Here’s the Deal
If you are an owner-operator, you are not an employee. That means no employer is providing you with workers’ compensation insurance. If you get hurt on the job — slip off your trailer, throw out your back securing a load, get injured in an accident — there is no workers’ comp safety net catching you.
Occupational accident insurance is that safety net. It is designed specifically for independent contractors in trucking and covers medical expenses, disability income, and accidental death when you are injured on the job.
There is no federal requirement to carry it. But if you cannot afford to be out of work for six months with no income and a pile of medical bills, you cannot afford to be without it.
Why Owner-Operators Cannot Get Workers’ Comp
Workers’ comp is an employer-provided benefit. As an independent contractor, you do not have an employer. You are not eligible through any carrier you are leased to. Some states let self-employed individuals buy workers’ comp for themselves, but it is expensive and impractical for trucking.
OA insurance fills this gap. It provides similar protections — medical coverage, disability income, death benefits — structured and priced for independent operators. Important distinction: OA is not workers’ comp. It is accident insurance with a different legal framework. But practically, it fills the same role.
What Occupational Accident Insurance Covers
A typical OA policy has three main components:
Accident Medical Expense
This pays for medical treatment resulting from a covered occupational accident. Hospital stays, surgeries, rehabilitation, prescriptions, ambulance transport — the medical bills that pile up after a serious injury.
Benefit levels typically range from $500,000 to $1,000,000 in accident medical coverage. The difference matters more than you might think.
Consider this scenario: you are involved in a serious accident that requires emergency surgery, a two-week hospital stay, and six months of physical rehabilitation. Total medical bills: $650,000. If your OA policy has $500,000 in accident medical coverage, you are responsible for the remaining $150,000 out of pocket. With $1,000,000 in coverage, you are fully protected.
The premium difference between $500K and $1M in accident medical is often $20-40 per month. For that price, doubling your medical protection is one of the easiest insurance decisions you will make.
Disability Income (Temporary Total Disability)
This is the piece most truckers ignore until they need it. If you are injured and cannot drive, your income stops but your expenses do not. Truck payment, insurance premiums, mortgage, groceries — all still due.
Disability income pays a weekly benefit while you cannot work. Typical benefits: $500 to $1,500 per week. Do the math on your monthly obligations. If your fixed costs run $7,000 per month and you have zero income, after six months you are $42,000 in debt.
Most OA policies have a waiting period (7, 14, or 30 days) before benefits begin. Shorter waiting periods cost more but start paying sooner. Choose based on your cash reserves.
Accidental Death and Dismemberment
Nobody wants to think about this, but it matters. If a covered occupational accident results in death, the AD&D benefit pays your beneficiary. If it results in the loss of a limb, sight, or hearing, it pays a scheduled benefit.
Typical AD&D benefits range from $100,000 to $500,000. If you have a family depending on your income, this coverage is critical. It is not a replacement for life insurance, but it provides an immediate benefit specifically tied to occupational accidents.
24-Hour Coverage vs Occupational-Only
OA policies come in two flavors:
Occupational-only covers injuries during work activities — loading, driving under dispatch, pre-trip inspections, securing cargo. Slip in your shower at the truck stop? Not covered.
24-hour coverage extends protection around the clock, on or off duty. Costs 40-60% more than occupational-only. If you do not have personal health insurance (and many owner-operators do not), 24-hour OA may be your only medical safety net.
How OA Interacts With Health Insurance
OA is accident insurance, not health insurance. A heart attack while driving is a medical event, not an accident — OA may not cover it. Chronic conditions from years of trucking (back problems, sleep apnea) are not accidents either.
The ideal setup: health insurance for illness and preventive care, plus OA for work accidents and disability income. If you can only afford one, OA arguably covers the more catastrophic scenario — a work injury that stops your income while generating massive medical bills.
Why Carriers Require It
Many carriers require OA as a lease condition. Without it, an injured operator might file a misclassification claim arguing they were really an employee entitled to workers’ comp. OA gives operators a coverage mechanism, reducing that legal risk for carriers.
Some carriers offer group OA plans at negotiated rates — often cheaper than individual policies. If your carrier offers one, compare the coverage terms carefully. Group plans may have better rates but less flexibility.
State-Specific Issues
Texas is a non-subscriber state for workers’ compensation, meaning employers are not required to carry workers’ comp. This makes OA especially important for owner-operators in Texas because the entire state operates with less of a safety net. If you are hurt and have no OA and no workers’ comp, your options are limited to personal health insurance and lawsuits.
Oklahoma has specific requirements related to OA coverage for motor carriers, including minimum benefit levels and coverage terms. If you operate in Oklahoma, check with your agent about state compliance.
California is complicated by AB5, the law that tightened the rules for who can be classified as an independent contractor. If you are operating in California and classified as a contractor, make sure your classification holds up under AB5. If it does not, you may be entitled to workers’ comp as an employee — but your carrier may also terminate the relationship. OA provides a safety net while these classification issues are being sorted out.
New Jersey has similarly strict worker classification rules. The state aggressively pursues misclassification, and the line between employee and contractor is drawn more tightly than in most states.
The Bottom Line
Occupational accident insurance is not exciting. Nobody buys a truck dreaming about their OA coverage. But it is the policy that stands between a work injury and financial catastrophe.
If you are an independent owner-operator, you do not have workers’ comp. OA fills that gap. Get at least $1M in accident medical, as much disability income as you can afford, and seriously consider 24-hour coverage if you do not have personal health insurance.
Your ability to earn depends on your ability to drive. When that ability is temporarily taken away by an injury, OA keeps the bills paid and the medical care coming. At $150-300 per month for most policies, it is one of the most important investments you can make in your own business.
Do not wait until you are lying in a hospital bed to wish you had it.