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The trucking industry faces rising nuclear verdicts, shrinking excess capacity, and tougher market dynamics. Discover key trends, risk drivers, and strategies to deliver results in today’s excess trucking insurance marketplace.

What’s fueling rising insurance costs in the trucking world? From nuclear verdicts to skyrocketing repair costs and driver shortages, today's challenges demand more innovative solutions. This article explores how market dynamics are impacting primary trucking insurance and how brokers can help clients navigate the turbulence.

Are your transportation clients truly covered for pollution losses—or just compliant? Standard endorsements like CA 9948 and MCS-90 often fall short when it counts. Discover how a true Transportation Pollution Liability (TPL) policy fills critical coverage gaps and provides robust protection for today’s high-stakes environmental sector.

Want to know more about what to expect in the insurance marketplace but don’t have time to read a 10+ page State of the Market? Interested in emerging trends and market or capacity changes? Gain the key marketplace insights you need at just a glance with our easy-to-read 2025 guides.

Trucking companies face complex risks, from predatory towing and theft to rigorous regulations. These risks have created challenges in providing trucking companies and drivers with adequate insurance protection. However, innovative new products can help retail agents better serve their trucking clients’ needs.

More trucks on the road can increase the frequency of accidents, including fatalities. Controlling losses continues to be a challenge for the trucking industry as the sector struggles to hire qualified drivers and balance rising operational costs. Read more about what’s happening in the trucking industry and the unique risks facing insureds.

Price increases are decelerating in a more manageable excess trucking market after sharp hikes over the last two years. Still, carriers remain cautious and selective. Smaller accounts may have an easier time, but larger accounts should expect a bumpier ride.

The trucking industry has experienced a volatile cycle over the past few years, and it continues to grapple with the COVID pandemic's economic fallout and driver shortages. In 2022, the trucking sector saw a shortage of just over 78,000 drivers, down only slightly from 2021’s shortage of 81,000 drivers (source 1). Controlling losses remains a big challenge for the trucking industry, especially as the need for drivers grows. According to the American Trucking Association, the trucking industry is likely to see a record deficit of 160,000 drivers by 2030 (source 5).

On February 3, 2023, a train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. Thirty-eight of the cars left the track, including 11 that were carrying hazardous materials. In the aftermath of the derailment, the EPA has declared that the water and air in East Palestine are safe, but questions remain about environmental liability.

Two topics have been dominating the conversation across California’s trucking industry in recent months: California Air Resources Board (CARB) regulations and California Assembly Bill 5 (AB5). As these laws take effect, trucking company owners and drivers are working to understand the laws’ impact on daily operations and their insurance programs (source 2).

The trucking industry continues to bounce back from the 2020 pandemic, but the recovery hasn’t been all smooth sailing. According to the American Transportation Research Institute’s (ATRI) 2022 survey, 2021 was the costliest year on record for the trucking industry, and the trend was expected to continue with 2022 (source 1).

Motor carriers have traditionally been paper-based businesses with bills of lading, inspection reports, delivery receipts, and other necessary operational documents kept in tangible files. As more trucking businesses go digital, they are entering a new world of improved efficiency that also comes with larger data volume and increased cyber risk.

Commercial trucking often serves as a trusted barometer for the U.S. economy. In 2020, America’s truckers carried 10.23 billion tons of freight and generated $732.3 billion in revenue (source 1).

It’s no secret that the excess trucking insurance landscape has been rocky in recent years. Pricing for commercial auto insurance began rising near the end of 2011 and increased for 40 consecutive quarters. A recent history of harsh vertical judgments also seriously hampered the sector. Over the last ten years, commercial auto underwriters recorded more than $22 billion in losses (source 4). However, after several years of keeping pace with or surpassing primary carrier increases, the excess trucking market is starting to show some stability.

Over the last decade, third-party litigation funding (TPLF) has evolved into a $17 billion industry worldwide, and 52% of that money is being spent in the U.S., making TPLF a key contributor to social inflation, hiking up jury awards and claim settlements that may have a significant impact on insurance prices and coverage availability.