Trades / Motor vehicle towing
NAICS 48841 · mid injury risk
Insurance for motor vehicle towing
Motor vehicle towing log 2.3 recordable injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers, level with private industry's 2.3 and number 23 of 37 trades on this site. A middling injury record means the premium is driven as much by what you do for clients as by what happens to your own crew.
- 1Motor vehicle towing 2.3 per 100
- 2Private industry 2.3 per 100
- 3Rank of 37 #23
What goes wrong in this trade
Roadside work beside live traffic is the fatal exposure; damage to the towed vehicle (on-hook) and to vehicles in the yard (garagekeepers) are the recurring claims.
The checklist for motor vehicle towing
- AutoCommercial auto liabilityTow trucks are heavy vehicles; interstate operation over 10,001 lb brings 387.9 minimums.State minimum auto liability applies to business vehicles. Interstate for-hire carriers of vehicles 10,001 lb GVWR and up must carry the 49 CFR 387.9 minimums ($750,000 non-hazardous property; $1,000,000 oil; $5,000,000 bulk hazmat).
- CargoMotor truck cargoOn-hook coverage for the vehicle being towed, and garagekeepers for vehicles stored in your yard.Not an FMCSA filing requirement for general freight carriers; required by nearly every broker and shipper contract.
- GLGeneral liabilityYard and roadside premises claims.Not required by federal law. Required in practice by most contracts, landlords and many state contractor licences.
- WCWorkers' compensationRequired once you have employees in nearly every state.Required by state law in nearly every state once you have employees; the employee-count threshold and exemptions are set state by state and are not reproduced here.
Red tags mark policy types that a law or licence usually requires; green tags are what contracts, landlords and clients ask for. Tailor the list for your situation (no employees, no vehicles, alcohol) with the checklist tool.
What the injury record means for the premium
At 2.3 cases per 100 workers this trade sits in the middle of the 37 trades here, with 65 percent of cases involving days away, restriction or transfer. The workers' compensation class rate will be noticeable but not dominant; the balance of the premium is general liability and, where the checklist lists it, commercial auto. The approximate fatality rate of 68.7 per 100,000 FTE is well above the all-industry level and is the figure that keeps auto and liability limits high.
The nearest trades by injury rate are exterminating and pest control services (2.2), full-service restaurants (2.2), roofing contractors (2.4); the same payroll insured in those classes would start from a similar workers' comp base.
Legal, licence or contract?
Fixed by law
- Workers' compensation once you have employees, in nearly every state (threshold and exemptions set by the state; not reproduced here).
- Public liability of at least $750,000 for interstate for-hire carriage of non-hazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 lb GVWR or more; $1,000,000 for oil; $5,000,000 for bulk hazmat — 49 CFR 387.9. Details.
- State minimum auto liability on any vehicle the business operates.
Asked for by contracts and licences
Sources: BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, Table 1 (2024), incidence rates per 100 full-time workers; BLS SOII Table 3 (2024), hours worked by detailed industry; BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Table A-1 (2024); 49 CFR 387.9 — Schedule of limits, public liability (eCFR). Fatal rate per 100,000 FTE is derived (count ÷ hours × 200,000,000) and approximate. Checked 2026-10-23.