How Much Insurance Does a Semi Truck Have to Carry?

If you’re asking how much insurance does a semi truck have to carry, the short answer is $750,000 for many interstate trucks. That amount is a required minimum. It is not a payment owed to anyone hurt in a crash. This page explains the number, which rules apply to a truck, and how that coverage connects to an injury claim. Terance Madden has practiced since 1999, and this page is written for anyone trying to understand a truck crash.

The Short Answer: How Much Insurance a Semi Truck Must Carry

How much insurance does a semi truck have to carry? Federal rules require a for-hire carrier hauling nonhazardous freight to have $750,000 in financial responsibility. The minimum levels of financial responsibility referred to in § 387.7 are prescribed in § 387.9 as Table 1 to § 387.9, Schedule of Limits—Public Liability. That rule covers interstate or foreign trips with vehicles rated at 10,001 pounds or more.

Higher amounts apply in some cases. Table 1 to § 387.9 also requires higher minimums for some cargo: $1,000,000 for certain oil and hazardous materials, and $5,000,000 for certain other hazardous materials, such as some explosives.

Passenger carriers face different figures. Under § 387.303T, the minimum limits for passenger carriers depend on vehicle seating capacity, and the table addresses any vehicle with a seating capacity of 16 passengers or more (including the driver). The passenger-carrier minimums appear in 49 CFR § 387.33, and registration requirements appear in § 387.303.

Keep one point in mind. The required figure is a floor. The number is the liability amount the carrier must have in place, not a fund for injured people.

Which Rules Apply to a Particular Truck

Federal rules apply to carriers in interstate or foreign commerce. That means hauling that crosses state or national lines. Some federal entries also reach intrastate hauling, such as certain bulk hazardous loads.

Under § 387.7, no motor carrier shall operate a motor vehicle until the motor carrier has obtained and has in effect the minimum levels of financial responsibility as set forth in § 387.9. The rule applies before the truck ever leaves the yard.

A truck that runs only inside Georgia is still subject to state motor-carrier insurance rules, which are separate from the general vehicle-registration insurance requirements.

Many people assume one figure covers every load. The load often changes the number. Which amount applies depends on what the truck hauls, its weight rating, and whether the trip crosses state lines.

What Liability Coverage Is and Who It Protects

Liability coverage is the part of a trucking policy that pays people hurt by the truck. It also pays for damage to their property. Federal rules call this “public liability.” The federal definitions describe it as liability for bodily injury or property damage.

This is the coverage that answers claims from other drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists who are hurt. It is the coverage an injury claim is brought against.

Required policies must stay in effect until they are ended. Under § 387.7, cancellation may be effected by the insurer or the insured motor carrier giving 35 days’ notice in writing to the other.

A policy limit is the most the policy pays for covered claims from one accident. Injured people often hear that a truck carries a large limit. That limit is a ceiling, not money set aside for one person.

Does Truck Insurance Cover My Injuries?

Liability coverage can respond to injury claims. Liability coverage pays up to the policy limit, and it can pay through a settlement without any finding of responsibility. Injury claims often seek medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. Each claim turns on its own facts.

Other parties may also share responsibility for an injury, and a case can involve more than one party.

Your own policy may help, too. Georgia’s uninsured motorist law sets rules for this coverage in auto liability policies. The Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance says it can protect you and your passengers when an uninsured driver causes a crash.

Why Cargo and Physical Damage Coverage Does Not Pay Your Injuries

Injury claims fall under liability coverage. Cargo coverage and physical damage coverage work differently.

Cargo coverage protects the freight being hauled. It does not pay the driver of another car or a passenger who was hurt.

Physical damage coverage pays to repair or replace the carrier’s own truck or trailer. It is not an injury policy.

A common mistake is seeing the word “insurance” on carrier paperwork and assuming every policy will pay hospital bills. The part that matters for injuries is the liability coverage. A truck can be covered by more than one liability policy, such as a primary policy plus an excess or umbrella policy, so the total coverage available may come from several sources.

How Policy Limits Can Affect a Serious Injury Claim

A policy limit caps what the liability policy pays for covered claims from one accident. That cap matters most when injuries are serious.

Several people hurt in one crash may share the same limit. The driver, a passenger, and occupants of another vehicle can each have claims against one policy.

Some policies use a combined single limit. That means one amount covers both injury and property damage from the same crash. A large property claim can reduce what is left for injuries.

Serious injuries can produce losses above a policy limit. Under O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11, the combined recovery from added-on uninsured motorist coverage cannot exceed total economic and noneconomic losses.

Georgia’s joinder rule also limits who can be added to a lawsuit. Under O.C.G.A. § 40-1-112, the insurer may be joined in limited circumstances for Georgia-regulated (intrastate) motor carriers, while joinder of an interstate carrier’s insurer is addressed in O.C.G.A. § 40-2-140(d)(4). Those include when a motor carrier is insolvent or bankrupt, or cannot be served after reasonable diligence.

Evidence That Helps Establish What Insurance Applies

Crash reports, insurance details exchanged at the scene, and the trucking company’s records help show which policy applies. Save them early.

Driver logs can matter. They record time on the road and can bear on fatigue as a cause of a crash.

Keep your own records, too. Save medical bills, photos, and notes about lost work.

Time matters. Georgia’s general time limit for filing a personal injury lawsuit is two years from when the right of action accrues (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33; Cameron v. JMP Pizza, Inc. (2026)).

Talk With Terance Madden About Your Truck Crash in Georgia

Terance Madden, the responsible lawyer at T. Madden & Associates, P.C., can review the truck, the carrier, and the policy involved in your crash. The first consultation is free and confidential.

How much insurance does a semi truck have to carry?

The federal minimum for a for-hire interstate carrier of nonhazardous freight is $750,000. Some loads and passenger vehicles require more.

Does a semi truck’s insurance pay my medical bills?

Liability coverage can respond to injury claims, up to the policy limit, when the trucking side is responsible.

Does cargo insurance pay injury claims?

No. Cargo coverage protects the freight, not people hurt in a crash.

How long do I have to sue in Georgia?

Georgia’s general deadline is two years from when the right of action accrues (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-33; Cameron v. JMP Pizza, Inc. (2026)).

Our offices are in Jonesboro, Atlanta, Decatur, Macon, and Augusta. Our Jonesboro office serves Clayton County. Waiting for answers while bills arrive is hard, and you don’t have to sort out the insurance alone. Reach out through our free case evaluation page to talk about your truck crash. The first consultation is free, confidential, and comes with no obligation to continue.