" sounds like "not working." Each term sounds like it should cover everything that is not a loaded run, and neither does.

Three ways the mix-up costs people:

• Assuming bobtail covers all non-load driving. Driving the tractor to a personal errand might fall under non-trucking liability, depending on how your policy defines it.
• Assuming non-trucking liability covers a bobtail trip for the carrier. If you are driving to a pickup because you were dispatched, the policy may exclude it.
• Assuming either one stands in for primary liability. Neither is built for hauling freight under your own authority.

The fix is to ask your agent about specific situations and get the answer in terms of the policy's wording. Our bobtail and non-trucking liability page lays out the coverages.

Which one do I need if I am leased onto a carrier?

Your lease decides. Federal leasing rules at 49 CFR 376.12(j)(1) say the lease must clearly specify the legal obligation of the authorized carrier to maintain insurance coverage for the protection of the public, and must specify who provides any other coverage for operating the leased equipment, with "bobtail insurance" named as the example. If the carrier charges you for any of this insurance, the lease must state the charge-back amount.

Three more lease rules matter here:

• Policies and certificates. If you purchase insurance through the carrier, the lease must say the carrier will give you a copy of each policy on request, and a certificate for each policy listing details such as costs and deductibles (376.12(j)(2)).
• Deductions. The lease must clearly specify the conditions under which deductions for cargo or property damage may be made, and the carrier must give you a written explanation and itemization before making one (376.12(j)(3)).
• Exclusive possession. The lease must give the carrier exclusive possession, control, and use of the equipment for the length of the lease, and the carrier assumes complete responsibility for the operation of the equipment (376.12(c)(1)).

Put together: read the insurance section of the lease before you sign. It should tell you what the carrier carries, which coverage it requires from you, whether you pay for it through the carrier, and what can be taken out of your settlement.

What if I run under my own authority?

Then you are the motor carrier, and the coverage that matters is primary auto liability. Federal rules say no motor carrier may operate a motor vehicle until it has the minimum levels of financial responsibility in effect (49 CFR 387.7), and for a for-hire carrier of nonhazardous property in a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more that minimum is $750,000 (49 CFR 387.9). It is a regulatory floor, not a price, and shippers and brokers often ask for more.

A bobtail or non-trucking policy is generally written for a leased-on owner-operator. It may not respond the way a primary policy does when you operate under your own authority, so do not treat it as a substitute. See primary auto liability, and for the process, how to get your own trucking authority.

If you plan to get your own authority later, these coverages do not carry over as primary liability. Ask your agent what changes when your authority becomes active.

What do these coverages leave out?

Policies vary. Read your declarations, definitions, and exclusions. In general, these coverages are not for:

• Hauling under dispatch. The carrier's primary liability is generally what responds, and a bobtail or non-trucking policy may exclude that use.
• Damage to your own tractor. That is physical damage.
• Freight. That is motor truck cargo.
• Injuries to you. That is occupational accident or another personal coverage.
• Business use of any kind, under many non-trucking policies. The policy defines what counts.

The tool below asks five short questions about your operation, including whose authority you run under, and shows which coverages usually come up. It shows no prices.

What should I ask my agent?

Bring your lease and ask for plain answers to specific situations:

1. I am driving to pick up a trailer under dispatch. Which policy responds?
2. I am driving home from a drop with no trailer. Which policy responds?
3. I am driving the tractor on a personal errand. Which policy responds?
4. Does either policy exclude any business use, and how is business use defined?
5. Who is the named insured, and does the lease require a particular certificate holder or limit?
6. If I move to my own authority, what do I need to replace?

Get the answer in terms of the policy's definitions, and compare it to the insurance section of the lease. We do not state what these coverages cost. Cost is set by insurers and the licensed agents you work with.