Here’s the Deal
General liability is the coverage truckers forget about — until someone slips on the ice in their truck yard, or a forklift operator drops a pallet and blames your driver, or a shipper claims your crew damaged their loading dock.
Auto liability covers what happens on the road. General liability covers what happens everywhere else in your business. It is sometimes called “slip and fall” coverage, but it goes well beyond that.
There is no federal requirement for general liability insurance in trucking. The FMCSA does not mandate it. But shippers, brokers, and landlords often do. And if you have a physical location, employees, or any involvement in loading and unloading freight, going without GL is a risk you should not take.
What General Liability Covers
Bodily injury to third parties on your premises or during your operations. A delivery driver visits your yard and trips on a broken piece of pavement. A shipper’s employee gets hurt while your driver is assisting with a load. A visitor at your office slips on a wet floor. These are all general liability claims.
Property damage during your operations (not driving). Your driver backs into a loading dock and damages the dock structure — that might be auto liability. But your driver drops a dolly that scratches a shipper’s warehouse floor? General liability. The line between auto liability and GL can be blurry during loading and unloading, which is why having both matters.
Products and completed operations. This covers liability for damage caused by your services after you have completed them. If freight you delivered causes damage because of how it was loaded on your end, completed operations coverage may apply.
Personal and advertising injury. This covers claims of libel, slander, copyright infringement, and wrongful eviction. Less common in trucking, but it is included in standard GL policies. If a competitor claims you made false statements about them in your advertising, this is the coverage that responds.
Medical payments. Most GL policies include a small medical payments provision (typically $5,000 to $10,000) that pays for minor injuries to third parties on your premises regardless of fault. Someone gets a minor cut in your shop? Med pay covers their doctor visit without a lawsuit.
What General Liability Does Not Cover
Anything that happens while driving. Your auto liability policy handles that. GL and auto liability are separate coverages that work together, but they do not overlap.
Your own injuries. GL covers third parties, not you or your employees. For your own injuries, you need workers’ compensation (if you have employees) or occupational accident insurance (if you are an owner-operator).
Your own property. GL covers damage you cause to other people’s property. Damage to your own property is covered by your physical damage or property insurance.
Professional errors. If you provide consulting, dispatch services, or other professional advice, you need professional liability (errors and omissions) insurance. GL does not cover that.
Employment practices claims. Discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment claims by employees require employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), not GL.
Typical Coverage Limits
The standard general liability policy for a trucking operation is structured as:
- $1,000,000 per occurrence — the most the policy pays for a single incident
- $2,000,000 general aggregate — the most the policy pays for all claims in a policy year
- $1,000,000 products/completed operations aggregate
- $100,000 damage to rented premises
- $5,000 to $10,000 medical payments
Some shippers and brokers require higher limits. If you need $2M or $5M per occurrence, you can either buy a higher primary limit or add an umbrella/excess policy on top of your standard GL. The umbrella route is usually more cost-effective.
Why Shippers and Brokers Require It
Shippers want to know that if your driver causes injury or property damage during a non-driving activity at their facility, your insurance covers it. If you cannot provide a certificate of insurance showing GL, many shippers will not let your drivers on their property.
Common GL requirements in shipper contracts: $1M per occurrence / $2M aggregate, additional insured endorsement naming the shipper, waiver of subrogation, and 30-day notice of cancellation. Make sure your GL policy can accommodate these endorsements — not all policies allow unlimited additional insureds.
Premises Liability — Your Yard and Office
If you operate a truck yard, maintenance shop, or office, premises liability is the core of your GL coverage. Common claims: ice and snow (the most common winter GL claim), poorly maintained surfaces, inadequate lighting, and unsecured equipment.
Walk your property regularly with a safety mindset. Fix hazards before they become claims. It is cheaper to fill a pothole than to pay a $50,000 injury claim.
Loading and Unloading — The Gray Zone
The transition between auto liability and general liability happens at the loading dock. A claim denied by one policy and not covered by the other leaves you paying out of pocket.
Generally, auto liability covers loading and unloading directly connected to the vehicle. General liability covers your operations at the shipper’s facility beyond the vehicle itself. The exact dividing line depends on your policy language and state law.
A few examples: your driver backs into a dock and hits the building — auto liability, the truck was in motion. Your driver drops a pallet on a worker’s foot inside the warehouse — general liability, an operations claim. Your driver falls from the cab into a shipper’s equipment — could be either or both.
The practical solution: carry both, and work with an agent who understands how they interact. Uncoordinated policies from different insurers are where coverage gaps hide.
State Considerations
California has the highest GL premiums in the country. Claims that settle for $50,000 elsewhere can reach $200,000 or more in California.
New York has Labor Law 240 (the “scaffold law”), imposing strict liability for falls at elevation. Flatbed drivers tarping loads in New York face this exposure, making GL essential.
Texas courts take premises liability seriously. If you operate a truck yard open to visiting drivers, inadequate maintenance can result in substantial awards.
Illinois, particularly Chicago, has plaintiff-friendly courts that drive up GL costs.
The Bottom Line
General liability is not glamorous. It does not come up in conversation when truckers talk about insurance. But it fills a critical gap that auto liability, physical damage, and cargo insurance do not touch.
If you have a yard, an office, employees, or any involvement with loading and unloading, you need it. If shippers and brokers require it in their contracts, you definitely need it. And even if nobody requires it, the cost of a standard GL policy is modest compared to the exposure of running a business without one.
Do not be the carrier who finds out about general liability after a $200,000 slip-and-fall claim at their own truck yard.