Understanding Primary Liability vs. General Liability in Trucking Insurance

For truckers and fleet owners, navigating commercial insurance means understanding two critical, yet often confused, terms: Primary Auto Liability and General Liability (GL).

While both are about covering risk, they protect against fundamentally different types of incidents. Here is your quick breakdown from Cal-Society Insurance Services.

🛑 1. Primary Auto Liability: Covering the Truck on the Road
This is the cornerstone of your trucking policy and is federally mandated for all commercial motor vehicles operating under their own authority.

Primary Liability Covers:

Accidents: Damage or injury caused by your truck and trailer while they are hooked up and operating on the road.

Bodily Injury: Medical costs for third parties injured in an accident caused by your truck.

Property Damage: Cost to repair or replace property (like other vehicles or guardrails) damaged by your truck during a driving incident.

Key Rule: It only applies while your vehicle is directly involved in transportation.

🚶 2. General Liability (GL): Covering the Business Off the Road
General Liability is a separate policy that covers the business operations outside of the driving exposure. It protects you from the general public risks associated with running any company, from your office to a customer’s site.

General Liability Covers:

Slip-and-Falls: If a visitor, customer, or vendor is injured at your office, your truck yard, or while walking around your truck when it’s parked.

Non-Auto Damage: If you or an employee accidentally damage property while away from the driving task (e.g., dropping equipment on a loading dock or damaging property while renting an office space).

Personal Injury: Claims of libel, slander, or false advertising.

Key Rule: It steps in where Primary Liability ends, covering risks when the truck is parked or during non-driving tasks.

🎯 The Bottom Line: You Need Both
In today’s commercial landscape, having only one coverage leaves you dangerously exposed. Shippers and brokers often require both because a single loading dock incident can easily transition from a General Liability exposure to a Primary Liability claim, and vice-versa.

Ensure your entire operation—the vehicle and the business—is protected.

Contact Cal-Society Insurance Services today for a comprehensive, free review of your trucking insurance needs.

Call 1-800-773-1663 now for a free commercial insurance quote!