Kivulink
Underwriters ask for a lot. Here is the list.
Start a commercial quoteMost commercial quotes stall on a missing document. Here is the list, published up front.
What a trucking submission needs.
Trucking is its own trade with its own carriers, and it is the line where an incomplete file costs you the most time. Gather these seven and a quote is usually days rather than weeks.
| Document | Needed | Why the underwriter wants it |
|---|---|---|
| Your DOT number | Required | With this we can pull your authority, fleet size, radius and safety record ourselves. It saves you most of the paperwork. |
| Loss runs, last 3 to 5 years | Required | No trucking carrier quotes without them. Ask your current agent today, because they can take a week to arrive and nothing moves until they do. |
| Driver list with CDL numbers and dates of birth | Required | Carriers run a motor vehicle record on every driver. Years of CDL experience is one of the largest single factors in your price. |
| Equipment list with VINs and values | Required | Every power unit and trailer, with what you would replace it for rather than what you paid. |
| MC authority letter | If it applies | Only if you run under your own authority. |
| Your lease agreement | If it applies | Only if you are leased on to a carrier. The lease decides which coverages are yours and which are theirs, and getting that wrong leaves a real gap. |
| IFTA returns or mileage records | Helpful | Confirms radius and mileage, which some carriers rate on directly. |
New authority is the hardest thing in trucking to place. Fewer carriers will write it, the ones that do charge for the unknown, and the file has to be spotless because there is no loss history to argue with. If you are in your first year, expect the market to be narrow and start earlier than you think you need to.
Start a trucking submissionThe date that carries your whole policy.
Professional liability is usually written on a claims-made basis, which means it responds to claims reported while the policy is live rather than to work done while it was live.
The bridge between those two things is the retroactive date: the point in your history from which your past work is still covered.
Move to a new carrier and let that date reset to today, and every project you completed before today stops being covered.
The premium may look better. The policy is worth considerably less, and nobody finds out until a claim arrives about work from two years ago. It is the first thing we look for on an existing E&O policy, and it is why we ask for the current declarations page before quoting anything.
We will also want your professional licences, a standard client contract, and a description of your largest client or project. Underwriters read contracts for limitation-of-liability wording, and one client at sixty per cent of revenue reads very differently from thirty clients.
General liability, property, and the certificate somebody is waiting for.
Most commercial calls here start the same way: a landlord, a client or a contract has asked for a certificate of insurance and there is a deadline.
That is a solvable problem, usually quickly, and it is worth taking the extra twenty minutes to check that the policy behind the certificate fits the work rather than only satisfying the person asking.
General liability covers the harm your business does to other people and their property.
Business personal property covers your own equipment and stock. Commercial auto covers vehicles used for work, which your personal policy very often does not once the vehicle is being used for a business. Our own agency carries general liability, business personal property, cyber and a surety bond alongside professional liability, which is a reasonable shape for a small service business.
Coverage availability, terms and eligibility vary by carrier, state and the nature of the work. Nothing here is a binding quote, and no coverage exists until a carrier has issued a policy.
Tell us about the businessBusiness coverage questions, answered.
How fast can I get a certificate of insurance?
If the policy already exists, usually the same day.
If we are placing the coverage first, it depends on the line: general liability for a straightforward trade can be quick, and trucking is not. Tell us the deadline at the start rather than at the end.
Why does my personal auto policy not cover work driving?
Most personal policies exclude business use, and the exclusion is broader than people expect. Delivery, hauling and carrying tools for hire all sit outside it. A commercial auto policy, or a business-use endorsement, is what closes that gap.
I run one truck. Is that too small?
No. Owner-operators are a large part of this book. The submission is the same seven documents, and a clean file from a single-truck operation gets taken seriously.
Do I need workers' compensation?
It depends on whether you have employees and on how the work is classified, and Texas treats it differently from most states. It is worth a specific conversation rather than a general answer.
Can you review the policy I already have?
Yes, at no charge, including one bought elsewhere. On commercial we are mostly looking for gaps between what you do and what the policy describes, because that mismatch is where claims get denied.
Commercial carriers we hold 6+
Also Hiscox, Thimble, NEXT and more.
One application is rated by all of them. Appointments vary by state and no carrier writes every product everywhere. See the full network.
Written and reviewed by Innocent Muvunyi, Licensed Insurance Agent.
NPN 22182172. AHIP certified, CMS FFM registered.
Last reviewed .
Check this licence with the Texas Department of Insurance.