Towing Insurance for Tow Truck Operators and Towing Companies

Towing insurance is the package of policies a towing company carries to cover its tow trucks, its drivers, and the customer vehicles in its care. A complete program combines commercial auto liability, physical damage, on-hook coverage, garage keepers legal liability, general liability, and workers compensation, sized to the trucks and contracts you run.

Tow truck liability and physical damage insurance

These two policies are the foundation of every towing company insurance program. Liability pays for what your truck does to other people. Physical damage pays for what happens to your truck. Everything else in the program sits on top of them.

On-hook towing insurance (the customer's vehicle on your truck)

On-hook coverage, sometimes written as towing cargo or garage keepers in transit, helps pay for damage to a vehicle you do not own while it is hooked, loaded, in transit, or being unloaded. It typically responds to collision, fire, theft, and vandalism, subject to the policy's terms. Your commercial auto policy does not cover the vehicle you are towing, so every operation that physically tows needs it.

Illinois requires at least $25,000 of on-hook or garagekeepers coverage (625 ILCS 5/12-606), which is well below the value of most vehicles on the road. The expensive mistake is a limit that is too low for the vehicles you actually handle: a $50,000 limit under a $120,000 vehicle leaves a $70,000 gap for your business to absorb. We size on-hook to your real mix of light-duty, heavy-duty, and exotic or commercial units. Deeper reading: what on-hook towing insurance covers.

Garage keepers insurance (the customer's vehicle on your lot)

Garage keepers legal liability covers customer vehicles in your care, custody, or control while they sit on your impound lot, in your storage yard, or in your shop. It typically responds to theft, fire, vandalism, weather, and collision on the premises, subject to the policy's terms. A vehicle can sit on your lot for days waiting to be released, so a towing program without garage keepers has a hole in it.

Garage keepers is written on a legal liability basis (you pay only when you are at fault) or a direct basis (the policy can pay regardless of fault, which helps settle a customer's claim without a dispute over blame). We usually recommend direct primary for impound and police rotation lots. Illinois requires tow truck operators to carry at least $500,000 of garagekeepers liability (625 ILCS 5/12-606). Related: garage keepers insurance, what garage keepers covers, and what garage keepers costs.

FMCSA, MC authority, and insurance filings for towing companies

If you tow across state lines for compensation, you are an interstate for-hire motor carrier. That means USDOT and MC authority, and your insurer must file proof of financial responsibility with the FMCSA under 49 CFR Part 387. The federal minimum for for-hire carriers of non-hazardous property at or above 10,001 lbs gross vehicle weight rating is $750,000 (49 CFR 387.9), and contracts commonly expect $1,000,000.

The filings behind that authority are the Form MCS-90 endorsement on your liability policy (the public-protection backstop the FMCSA requires) and the BMC-91 or BMC-91X certificate your carrier files electronically. Operators who tow only inside Illinois generally do not need the MCS-90. They do need the proof of insurance Illinois requires of every tow truck operator, with a certificate carried in the cab of each truck (625 ILCS 5/12-606), and some municipal rotation and private-property (relocation) tow licenses ask for their own certificate language. We confirm which apply to you, handle the filings with the carrier, and keep them current at renewal.

Who it applies to	What is required	Where it comes from
Every tow truck operator in Illinois	Truck liability of at least a $500,000 combined single limit, garagekeepers liability of at least $500,000, at least $25,000 of on-hook or garagekeepers coverage, and workers compensation	625 ILCS 5/12-606
For-hire towing across state lines, 10,001 lbs or more	$750,000 of public liability	49 CFR 387.9
Proof for interstate carriers	Form MCS-90 endorsement on the policy, and a BMC-91 or BMC-91X certificate filed by the insurer	49 CFR 387.7 and 387.313
Motor club, police rotation, and commercial contracts	Commonly a $1,000,000 combined single limit, with on-hook and garage keepers limits set by the agreement	The contract, not the law

Statute and rules read October 2026. Confirm current requirements before you rely on them.

Running tow trucks alongside box trucks, flatbeds, or a freight fleet? Our commercial trucking insurance program coordinates with towing coverage under one account, and commercial auto insurance covers the service vans and pickups around it.

