Quick answer
Federal law sets a floor, not a ceiling. A carrier hauling ordinary freight between states must carry at least $750,000 in liability coverage, a figure set in 1985 and never raised. Hazardous cargo requires more. Most large carriers stack additional policies above the minimum, and in a Texas lawsuit those policies have to be handed over within 30 days.
After a serious truck crash, it can be all too easy to accept the first number provided over the phone. It usually comes from an adjuster, often by phone, and it tends to sound final. However, what a trucking company is required to carry and what it actually carries are two different figures, and the gap between them is often significant.
The following article breaks down the differences between federal minimums for commercial carriers, and real-world examples of what trucks typically carry.
On this page
- The federal floor, and why it’s just a floor
- What the carrier has to carry depends on what it was hauling
- A Texas-only carrier may be required to carry far less
- The policies above the primary one
- What an MCS-90 endorsement is, and what it is not
- How policy limits actually come to light
- When the coverage still is not enough
- Frequently asked questions
- Talk to a Houston truck accident lawyer
The federal floor
Any motor carrier hauling property across state lines in a vehicle over 10,001 pounds has to prove it can pay for the harm it may cause. That proof is a minimum level of financial responsibility, set by 49 C.F.R. § 387.9.
For ordinary freight, the number is $750,000.
That figure took effect in 1985 and has not moved since. In a 2026 report to Congress, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said so itself. Adjusted for core inflation through 2024, the 1985 minimum would be about $2.2 million today. Adjusted for medical costs, which have climbed 4.21 percent a year against 2.80 percent for core inflation, it would be roughly $3.7 million.
The agency’s own words: “the decreasing real value of the current minimum levels of financial responsibility is effectively removing the function of insurance in covering catastrophic crashes.” It stopped short of naming a new figure, saying it needs claims data that insurers do not currently share.
However, the federal minimum was never built around the actual cost of catastrophic injuries. It is a licensing threshold, not an estimate of harm.
What the carrier has to carry depends on what it was hauling
The schedule in § 387.9 is not one number. It rises with the danger of the cargo:
- $750,000 — general, non-hazardous property, for-hire, interstate
- $1,000,000 — oil, hazardous waste, and hazardous materials listed in the federal tables
- $5,000,000 — hazardous substances carried in bulk in cargo tanks or portable tanks, and Division 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 explosives in any quantity
This is why identifying the load matters as much as identifying the truck. On the Houston Ship Channel corridor — SH-225, SH-146, the approaches to Pasadena, Deer Park, and Baytown — a tanker and a dry van can look similar from behind and sit in completely different coverage tiers.
A Texas-only carrier may be required to carry far less
Not every commercial truck on a Houston highway is running interstate. A carrier that operates entirely inside Texas registers with the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles instead, and the state’s own minimums are lower.
Under the TxDMV Motor Carrier Handbook and the rules at Title 43 of the Texas Administrative Code, an intrastate carrier over 26,000 pounds generally has to carry $500,000. Hazardous cargo carries the same $1 million and $5 million tiers as the federal schedule, and buses and household-goods movers have their own figures.
A truck that never leaves Texas can be running on a third less mandatory coverage than an identical truck bound for Louisiana, and nothing about the vehicle reveals which is which.
The policies above the primary one
The minimum is what a carrier must show a regulator. It is frequently not what it buys.
Larger fleets typically build coverage in layers: a primary policy at or near the required limit, then excess policies stacked above it that respond only once the layer beneath is exhausted. Some carriers also self-insure a retention at the bottom, absorbing the first slice of every claim before any insurer pays.
None of that structure appears on the crash report or in the adjuster’s first phone call. It surfaces through the claim.
What an MCS-90 endorsement is, and what it is not
You will see the MCS-90 described as extra insurance. It is not, and the distinction has real consequences.
The MCS-90 is an endorsement attached to a motor carrier’s policy under 49 C.F.R. § 387.15. Through it, the insurer agrees to pay a final judgment against the carrier for public liability arising from the negligent operation, maintenance, or use of a covered vehicle. Critically, no exclusion or condition in the underlying policy relieves the insurer of that obligation.
Courts describe it as a suretyship rather than insurance, and the difference shows up twice. First, it generally reaches only after four things are true: a final judgment against the named insured; that insured being a for-hire carrier moving property in interstate commerce; the underlying policy not applying; and no other coverage available or sufficient. Second, the carrier has to pay the insurer back: the endorsement obligates the insured to reimburse the company for anything the policy would not otherwise have covered.
In plain terms: the MCS-90 exists to keep an injured member of the public from going uncompensated because of a coverage dispute between a carrier and its own insurer. It is a backstop of last resort, not an additional pot of money sitting alongside the policy.
How the limits actually come to light
Before a lawsuit, insureres are not required to volunteer what the defendant’s policy is worth, and often will not.
That changes once a suit is filed, however. Under Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 194.2, a party must produce “any indemnity and insuring agreements described in Rule 192.3(f)” as part of required initial disclosures, within 30 days after the first answer and without anyone having to ask. Rule 194.2(b)(7) is the provision; Rule 192.3(f) defines what counts.
That rule is often the moment a case comes into focus. It is also why a pre-suit offer, made before anyone has seen the policies, might tell you less than it appears.
When the coverage still is not enough
Sometimes, coverage under the initially responsible party may not cover all of the damages. When that happens, your attorney will begin looking at other sources to pay for your whole claim:
- Other responsible parties. A broker, shipper, loader, maintenance contractor, or equipment provider may carry separate coverage. Our container chassis article walks through how a single accident truck can involve several companies, some of which may not be obvious at first glance.
- Your own underinsured motorist coverage. Texas insurers must offer UM/UIM coverage, and it can only be declined in writing. Many people carry it without knowing.
These are just some of the places that a responsible attorney will look before providing a final coverage number.
Frequently asked questions
Does the insurance company have to tell me the policy limits?
Not before a lawsuit. Once suit is filed, insuring agreements are a required initial disclosure under Rule 194.2, due within 30 days after the first answer with no request needed.
Is the $750,000 minimum the most I can recover?
No. It is the least coverage the carrier is required to prove it has. Many carriers hold considerably more through excess layers, and other companies connected to the same trip may carry their own policies.
How do I find out whether the truck was interstate or intrastate?
The USDOT number on the vehicle and the carrier’s FMCSA registration are the starting point. A carrier operating only inside Texas registers with TxDMV and may be held to lower minimums.
The truck was hauling chemicals. Does that change anything?
It can. Hazardous cargo raises the required minimum to $1 million, and to $5 million for hazardous substances in bulk or for explosives. What was in the trailer is a fact worth establishing early.
What if the trucking company says its policy does not cover this crash?
That is what the MCS-90 endorsement was written for. It obligates the insurer to satisfy a final judgment for public liability even when the underlying policy would not, subject to the conditions above, and leaves the insurer with a reimbursement claim against the carrier.
Talk to a Houston truck accident lawyer
The number an adjuster says out loud in the first phone call is rarely what your case is actually worth. It also never includes everyone who might be responsible for paying for your injuries. Establishing what the carrier was hauling, whether it was running interstate or intrastate, what sits above the primary policy line, and which other companies were part of the trip is work that happens through a truck accident claim, not over the phone with an insurer.
The Law Offices of Hilda Sibrian have served the Houston community since 2004. Hilda Sibrian serves the Houston metropolitan area, including Sugar Land, Missouri City, La Porte, Beaumont, Pasadena, The Woodlands, The Heights, Bellaire, Kingwood, Baytown and of course Houston proper. Call our office today or fill out our online contact form for a free consultation.
