FMCSA MOTUS is showing an unexpected $5,000,000 minimum insurance requirement for some motor carriers. Before you buy additional coverage, verify your MOTUS account — commodity, Class 9 hazmat, and Operating Authority Status. Free MOTUS & MC Authority risk check by Ensure Inc. Transportation Risk Team.
Fast fleet growth can create insurance problems for a new motor carrier. Learn how to build a stronger safety history, avoid midterm cancellation, and prepare for a flexible fleet policy.
A single roadside inspection can freeze your entire operation. A DOT officer places an orange “OUT OF SERVICE” sticker on your rig, and just like that — you and your truck cannot move a mile until the defect is fixed. For an owner-operator, that’s lost revenue, missed deliveries, and a CSA score hit that follows…
Every insurance policy — whether it’s commercial trucking, auto, homeowners, or a small business owner’s policy — comes up for renewal once a year. And the 30 to 60 days before your renewal date is the highest-leverage window in the entire policy cycle. Handle it right and you save money, close coverage gaps, and avoid…
You obtained your MC number, your USDOT number, and your commercial insurance. And then a state DMV emailed you that your intrastate authority is on hold until they receive a Form E, or a Form H, or a BMC-91 — and possibly all three. This is the world of trucking state filings: paperwork the state…
If you run a trucking business, three little letters can hold up your entire operation: bond. Whether you’re registering for MC authority, hauling into Oregon, or filing quarterly fuel taxes across state lines, you’ll almost certainly need one — and often more than one. Miss a filing or let a bond lapse, and you can…
If you drive a truck across state lines, you cross legal borders that change the rules on how your injury bills get paid after a crash. In some states, your own insurance pays first (no-fault). In others, whoever caused the crash pays. Personal Injury Protection — PIP — is the coverage that navigates that boundary,…
You applied for MC authority. FMCSA activated your DOT number. You dispatched your first loads. And then, 12 to 18 months later, a New Entrant Safety Audit letter arrived in the mail. This is the moment where paperwork stops being a formality and starts being an existential question — because if you fail the audit,…
EI Complete Guide · 2026 By Ensure Inc – Transportation Risk Team Reviewed: September 2026 Reading time: ~20 min Audience: Motor Carriers · Owner-Operators · Freight Brokers Executive Summary MOTUS – Motor Carrier Operating & Tracking Unified System – is FMCSA’s new digital registration platform that replaces the old FMCSA Portal for motor carriers, owner-operators,…
Fuel Costs Are Climbing Across the State Fuel prices in Illinois — especially in the Chicago metro area — continue to trend upward, directly impacting the bottom line for truckers and independent owner-operators. As of April 5, 2025, the average diesel price in Illinois stands at $3.619 per gallon, reflecting a noticeable increase over previous…