HIRED AUTO
INSURANCE
Liability coverage for vehicles your business rents, leases, or hires — including sub-haulers and vehicles operated under your motor carrier authority.
Some of the insurance markets we work with
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Carrier availability varies by state, operation type, fleet size, and underwriting requirements.
What Is Hired Auto Coverage?
Hired auto insurance covers liability arising from vehicles your business rents, leases, borrows, or hires — vehicles you use but don't own. For trucking companies and motor carriers, this typically includes leased power units, short-term rental trucks, and vehicles operated by sub-haulers or owner-operators working under your authority.
Without hired auto coverage, a claim involving a leased or rented vehicle could expose your business to uninsured liability. Most commercial auto policies cover only owned vehicles by default. Hired auto fills the gap.
Hired auto is commonly required by freight brokers, shippers, and contracting authorities as a condition of doing business. It is often written alongside non-owned auto as a combined endorsement or standalone policy.
Who Needs Hired Auto Insurance?
Motor Carriers Using Sub-Haulers
If you dispatch loads through owner-operators or sub-contractors who operate under your authority, hired auto protects you from claims arising out of their operations.
Companies Leasing Vehicles
Short-term or long-term leases on trucks, trailers, or equipment used in your operation create hired auto exposure. Coverage applies whether or not operators are provided.
Freight Brokers with Brokerage Authority
Brokers who also hold motor carrier authority and accept loads under that authority face hired auto exposure when the vehicles they dispatch aren't owned by the brokerage.
Carriers Using Rental Equipment
Renting a truck while a fleet unit is in the shop creates a coverage gap under most owned-auto policies. Hired auto coverage steps in for the duration of the rental.
Key Hired Auto Underwriting Considerations
Underwriters evaluate several factors when quoting hired auto for commercial trucking operations. Understanding these in advance helps you prepare a clean submission and avoid delays.
Lease Type — With or Without Operators
Vehicles leased with operators (the sub-hauler provides the driver) carry different exposure than vehicles leased without operators (you supply the driver). Each creates a distinct rating class.
Annual Cost of Hire
Hired auto premiums are frequently rated on the annual cost you pay to hire, lease, or rent vehicles. Carriers may require a profit and loss statement or lease records to verify this figure.
Radius of Operation
Whether hired vehicles operate locally (0–50 miles), regionally (51–200 miles), or long-haul (500+ miles) affects both the exposure class and the carrier appetite for the risk.
Bill of Lading and Authority
Does the hired vehicle operate under your bill of lading and motor carrier authority, or does it operate under the sub-contractor's own authority? This distinction drives the liability allocation between the parties.
Sub-Hauler Insurance Validation
Carriers want to know whether you verify and maintain certificates of insurance from each sub-hauler before dispatch. A formal certificate-tracking process reduces your contingent liability and improves pricing.
Trailer Rental and Lending Exposure
If you rent your trailers to sub-haulers, or accept rental trailers from others, that interchange exposure may need separate trailer interchange coverage in addition to hired auto.
Fleet Safety and Dispatch Controls
Safety programs, driver qualification standards applied to sub-haulers, dispatch oversight, and any DOT compliance audits all influence underwriter confidence and final rate.
Common Hired Auto Gaps
- • Assuming a sub-hauler's own insurance covers your liability as the dispatching carrier
- • Renting a truck temporarily without checking whether hired auto is in force
- • Dispatching loads under your MC number using vehicles you don't own, without hired auto coverage
- • Believing a general liability policy responds to vehicle liability — it typically excludes auto-related claims
Why Truxsurance
- A-rated carriers only
- Availability confirmed by state
- Fast COIs and filings
- Trucking specialists