According to the FMCSA, after March 21, 2011, freight forwarders and for-hire carriers will no longer be required to maintain cargo insurance for freight lost or damaged in transit. The Federal Motor Carrier agency said it is removing the minimum insurance requirement, which provides cargo coverage up to $5,000 per vehicle or $10,000 per incident. “FMCSA does not believe it is necessary to mandate cargo insurance requirements for the benefit of most commercial shippers,” the agency stated in a notice published in the Federal Register last year.

"Regardless of whether a carrier has insurance, for-hire carriers can be held liable for any loss or damage to cargo under existing statutes", FMCSA said. "The law also allows carriers and shippers to negotiate a limit on the value of a load for insurance purposes. And shippers can purchase insurance directly, rather than rely on motor carriers or forwarders to provide such coverage." "The current cargo insurance requirement applies to less than half of regulated for-hire carriers", the agency noted.

Minimum cargo insurance requirements will remain in effect for carriers and forwarders of household goods. “The only shippers that FMCSA considered in need of the protection provided by the cargo insurance requirement are individuals who arrange to move their own household goods,” the agency said. “Such individuals are less knowledgeable about carrier liability requirements and need the protection afforded by the existing regulations.”