California Trucking Insurance
Commercial Truck Insurance in California
California is the biggest freight economy in the country — the San Pedro Bay ports and Oakland feeding drayage and intermodal work, the Central Valley moving the nation's produce, and the Inland Empire warehousing everything in between. Whatever your lane, Marquee builds the full program across 30+ A-rated markets. Trucking is all we do.
Not sure your limits still meet California's current requirements? Have us re-check them →
- State filings handled
- 30+ A-rated markets
- Trucking is all we do
California, Covered
LA to the Bay · ports, valley & the I-5 spine
From the San Pedro Bay terminals to the Central Valley — one agency, one renewal calendar.
Insurance requirements change. Your coverage shouldn't lag.
State legislatures, the FMCSA, and broker contracts all revise their requirements over time — and carriers usually find out from a compliance notice or a bounced load, then remarket under deadline pressure. We verify every account against current state and federal requirements at quote and at every renewal, so a rule change never catches you rolling. Get ahead of your renewal →
Programs We Build Here
Three California operations. Three different programs.
A harbor drayage operator, a Central Valley reefer hauler, and an Inland Empire fleet share a state — and almost nothing else about how their coverage should be built. The same truck gets a different program depending on what it hauls and where — here's how that plays out in California:
San Pedro Bay drayage
Owner-operator · terminals & rail ramps
Built to the UIIA: interchange-ready coverage with equipment providers named and the IANA filing handled.
- Auto liability — written to UIIA standards, with the endorsement on the policy
- Motor truck cargo — protects the freight — required by most brokers and shippers
- Trailer interchange — non-owned chassis, containers, and trailers in your care
- UIIA endorsement & IANA filing — we file it and keep your status active
Central Valley reefer
Produce · I-5 & Highway 99
Temperature-sensitive loads on tight schedules, with cargo coverage matched to the commodity.
- Auto liability — primary liability under your authority, at limits your contracts require
- Motor truck cargo — protects the freight — required by most brokers and shippers
- Reefer breakdown — temperature-failure protection where the load demands it
- Physical damage — collision and comprehensive for owned and financed equipment
Inland Empire fleet
10–50 trucks · regional lanes
A fleet program with safety support and one renewal calendar across the whole schedule.
- Auto liability — primary liability under your authority, at limits your contracts require
- Motor truck cargo — protects the freight — required by most brokers and shippers
- Physical damage — collision and comprehensive for owned and financed equipment
- General liability — premises and operations exposure — docks, yards, and loading
- Workers' compensation — for operations with employee drivers
Illustrative program shapes, not advice or a quote — every operation is different, and required coverage comes from your authority, your contracts, and your lender. Requirements change over time; we verify the current ones for your operation at every quote and renewal, and we handle the filings.
Want to know exactly what your operation needs today?Send us your dec pages — we'll verify your limits against current requirements and quote the gap across 30+ A-rated markets.
Check my coverageThe Golden State's Freight
Built for the biggest freight economy in America
The San Pedro Bay complex at Los Angeles and Long Beach is the busiest container gateway in the Western Hemisphere, and Oakland anchors the north — together they keep tens of thousands of drayage trucks working the terminals, rail ramps, and Inland Empire warehouses. Up the middle, the Central Valley grows a huge share of the country's produce, all of it moving on reefers along I-5 and Highway 99. Add the I-10 and I-15 lanes east and the I-80 climb over the Sierra, and California runs every kind of trucking there is — each priced by different markets, which is exactly how we quote it.
Port drayage & intermodal
San Pedro Bay and Oakland container work — and if you're UIIA, our intermodal program keeps your status active.
Central Valley produce
Reefer freight on a clock from Bakersfield to Sacramento — cargo limits matched to the commodity, not a default number.
Inland Empire distribution
Warehouse-to-everywhere regional work across I-10 and I-15 — placed with markets that want the density.
Fleets that scale
From three trucks in Fontana to a schedule that runs the state — our fleet program grows with you.
The Coverage We Place
One agency. Your whole California program.
The foundation of every program — bodily injury and property damage at limits your authority and loads require.
Explore coverage → Motor Truck CargoProtects the freight you haul; required by most brokers and shippers on the load.
Explore coverage → Physical DamageCollision and comprehensive for your tractor and trailer — required on financed equipment.
Explore coverage → The Full StackGeneral liability, per-shipment cargo, occupational accident, workers' comp, bobtail — one renewal calendar.
All coverages →California drayage, Valley reefer, and Inland Empire distribution are three different insurance markets that happen to share a coastline. The agencies that quote them as one are the reason so many California carriers are overpaying.
Nate MarquardtPresident, Marquee Insurance GroupCalifornia Questions
What California truckers ask us most
What insurance do I need to run a trucking company in California?
It depends on your operation. Interstate carriers follow federal FMCSA financial-responsibility requirements tied to their authority; carriers operating only within California fall under state operating-authority and filing requirements, which are set by state law and change over time. On top of the legal minimums, brokers and shippers set their own contract requirements — usually higher — and lenders require physical damage on financed equipment. We verify the current requirements for your specific operation at every quote and renewal.
Do you insure port drayage at Los Angeles, Long Beach, or Oakland?
Yes. California drayage means UIIA compliance — coverage structured to the agreement, equipment providers named, and your filing kept active with IANA. We're a UIIA-registered agency and handle intermodal accounts across the state's ports and rail ramps — see our UIIA coverage page.
How much does commercial truck insurance cost in California?
It depends on your operation: radius, commodity, driving records, years in business, equipment values, and loss history all move the number — and California's traffic density and claims environment are part of how underwriters look at the state. The fastest way to a real number is a quote against 30+ A-rated markets — see how truck insurance cost works.
What coverages do California brokers and shippers usually require?
Beyond auto liability at limits above the legal minimum, most load agreements require motor truck cargo coverage and a certificate listing the broker as certificate holder. Requirements vary by broker and commodity — we read them before we quote. If you haul intermodal, UIIA has its own requirements — see our UIIA coverage page.
Can you insure a brand-new trucking authority in California?
Yes. New ventures are one of our specialties — we place first-year California authorities with carriers that actually want new-venture risk, and our start-up guide walks you through filings, compliance, and what brokers will ask for.
Built for California. Backed by 30+ markets.
Send us your dec pages — we'll verify your limits against current requirements, quote across 30+ A-rated markets, and build the full program: liability, cargo, physical damage, and everything your loads demand.