Paste your broker agreement. See what it asks your insurance to do.
Paste the insurance section of a broker-carrier agreement, a shipper transportation agreement, or a carrier packet. The decoder pulls out every limit, cargo term, endorsement and paperwork requirement it recognizes, explains what your policy needs for each, and flags where carriers usually get rejected. Free, and nothing leaves your browser.
Broker-carrier agreement, shipper transportation agreement, or carrier packet insurance requirements. Everything runs in your browser. Nothing you paste is uploaded unless you choose to send it to an agent below.
What the decoder looks for
25 requirements that show up again and again in broker-carrier agreements and carrier packets, in five groups:
- Limits: auto liability, any auto vs scheduled autos, MCS-90 and federal filings, general liability, workers' comp or occupational accident, and umbrella or excess.
- Cargo: motor truck cargo limits, reefer breakdown, cargo exclusions the agreement disallows (such as the unattended vehicle exclusion), trailer interchange or non-owned trailer coverage, and cargo claims under the Carmack Amendment.
- Endorsements: additional insured, primary and non-contributory, waiver of subrogation, and notice of cancellation.
- Contract terms: indemnity and hold harmless, no double brokering, deductibles, and occurrence vs claims-made.
- Paperwork: insurer rating and admitted status, certificates and certificate holder vs additional insured, named insured matching your authority, scheduled units, and driver approval.
It matches wording, so it can miss a requirement written in an unusual way, and it cannot tell you whether your current policies meet it. For that, get a policy review, or read the guide to broker-carrier agreement insurance requirements and why carrier packets get rejected.
Why the certificate is not the whole answer
Most onboarding checks start with a certificate of insurance. A certificate summarizes your policies, but it does not change them. If the agreement asks for additional insured status, primary and non-contributory wording, a waiver of subrogation, or reefer breakdown, those have to be endorsed onto the policy itself. A certificate that shows them without the endorsement behind it can pass onboarding and still fail when there is a claim.
The same goes for cargo. Exclusions and theft conditions live in the cargo policy form, not on the certificate, so a $100,000 cargo limit can still leave a load uncovered. Read the common cargo exclusions against what the agreement says your policy may not exclude.
Indemnity, hold harmless and cargo liability terms are contract terms first. The decoder explains how they touch your insurance, but have an attorney review them before you sign.
Questions about the decoder
What should I paste into the decoder?
The insurance section of a broker-carrier agreement, a shipper or customer transportation agreement, or the insurance requirements page of a carrier packet. If insurance is in an exhibit or schedule at the end, paste that part.
Is my agreement uploaded anywhere?
No. The decoder runs in your browser and nothing you paste is sent to a server. Text only leaves your device if you choose to send it to a licensed agent with the form below the results.
Does the decoder tell me if my insurance meets the agreement?
No. It tells you what the agreement asks for. Whether your policies meet it depends on the endorsements, schedules, exclusions and filings actually on them, which only a review of the policies can answer.
Is this legal advice about the contract?
No. The decoder explains insurance, not law. Indemnity, hold harmless, cargo liability and claim deduction terms can carry real legal consequences, so have an attorney review them before you sign.
Why does a broker ask for more than the federal minimum?
Federal rules set the minimum financial responsibility for your authority. A broker or shipper can contractually require higher limits and extra endorsements as a condition of giving you freight, and many do.
What if the decoder finds nothing?
Check that you pasted the insurance section itself. Unusual wording can also slip past pattern matching, so if the agreement clearly has insurance terms and the decoder misses them, read them against the list of requirements on this page.
Have a licensed agent check it.
Send the agreement and your current policies. We will tell you which requirements your program meets, which it does not, and what it takes to close the gap.