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Insurance Buying Guide for Transportation Services Businesses
Before launch in a new state or a change to how a trip is dispatched, map each driver, vehicle, trip stage, passenger or cargo, and operating entity. For California transportation network company activity, compare the current regulator requirements with the commercial quote; legal arrangements and policy wording are different checks.[1][2][3]
Which Insurance Should You Consider?
Consider commercial auto, hired and non-owned auto, cargo and transit, general liability, and cyber liability. Start with the coverages tied to your day-to-day operations, then use the situations and buying questions below to compare your options.
Commercial auto
Your business owns, leases, arranges, or relies on vehicles for passenger trips or deliveries.
Commercial auto terms depend on the vehicles, insured entities, drivers, and declared use. For a California TNC, CPUC describes different insurance periods; that regulator summary does not establish the terms of your commercial policy.[3][1]
Ask Before Buying
Which entity, driver, vehicle, platform status, and trip stage are covered, and how are app-on, matched, pickup, and off-duty periods handled?
Hired and non-owned auto
Drivers or employees use rented or personally owned vehicles for company work.
Ask whether hired or non-owned vehicle exposure fits the declared work and who is insured while driving. Do not treat a TNC arrangement as equivalent to delivery or ordinary business driving.[3][1]
Ask Before Buying
Which vehicle ownership and work-use scenarios are declared, and what driver, trip, or jurisdiction exclusions apply?
Cargo and transit
The company takes custody of goods or promises delivery between parties.
Inland marine can address business property away from a fixed site or in transit, but shipment responsibility and the insured property must be checked in the actual form. Identify custody points, values, and delivery partners.[3]
Ask Before Buying
When does custody begin and end, who owns the goods, and which routes, carriers, and handoffs are included?
General liability
You operate pickup areas, depots, events, or other customer-facing locations.
Commercial general liability can address specified third-party injury and property damage from premises and operations. Describe locations and support activities; review any auto-related exclusions separately.[3]
Ask Before Buying
Which locations and non-driving operations are included, and how do the forms separate premises and vehicle incidents?
Cyber liability
You store driver or passenger location, identity, payment, or safety incident records.
Ask whether cyber insurance fits your data and dispatch dependencies. Review actual incident and vendor-outage triggers; transportation regulation is not evidence of cyber coverage.[3]
Ask Before Buying
Do the proposed terms address dispatch interruption, location-data incidents, payment vendors, and response costs?
Before a State Launch or Trip-Flow Change
Draw the timeline from app availability through matching, pickup, passenger onboard or package handoff, drop-off, and driver logout. Mark which entity controls each stage and which party supplies insurance.[1]
CPUC’s period guidance applies to California TNC activity and differentiates stages. First establish whether the service meets that regulator’s TNC definition; do not apply the requirements automatically to couriers, taxis, or other states.[2][1]
When You Add a Fleet or Take Custody of Goods
List vehicle ownership, leases, driver relationships, operating states, delivery partners, and goods custody points. Give the broker your dispatch and delivery contracts before promising limits or insurance evidence.[3]
Separate vehicle coverage questions from goods-in-transit questions. For each handoff, record who owns and carries the goods, declared values, route, carrier, and any service-level promise.[3]
Providers to Compare by Coverage
Commercial auto
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Amelia Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
2.0/ 10
Hired and non-owned auto
Amelia Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
2.0/ 10
Corgi
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Cargo and transit
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Amelia Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
2.0/ 10General liability
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Amelia Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
2.0/ 10Cyber liability
Alliance Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
Not enough ratings
Amelia Risk
Spot Score
Review Score
2.0/ 10
Common Questions
Do California TNC insurance periods automatically apply to delivery apps?
No conclusion follows from an app-based model alone. CPUC defines a TNC around arranging compensated passenger transportation using an app and a driver’s personal vehicle; delivery services are not automatically the same activity.[2]
Read the Full AnswerWhat information should a mobility business send for an auto quote?
Prepare the operating entity, states, vehicle ownership, driver relationship, trip or delivery stages, and whether drivers are carrying people or goods.[3]
Read the Full AnswerSources and Further Reading
- Insurance Requirements for TNCs — California Public Utilities Commission. Current insurance requirements; periods 1–3
California CPUC summary of insurance periods for covered TNC activity.
- Transportation Network Companies — California Public Utilities Commission. Background, TNC definition
California CPUC definition of transportation network company activity.
- Commercial Insurance Guide — California Department of Insurance. Commercial Insurance Guide, revised June 14, 2024: purchasing coverage, commercial property, inland marine, boiler and machinery, commercial general liability, and workers compensation.
Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this guide and works in the commercial insurance market. This is general buyer education; policy terms and state-specific obligations determine coverage and requirements.
Updated 2026-09-28. Editorial Policy
Get Help With Insurance Buying and Renewals.
Get help buying coverage and managing renewals, with less paperwork for your team. Start with a free consultation.