Cargo insurance
Cargo insurance covers loss of or damage to the freight a carrier hauls, as distinct from BIPD liability, which covers harm to others. The two are routinely confused, and the federal record only deepens the confusion because the filing rules changed.
What the federal record does and doesn't require
In 2011 FMCSA eliminated the cargo-insurance filing requirement for most for-hire property carriers; today the filing (forms BMC-34 / BMC-83) is required of household-goods carriers and household-goods freight forwarders. So a general-freight carrier with no cargo filing on the federal record is the normal case, not a gap. The practical consequence: for most freight, cargo coverage is verified through the carrier's certificate of insurance and your broker-carrier agreement, not through FMCSA.
How to read it when it appears
Some carriers still have cargo filings on record, and where one exists its status is readable like any other filing: insurer, amount, effective and cancellation dates. fleetfax displays cargo filings when present. It does not flag a missing one.
fleetfax reads public FMCSA data and is not affiliated with FMCSA or the U.S. Department of Transportation. This page explains terminology; it is not legal advice.
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