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Insurance checklist for starting a trucking business in South Texas

What to buy, in what order, and what it takes to get from a truck purchase to a legal first load.

Updated August 17, 2026 · 2 min read

New operators usually do these steps in the wrong order and lose weeks. Here is the sequence that works, from the insurance side.

Before you buy the truck

• Get an insurance quote on the specific truck and operation you have in mind. On a new authority, insurance can exceed the truck payment, and that changes which truck you should buy
• Decide your lanes and radius, because they drive the price more than the truck does
• Form the entity, since the policy and the authority should be in the business name

The filings

Apply for the USDOT number and, if you will haul regulated freight for hire across state lines, operating authority. The authority is not active until your insurer files proof of coverage, so the policy has to be bound first. The filing process is here.

The coverages to line up

• Auto liability, usually 1,000,000 dollars because that is what brokers require
• Physical damage on the truck and trailer, matched to what you owe and what they are worth
• Motor truck cargo, commonly 100,000 dollars, with the right endorsements for your commodity
• General liability, which brokers and shippers increasingly require
• Non-trucking liability if you will also lease onto another carrier
• Workers compensation or occupational accident coverage for drivers

What underwriters ask a new venture

• Your driving experience, and any experience managing a truck
• CDL history and motor vehicle records for every driver
• Whether you have prior operating experience under another authority
• Down payment ability, because new ventures often require a larger deposit

Experience is the single biggest factor. An owner with ten years driving experience and a clean record gets a very different quote from someone with none, on the same truck.

The first two years

Expect the highest rates at the start, improving at the first and second renewal with clean loss runs and continuous coverage. Do not shop by price alone in year one. A cheap policy from a carrier that exits the segment leaves you looking for coverage mid-year with a lapse on your record.

Keep it in force

A lapse revokes your authority and creates the single most expensive problem in this business. Set up automatic payment before the first load.

We start-up trucking operations regularly

Call (956) 687-3334 before you buy the truck and we will price it first. Se habla español.