What insurance does a Texas car hauler need?

This page is for operators hauling vehicles as cargo: wedge and three-car hotshot rigs, seven- to ten-car stingers and high-mount carriers, enclosed trailers, dealer and auction transport, salvage and insurance-auction hauling, and fleet relocation. For-hire interstate car haulers at 10,001 lbs or more need at least $750,000 of liability under 49 CFR 387.9; Texas intrastate haulers over 26,000 lbs need at least $500,000 on file with TxDMV. If you run a pickup and a three-car wedge, the hotshot page explains the CDL and weight lines.

What sets car hauling apart is the cargo: every unit has a VIN, a value and a condition report, and every unit is driven on and off the trailer.

Auto transport is heavily brokered, and dealers and auctions often have their own carrier requirements. Expect:

• Auto liability at a stated limit. See why brokers require $1 million.
• Cargo stated two ways: a limit per vehicle and a limit per load. A broker or dealer may ask for one, the other or both.
• Enclosed or high-value loads with a higher cargo limit named in the dispatch.
• Condition reports at pickup and delivery, usually photo-based, which become the evidence in any damage claim.
• A certificate that lists the trailer and matches the authority name. See carrier packet insurance rejected.

Federal law does not require general freight cargo coverage; 49 CFR 387.303(c) applies to household goods carriers. The cargo limits on a car haul come from the contract.

• What you haul. New, used, salvage, classic and exotic vehicles carry very different values and damage patterns.
• Open vs enclosed. Enclosed trailers carry higher values per load; open trailers carry road debris and weather exposure.
• Units per load. The total value on the trailer drives the per-load cargo limit.
• Loading practice. Driver experience loading the top deck, ramps, winching inoperable units, and securement training against 49 CFR 393.128.
• Lanes and stops. Overnight parking with a loaded trailer raises theft exposure.
• Claims history on cargo, including small damage claims that add up. See what a loss run is.

Per-vehicle limit vs the most valuable car

A cargo policy can carry a per-vehicle limit, a per-load limit, or both. If the per-vehicle limit is lower than the value of the most expensive unit on the trailer, that unit is underinsured even when the per-load limit looks fine. Check every dispatch for high-value units.

Loading and unloading damage

Driving a car up the ramp, scraping a bumper on a deck or dropping a hydraulic deck onto a roof is the classic car hauler claim. Some cargo forms cover loading and unloading; some restrict it; some exclude damage while the vehicle is being driven under its own power. Read the form.

Pre-existing damage disputes

Without a clear condition report at pickup, you may end up paying for damage you did not cause. This is not an insurance gap so much as an evidence gap, but it decides many claims.

Theft, keys and unattended trailers

Vehicles with keys inside on an unattended trailer are an obvious target. Cargo forms often carry unattended vehicle exclusions or conditions. See what the unattended vehicle exclusion is and does cargo insurance cover theft.

Height and structures

Texas Transportation Code 621.207 limits a vehicle and load to 14 feet and makes the owner strictly liable for height damage to a bridge, underpass or similar structure, with exceptions including a valid permit or an incorrectly posted clearance. A top-deck SUV can push a load close to that line.

Vehicles stored at your yard

Customer vehicles parked at your lot between loads are not in transit. Cargo forms often limit coverage at terminals. If you hold vehicles overnight or longer, ask whether you need garagekeepers coverage. See what garagekeepers coverage is.

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 regulates tow trucks through TDLR. Its definition of "tow truck" excludes a car hauler used solely to transport motor vehicles as cargo, other than in a consent or nonconsent tow, in the course of a prearranged shipping transaction, a commercial transaction for transport of a damaged vehicle arranged or authorized by an insurance company and delivered to a salvage pool operator, or for use in mining, drilling or construction operations.

In practice: a car hauler doing prearranged dealer, auction or salvage-pool transport is outside the tow truck rules. A rig that picks up broken-down vehicles at the owner's request, or does nonconsent work, is towing and needs a TDLR permit with its own insurance requirements. If your work mixes the two, see the tow truck insurance page and have the classification confirmed before you rely on it.