Interstate trucking companies are mandated by Federal and sometimes State governments, requiring particular limits of liability insurance coverage for bodily injury, property damages, and environmental restoration in case of a trucking accident. The dollar amounts of insurance required will depend on the specific business of operation. Some of the basics are as follows: the lowest public liability limit required by the FMCSA is $300,000 which is for vehicle less than 10,000 pounds GVW. For vehicles that are 10,001 pounds or more GVWR $750,000 is required. If a trucking company is carrying hazardous materials the requirements increase to $1 million and if carrying liquid hazardous substances such as liquefied compressed gas then the limit is $5 million.
For buses, a vehicle with a seating capacity of 16 or more is $5 million, and a vehicle designed or used to transport more than 8 passengers (including driver) for compensation is $1.5 million. While these amounts may seem large, the damage caused by an accident from these behemoth vehicles can be larger.
I have handled truck crashes when the insurance was not sufficient to pay the medical bills. Also, when there are multiple claimants from a disaster, there is not enough insurance coverage. Indexed for inflation from when the limits went into effect, would just about double the amount of insurance required. For example, the $750,000 limit in effect in 1985 would be about $1.5 million indexed for inflation. The other limits would almost double for inflation. Now is the time to increase the minimum insurance limits.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
