An owner-operator from Lauderhill, leased onto a regional carrier, is unloading at a warehouse in Jacksonville when a pallet shifts and crushes his foot. He’s off the road for three months. He assumed the carrier’s workers’ compensation would cover him, the way it covers the carrier’s warehouse staff. It doesn’t, because he signed on as an independent contractor. His liability policy doesn’t cover his own injuries either. The medical bills and three months without income are his.
Owner-operators carry a set of insurance questions that company drivers never have to think about: which parts of the program the motor carrier provides, which parts are theirs, and what protects them personally when they’re the one who gets hurt. Getting those answers right is the difference between a business that survives a bad month and one that doesn’t.
Leased on or running your own authority
The first question is how you operate. If you run under your own DOT and MC number, the entire program is yours: primary liability at the limits your brokers require, cargo, physical damage and everything else, with your insurer filing proof with the FMCSA before your authority goes active.
If you’re leased onto a motor carrier, the carrier’s policy typically covers primary liability, and often cargo, while you’re under dispatch. What stays with you is usually non-trucking liability or bobtail for the time you’re not under dispatch, physical damage on your own tractor, and protection for yourself. The lease agreement spells out who’s responsible for what, and federal truth-in-leasing rules require it to state who provides the insurance and what, if anything, the carrier will deduct from your settlements for it. Read that section before you sign, because it decides what you need to buy on your own.
Making the move from leased to your own authority changes everything. Non-trucking liability is not a substitute for primary liability, and a driver who activates his own authority while still carrying only a non-trucking policy is uninsured for the work he’s now doing. Our articles on starting a trucking company in Florida and how much trucking insurance costs cover what changes.
Non-trucking liability and bobtail
For leased owner-operators, the gap between the carrier’s coverage and your own is where most surprises happen. Non-trucking liability is defined by purpose: it covers the truck when it’s used for something other than the carrier’s business, like driving home or running a personal errand. Bobtail is defined by configuration: it covers the tractor when it’s running without a trailer, which can include some business-related driving. They’re not the same, and the situations in between, like deadheading, driving home after the last delivery or waiting between loads, can fall differently depending on which one you have and how your lease defines dispatch. Our article on bobtail vs. non-trucking liability walks through them.
Physical damage on your own truck
Liability coverage pays for damage you cause to others. It doesn’t pay for your own tractor. Physical damage coverage does, whether the truck is damaged in a collision, stolen, burned or hit by a storm, and if the truck is financed, the lender requires it. Insure it at a realistic value, choose a deductible you can actually pay, and confirm the coverage applies whether you’re under dispatch or not. Some carriers offer physical damage through their own program and deduct the cost from settlements; compare that with buying it yourself before you assume it’s the better deal.
Workers’ compensation doesn’t usually cover you
Owner-operators who are genuine independent contractors generally aren’t employees of the motor carrier, which means the carrier’s workers’ compensation policy doesn’t cover them. Many drivers don’t realize this until they’re hurt. Whether a driver is truly an independent contractor depends on the facts of the relationship, not just the label on the contract, but for most leased owner-operators in Florida, the practical answer is that no one’s workers’ compensation is standing behind them.
Occupational accident insurance is built for that gap. It provides benefits similar to workers’ compensation, including medical expenses, disability income while you recover and death benefits, but it’s designed for independent contractors. Many motor carriers require it in their lease agreements, sometimes through a group program they offer, even though no law requires it. Read the benefit limits and the waiting period for disability payments carefully, because they vary widely between policies.
Occupational accident coverage is separate from your liability coverage. Non-trucking liability, bobtail and primary liability protect other people from you. Occupational accident protects you. A well-covered owner-operator needs both.
If you hire your own driver
Some owner-operators eventually put a second driver in their truck or add a second truck. A driver you hire may be your employee, and in Florida that can bring workers’ compensation requirements depending on your number of employees, along with the need to add the driver to every policy before he drives. A driver who isn’t on the policy can leave an accident uncovered, and in the case of primary liability, the federal MCS-90 endorsement can force your insurer to pay the claim and then come to you for reimbursement. Our article on what trucking insurance doesn’t cover explains how that works.
Sole proprietor or LLC
Whether you operate as a sole proprietor or through an LLC affects how your personal assets are protected and how your policies need to be written. The named insured on every policy should match the entity that owns the truck and signs the lease, and a mismatch can complicate a claim. It’s worth discussing with your accountant or attorney, and with your agent, when you set up or change your business structure.
Worth confirming
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Whether you’re leased on or running your own authority, and what your lease says about insurance
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Any insurance deductions the carrier takes from your settlements, and what they actually buy
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Non-trucking liability, bobtail or both, and how your lease defines dispatch
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Primary liability, cargo and filings in place before activating your own authority
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Physical damage on your tractor at a realistic value, in both dispatched and non-dispatched use
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Occupational accident coverage, with benefit limits and waiting periods you understand
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Any driver you hire listed on every policy before he drives
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The named insured matching the entity that owns the truck
For more, see our trucking insurance page, what trucking insurance covers in Florida, do you need trucking insurance in Florida, trucking insurance requirements in Florida, and our local pages on trucking insurance in Miami and Orlando. Spanish-speaking owner-operators can read our guide to seguro de camiones en Florida.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Whether a driver is an independent contractor or an employee depends on the facts of the relationship, and lease terms and policy forms vary; refer to your lease and policies, and consult qualified counsel about your situation.
Talk to Prestige Insurance Group
Prestige Insurance Group works with owner-operators across Florida, whether they’re leased onto a carrier or running their own authority. Send us your lease agreement and your current declarations pages, and we’ll show you exactly what the carrier covers, what’s yours to buy, and where the gaps are, then quote what’s missing with Progressive, GEICO and specialty trucking markets.
Call the office nearest you. Se habla español.
Orlando: 407-993-2331
Miami: 305-969-8776
Stuart: 772-247-3788
Prestige Insurance Group, License L057894