Insurance for police rotation, municipal, and motor club towing

Getting on a police rotation list, a state police heavy-duty list, or a motor club network is how many towing companies grow, and every one of those agreements comes with an insurance schedule. The common requirements are a $1,000,000 combined single limit on auto liability, on-hook and garage keepers limits that match the vehicles the agency expects you to handle, general liability, workers compensation, and the municipality or club named as additional insured with a waiver of subrogation.

Rotation work also changes your risk profile: crash-scene recovery at highway speed, impound lots that hold evidence vehicles, and release disputes with vehicle owners. We build the program to the agreement before you apply, so the certificate is right the first time, and we turn certificates around the same day and request additional insured endorsements from the carrier right away when a new contract or a release is waiting on them.

Roadside assistance, repossession, and other towing exposures

What drives a tow truck insurance premium

Underwriters price a towing account on a handful of facts. Knowing them before you ask for a quote tells you what to fix and what to document.

Want the levers that lower it? Read what cheap tow truck insurance actually gets you before trading coverage for price.

How much towing company insurance costs in 2026

There is no flat rate. Cost depends on truck class, operation type, radius, driver records, claims history, and the coverages you carry. Insureon, an online insurance marketplace, publishes the median premiums paid by tow truck businesses that applied through it:

Coverage	Median per month	Median per year
Commercial auto	$737	$8,839
Workers compensation	$650	$7,795
General liability	$58	$700

Source: Insureon, tow truck insurance cost, updated May 28, 2025. These are medians for its own applicants, not quotes, and on-hook, garage keepers, and physical damage are priced on top. Your number can sit well above or below them. For a breakdown by truck class, radius, and coverage line, see tow truck insurance cost in 2026.

Towing insurance guides and resources

Deeper reading from our team on towing coverage, cost, and the gaps to avoid:

What our clients say

Why tow operators choose Pro Insurance Group

Towing insurance FAQ

What is towing insurance and what does it cover?

Towing insurance is the package of policies a towing company carries: commercial auto liability for what your truck does to others, physical damage for the truck itself, on-hook for customer vehicles in transit, garage keepers for customer vehicles on your lot, general liability for everything off the truck, and workers compensation for your drivers. The mix is sized to your trucks, your lot, and your contracts.

How much does tow truck insurance cost per month?

There is no flat rate. Insureon, an online insurance marketplace, reports medians of $737 per month for commercial auto, $650 for workers compensation, and $58 for general liability among tow truck businesses that applied through it (updated May 2025). On-hook, garage keepers, and physical damage are priced on top, and truck class, radius, drivers, and claims history move the total.

What is the difference between on-hook and garage keepers insurance?

On-hook covers a customer's vehicle while it is hooked, loading, or in transit on your truck. Garage keepers covers that vehicle while it is stored on your lot or in your shop. A commercial auto policy covers neither, and a towed vehicle spends time in both places, so most operations need both.

Do towing companies need an MCS-90 or FMCSA filing?

If you tow across state lines for compensation you are an interstate for-hire carrier and need USDOT and MC authority, a Form MCS-90 endorsement on your liability policy, and a BMC-91X filing from your insurer. The federal minimum for for-hire carriers of non-hazardous property at or above 10,001 lbs is $750,000 (49 CFR 387.9). Operators who tow only within Illinois generally do not need the MCS-90 but may need state or municipal filings.

What insurance do I need to get on a police rotation list?

Most police rotation, municipal, and motor club agreements require a $1,000,000 combined single limit on auto liability, on-hook and garage keepers limits that match the vehicles you will handle, general liability, workers compensation, and the agency named as additional insured with a waiver of subrogation. We build the program to the agreement before you apply so the certificate passes the first time.

What liability limits do tow trucks need in Illinois?

Illinois law requires every tow truck operator to carry at least $500,000 combined single limit of truck liability, at least $500,000 of garagekeepers liability, and at least $25,000 of on-hook or garagekeepers coverage for the vehicles towed and stored, plus workers compensation (625 ILCS 5/12-606). In practice most motor club contracts, police rotations, and commercial customers require a $1,000,000 combined single limit, so we build to the contracts you want to win rather than the minimum. Details: tow truck insurance in Illinois.