60 member coalition warns lawmakers to reject trucker minimum insurance hike

Dozens of trade groups have called on Congress to put the brakes on any plan that would increase motor carrier minimum insurance requirements.

In a letter sent to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on February 1, the the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) partnered with approximately 60 other trade groups to “strongly discourage” any increase in minimum liability coverage for truckers.

Last year, House Democrats pushed through an amendment to a transportation spending bill that would increase current minimum insurance requirements for commercial vehicle drivers from $750,000 to $2 million. The amendment fizzled and failed to advance in the then-Republican led Senate.

With Democrats now in control of Congress, the OOIDA-led coalition wants to ensure that lawmakers would not consider any similar motor carrier insurance increase in a future surface transportation reauthorization bill, as it could put smaller trucking companies out of business.

In the letter, the coalition argues that increasing minimum liability requirements for truckers would not increase safety and would have a detrimental effect on the economy.

From the letter:

An increase in insurance requirements is wholly unnecessary, would do nothing to improve highway safety, and would have a severe negative impact on truckers, farmers, and manufacturers by significantly increasing their operational costs.

Increasing minimum liability coverage would affect all businesses transporting property, not just long-haul trucking operations. As illustrated by the diversity of our coalition, the impact would be felt in many sectors of the economy that have been working to help our nation recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, including trucking, agriculture and the materials industries. Raising insurance rates for countless businesses engaged in trucking in the midst of the current economic disruption caused by the virus would undoubtedly lead to the loss of even more American jobs. This policy clearly does not belong in legislation that is designed to support economic recovery and encourage growth.

The coalition also points to a study that claims that the current minimum insurance level for motor carriers adequately covers damages in all but 0.6% of crashes.

See the members of the coalition listed below.

• Agricultural Retailers Association
• American Beekeeping Federation
• American Concrete Pavement Association
• American Concrete Pipe Association
• American Concrete Pumping Association
• American Dairy Coalition
• American Farm Bureau Federation
• American Forest and Paper Association
• American Pipeline Contractors Association American Sheep Industry Association
• Associated Equipment Distributors
• Colorado Motor Carriers Association
• Concrete Foundations Association
• Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute
• Consumer Brands Association
• Distribution Contractors Association
• Energy Marketers of America
• Georgia Motor Trucking Association
• Hawaii Transportation Association
• Kansas Motor Carriers Association
• Livestock Marketing Association
• Maine Motor Transport Association
• Mid-West Truckers Association
• Minnesota Trucking Association
• Missouri Trucking Association
• Motor Carriers of Montana
• Motor Transport Association of Connecticut National Asphalt Pavement Association
• National Association of Small Trucking Companies National Aquaculture Association
• National Cattlemen’s Beef Association
• National Grain and Feed Association
• National Precast Concrete Association
• National Ready Mixed Concrete Association National Stone Sand and Gravel Association
• National Utility Contractors Association
• Nevada Trucking Association
• New Hampshire Motor Transport Association
• New Jersey Motor Truck Association
• New Mexico Trucking Association
• NFIB
• North American Millers’ Association
• North American Renderers Association Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association Pet Food Institute
• Power and Communication Contractors Association Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute
• Rhode Island Trucking Association
• Southwest Movers Association
• South Carolina Trucking Association
• South Dakota Trucking Association
• Tennessee Trucking Association
• Texas Trucking Association
• Tilt-Up Concrete Association
• Towing and Recovery Association of America Truck Renting and Leasing Association
• United Dairymen of Arizona
• United Fresh Produce Association
• United States Cattlemen’s Association
• Vermont Truck & Bus Association
• Western States Trucking Association
• Wyoming Trucking Association