Legislation Would Increase Minimum Insurance Coverage Required for Trucking Companies

Federal law currently only requires commercial trucking companies to carry $750,000 in liability insurance. New legislation submitted by U.S. House Reps. Jesus G. "Chuy" Garcia of Illinois and Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania would change that.

The two Democrats have introduced the INSURANCE act, a measure that would increase the insurance minimums to be updated with inflation. The new bill would set the insurance minimum at $4.9 million per accident.

The mandatory minimum coverage of $750,000 hasn't changed since 1980 when the Motor Carrier Act passed.

Metier said that while medical costs have skyrocketed since 1980, the price of liability insurance has actually dropped.

The Motor Carrier Safety Act of 1980 was supposed to increase insurance minimums based on inflation but never did. The new minimum of $4.9 million would be updated regularly on pace with inflation if the INSURANCE act passes.

In 2014, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration proposed a rule change to increase mandatory minimums for insurance liability for trucking companies. One recommendation was to change the $750,000 minimum to $10 million. But in 2017, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration backed off and decided to kill its own attempt to change the rules.

In its withdrawal notice dated June 5, 2017, the agency wrote, "FMCSA is not able to calculate economic benefits from having more financial resources available to assist crash victims associated with increased minimum financial responsibility limits."

If you or a loved one is injured or killed due to the negligence of a semi-truck driver contact the experienced attorneys at Tabor Law Firm today. We have handled hundreds of truck accident cases, and we work diligently to ensure our clients get the legal support they need as we work to obtain the full compensation they deserve.