One of the first questions every owner-operator asks before signing on: who pays for what insurance, and how much comes out of my check? When you lease on to a carrier, the coverage picture is different than running your own authority — and understanding the split saves you from nasty surprises.

Here's the honest breakdown.

The two coverages that matter most

Truck insurance isn't one thing. For freight, two pieces do the heavy lifting:

  • Primary liability (auto liability): Covers damage and injury you cause to others in an accident. The FMCSA requires this on any truck moving freight — typically $750,000 to $1,000,000 in coverage.
  • Cargo insurance: Covers the freight you're hauling if it's damaged, lost, or stolen. Shippers and brokers won't tender a load without it.

When you run under a carrier's authority, these two follow the authority — meaning the carrier is responsible for carrying them.

What the carrier carries vs. what you carry

This is the part people get wrong. When you lease on and run under the carrier's DOT/MC authority, the carrier's authority is what's on the road — so the carrier maintains the primary liability and cargo coverage tied to that authority. You're not out shopping for your own $1M liability policy the way an independent authority holder would be.

What typically remains yours as the truck owner:

  • Physical damage (collision/comprehensive): Coverage on your truck — the asset you own. This protects your equipment, not the other guy's.
  • Bobtail / non-trucking liability: Coverage when you're driving without a load, off dispatch.
  • Occupational accident or health coverage: Your personal medical and disability protection, which is your call.

The exact split depends on the carrier, so always ask flat-out: what do you carry, and what am I expected to carry? A straight answer is a good sign. A vague one is not.

Why flat weekly cost beats guessing

The other headache with insurance is unpredictability. Percentage-based or usage-based deductions make it hard to know what your check will look like week to week.

At ARI, insurance is a flat ~$300 per week. That's it — a known number you can plan around. Combined with the other flat operating costs, your math stays clean:

  • Insurance ~$300/week
  • ELD ~$30/week
  • Apportioned IRP plates ~$70/week (all 48 states, IFTA handled on the plate program)

No escrow held against you either — ARI holds $0 in escrow, while some carriers tie up $2,500 to $5,000 of your money. That's cash that stays in your pocket instead of sitting in someone's account.

How this fits the bigger lease-on picture

Insurance is one piece of the leased-on model, and it's worth remembering the tradeoff. Running under a carrier's authority means you're not buying your own $1M liability and cargo policies, not filing for authority, and not managing compliance filings solo.

To be clear: with ARI you run exclusively under ARI's authority — you can't run your own authority here. Getting your own authority is a real path in the industry, but it's a different business with different costs, including carrying all that insurance yourself. Leasing on trades that overhead for access to steady freight and predictable weekly costs.

Pair that with a true 82% revenue share, same-day pay with no quick-pay fees, and no forced dispatch, and the flat insurance line becomes just one predictable cost in a model built to keep more money moving to you. See the full breakdown on why owner-operators lease on with ARI.

If you want the exact numbers for your situation, the fastest way is to ask. Look over the current owner-operator opportunities or call (888) 600-9098 and we'll walk you through what's covered, line by line.