We just applied for our own authority. What insurance do we need, and when?

The first question is where your freight goes, because that decides which agency you file with.

Interstate for-hire (crossing state lines, or hauling freight that is part of an interstate move). You need a USDOT number and federal operating authority. Federal law says FMCSA may register a motor carrier only if it files a bond or insurance, and the registration "remains in effect only as long as the registrant continues to satisfy the security requirements" (49 U.S.C. 13906). You also need process agents designated for every state you operate in (49 CFR 366.4), filed as a BOC-3.

Texas intrastate only. If you run trucks over 26,000 pounds, haul placarded hazmat, or haul household goods for hire, and stay inside Texas, you register with TxDMV. TxDMV requires a valid USDOT number before you start and tells carriers to register with USDOT as "INTRAstate, not INTERstate" (TxDMV). See Texas intrastate requirements and do intrastate carriers need a USDOT number.

Many Texas carriers do both. If any of your loads cross the state line or are part of an interstate shipment, plan for the federal path.

FMCSA has also been moving registration to a new system called Motus, and its Licensing and Insurance site posts notices about the transition (FMCSA L&I). Check FMCSA's current instructions when you apply, because screens and steps are changing.

The legal minimum is the floor. Your customers set the real number.

Here is the sequence that keeps you from paying for insurance you cannot use, or getting authority you cannot activate.

1. Apply for the USDOT number and authority. Your application is published, and "interested persons have 10 days from the date of FMCSA Register publication to file protests" (49 CFR 365.115).
2. Line up the insurance before the filing deadline. You need a bound policy so the insurer can file. The insurer, not you, files the BMC-91X. Each insurer contributing to the required amount files its own (49 CFR 387.313T).
3. File the BOC-3 through a process agent.
4. Wait for the authority to show active. Federal rules say "no motor carrier shall operate a motor vehicle until" the required financial responsibility is in effect (49 CFR 387.7). Do not dispatch a load until your authority shows active.
5. For Texas intrastate, the insurer files Form E electronically with TxDMV, and TxDMV says "Only your insurance company can file proof of insurance or cancellation." A $100 fee applies to original applications (43 TAC 218.16).

See how long until new authority is active for the timing questions.

A brand new authority has no loss history under its own name, so underwriters price and place it on what they can see. This is what a new venture trucking policy application leans on:

• The owner's and drivers' experience. CDL years, prior company driving, the type of equipment driven. See can new CDL drivers get insured and what drivers trucking insurance can cover.
• Motor vehicle records for every driver.
• The trucks and trailers: year, value, and how they are titled and financed. Lenders will want physical damage with them as loss payee.
• The freight and the radius. What you haul and how far you run. See radius in truck insurance.
• Prior authority. If you or a partner had authority before, underwriters will ask about it, its safety record and any losses.

Expect a down payment and a loss run request for any prior operation you were part of. Cost depends heavily on these factors, which is why we do not quote ranges here. See how much truck insurance costs in Texas for the factors that move it.

New carriers are monitored for 18 months after meeting pre-operational requirements, and FMCSA performs a safety audit once the carrier "has been in operation for enough time to have sufficient records," which "will generally be at least 3 months" (49 CFR 385.307).

That matters for insurance in two ways. First, your roadside inspections and crashes start building a public safety record immediately, visible in FMCSA's Safety Measurement System. See how CSA scores affect truck insurance and out-of-service rates. Second, your first renewal will be priced on that record. A clean first year is the single best thing you can do for your second-year premium.

1. Decide interstate, intrastate, or both, and write down the commodities you will actually haul.
2. Gather driver info: license numbers, CDL dates, prior employers, and MVRs if you have them.
3. List every unit with VIN, year, value and lienholder.
4. Get the broker requirements for the lanes you want. Plan limits to their requirements, not just the legal minimum.
5. Bind with an insurer that will make the filing (BMC-91X for interstate, Form E for Texas intrastate), and confirm it posts.
6. Calendar your MCS-150 update and UCR. See MCS-150 biennial update and UCR registration.

Send us your plan through a policy review and we will tell you what to bind first.