Car Shipping Insurance
The motor carrier hauling your vehicle carries the cargo coverage, not Wave. We're the broker, and we verify that the carrier holds active coverage before we dispatch your shipment to it. Ask for that carrier's certificate of insurance before you book.
Who provides the insurance when you ship a car?
The motor carrier that physically hauls your vehicle provides the cargo insurance. We, as the broker arranging your shipment, don't carry that policy ourselves.
We're a licensed property broker, MC-5573 and USDOT 2962521, authorized for Broker of Property (Except Household Goods). We match your shipment to a carrier from the vetted, licensed and insured carriers in our network rather than hauling vehicles ourselves. The cargo policy belongs to the carrier because the company physically holding your vehicle is the one whose insurance responds if something goes wrong in transit. We verify that your assigned carrier holds active cargo coverage before dispatching your shipment, and you can ask for that carrier's certificate of insurance directly, by name, before the truck is booked.
What does car shipping insurance cover?
Cargo insurance covers loss of or damage to your vehicle while the carrier has custody of it, the same loss federal law already makes the carrier liable for under the bill of lading it issues at pickup.
49 U.S.C. 14706(a)(1) requires a carrier providing transportation subject to federal jurisdiction to issue a receipt or bill of lading for property it receives, and makes the receiving and delivering carrier liable to the party entitled to recover under that document for actual loss or injury to the property. Cargo insurance is the policy that stands behind that liability. Federal rules separately set a public-liability minimum for qualifying for-hire carriers under 49 CFR 387.9, but that coverage addresses injury or damage the truck causes to other people or property on the road, not the vehicle riding on it. No federal rule sets a cargo minimum for a carrier hauling a passenger vehicle; the limit on your shipped car comes from that carrier's own insurance contract. See cargo insurance for the full breakdown, including which cargo-liability sections of 49 CFR Part 387 are currently suspended.
What doesn't car shipping insurance cover?
Cargo insurance is written on the vehicle named on the transport paperwork, so it doesn't cover personal belongings you pack inside the car, and whether it pays for weather damage depends entirely on that carrier's own policy wording.
Personal effects are regulated as household goods, not as the vehicle itself: 49 CFR 375.103 and 49 U.S.C. 13102(10) define household goods as personal effects or property used in a dwelling, a category a car hauler carrying your vehicle as freight isn't licensed to move and isn't insuring against. Weather damage on an open trailer is a second gap worth checking before you book: no federal auto transport rule defines an acts of God exclusion, so whether a hailstorm or a rock chip gets paid comes down to the exact wording in your assigned carrier's policy, not any industry standard. A third gap is resale value: your vehicle can lose value even after a repair is paid for, and that diminished value isn't automatically covered by anyone's policy.
Do you need insurance on your own car to ship it?
No. Your vehicle doesn't need its own active personal auto insurance policy to be shipped by a carrier, because it's being hauled as cargo rather than driven by you.
The cargo coverage that protects your vehicle in transit belongs to the carrier hauling it, not to a policy you buy on the car, and we don't require proof of your personal auto insurance to book a shipment. That changes the moment your vehicle needs to be driven or registered again: your destination state's own registration and insurance rules apply once the car is back on the road, separate from anything about the shipment itself. If your car currently carries no active policy, or you're thinking about letting one lapse during a cross-country move, check with your own insurer about whether coverage needs to be active on delivery day — that answer depends on your state and your policy, not on us.
Does my personal auto insurance cover my car during shipping?
Whether your personal auto policy responds while a commercial carrier has your vehicle depends entirely on that policy's own wording, so the answer has to come from your insurer, not from us or the carrier.
Keeping comprehensive coverage active through the shipment leaves you a second policy to check if something happens in transit, but whether it actually responds to a particular loss is a question only your insurer can answer. Call before you drop or reduce coverage while your car is in transit. Ask your insurer about the specific situation: your vehicle in the custody of a commercial motor carrier, not simply 'is my car insured.' Our role stops at verifying the assigned carrier's own cargo coverage; we don't review or advise on your personal auto policy.
How to check a carrier's cargo insurance before you book
Ask for the assigned carrier's certificate of insurance and read the cargo section yourself, because a verbal assurance isn't the same as the policy's actual wording on limits and exclusions.
Before you book, ask which company will physically haul your vehicle — that's the company whose insurance matters, not necessarily the name on your booking. Ask whether that carrier can provide a current certificate of insurance in its own name, what the cargo limit is per vehicle on that certificate, and whether the policy carries a weather or acts-of-God exclusion and what it names. And get contact information for that carrier directly, separate from ours, in case something needs to be reported while your vehicle is en route.
Cargo insurance vs a personal auto policy, on a shipped car
| Cargo insurance (the carrier's) | Your personal auto policy | |
|---|---|---|
| Who buys it | The motor carrier hauling the vehicle | You, the vehicle's owner |
| What it's written on | The vehicle named on the bill of lading | The vehicle and how you use it |
| Who to ask about it | The assigned carrier directly, or us as the broker who can help identify which carrier | Your own insurance agent |
| Covers items packed inside the car | No | Only if the policy's own wording says so - ask directly |
| A dollar coverage limit stated on this page | None - it varies by carrier; ask for the certificate before booking | Not applicable |
Frequently asked questions about car shipping insurance
- Does Wave Auto Transport insure my car during shipping?
No. We're a broker; we arrange your shipment and verify the assigned carrier holds active cargo coverage before dispatching, but the cargo policy in force on the move belongs to that carrier, not to us.
- What does car shipping insurance cover?
Car shipping insurance, more precisely called cargo insurance, covers loss of or damage to your vehicle while the carrier has custody of it, the same liability 49 U.S.C. 14706 already places on the carrier under the bill of lading it issues at pickup.
- What isn't covered by car shipping insurance?
Personal items you pack inside the car generally aren't covered, because cargo insurance is written on the vehicle, not its contents. Weather damage depends on the carrier's own policy wording, since no federal rule defines an acts-of-God exclusion. Diminished value, a resale loss on an otherwise repaired car, isn't automatically covered by anyone's policy either.
- Do I need my own car insurance to ship my car?
No. There's no requirement to carry active personal auto insurance just to have your car transported, since it's riding as cargo rather than being driven. Check with your own insurer about coverage during transit, and confirm your destination state's registration and insurance rules before you drive the car once it arrives.
- How do I get a copy of the carrier's certificate of insurance?
Ask us, or the assigned carrier directly, for a current certificate of insurance before booking. The certificate should name the actual company that will haul your vehicle, since that's the company whose coverage applies.
- Is there a dollar limit on car shipping cargo insurance?
There's no single dollar figure that applies across every shipment. The cargo limit comes from each carrier's own insurance policy, not from a federal floor or a fixed company-wide number. Ask for the certificate of insurance to see the actual limit before you book.
- Does my personal auto insurance cover my car while it's being shipped?
It depends entirely on that policy's own wording, so the answer has to come from your insurer. Ask specifically about your vehicle being in the custody of a commercial motor carrier, not just whether the car is insured in general.
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