Cargo Insurance

Definition

Cargo insurance is the policy that pays for shipper claims when freight in the carrier's custody is lost, damaged, or destroyed. The federal minimum under 49 CFR Part 387 is $5,000 per vehicle and $10,000 per occurrence for general-commodity common carriers, but the practical baseline is $100,000 per truck because most brokers and shippers contractually require it. Limits scale with commodity value: refrigerated produce loads commonly require $250,000, high-value electronics $500,000+. Cargo insurance is separate from BIPD (which covers third-party injury and property damage) and from non-trucking liability (which covers the truck during personal use). The insurer files BMC-32 with FMCSA when binding cargo coverage for a common carrier.