Bobtail / Deadhead Liability

The truckers policy provides primary liability insurance for the owner or anyone else form whom the named insured hires a covered auto , while the auto is being used exclusively in the named insured's trucking business and pursuant to operating rights granted to the named insured by a public authority.  A truck owner who operates exclusively for-hire with another trucking firm(s) may therefore have no need for a truckers policy of their own.  In this case, the truck owner does not have his own operating authority and operates his vehicle under the authority of another trucker.

However, the trucker owner will need to have liability insurance for non-trucking use which is commonly called "Bobtail Coverage" as well as "Deadheading",  An independent trucker usually deadheads or bobtails when traveling between home and the terminal or when returning unloaded from delivering a previous load and the trucker is not "under dispatch".

To insure the coverage gap created by bobtailing and deadheading, the independent trucker can purchase a business auto policy (not truckers) with the "Non-Trucking Use" endorsement attached. 

Motor Truck Carrier: Any person or organization engaged in the business of transporting property by commercial automobile.

Owner Operator: The individual, partnership or corporation who leases equipment to a Motor Truck Carrier and this equipment is to be operated by the owner of the equipment or his employees.

Permanent Lease: The written lease agreement between the Motor Truck Carrier  and the Owner Operator which is for period of 30 (thirty) days or more.

Why Fleet owners should require bobtail

Protection for the insured: The insured should require non-business use coverage (bobtail) for all leased operators.  Without is, the primary carrier will often be held liable for non-business use accidents since the MCS-90 gives the insurance carrier the right of recovery from the policyholder.  That means the insurance company would seek recovery from the insured for a claim that technically does not apply to the primary policy.  Fleet managers must insure that their owner-operators have this coverage.  Maintaining certificates of insurance from each owner operator is not really sufficient.  Certificates do not provide coverage; they only confirm that at one point in time the coverage existed.  The Insured would be hard pressed to continually monitor that the bobtail coverage remains active.  A group bobtail policy for the Insured would put the coverage control in the hands of the insured and ensure that the coverage remained active.