Truckers, you’ve probably heard of MCS90 and BMC91X—but what do they actually mean?
Basically, these requirements are there to protect the public in case a motor carrier causes damage.
Sounds great for the public, right? But not so much for the motor carrier, the driver, the broker or even the customer.
Why? Let’s break down what’s included—and what’s not—when it comes to MCS90/91X.
What is MCS90 and BMC91X?
The MCS90 is a required endorsement that modifies your trucking insurance policy.
The BMC-91X form is the certificate of liability that proves you have the MCS90 endorsement on your policy.
Think of it like a bond, a promise.
Who Requires the MCS90-91X?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration which oversees the U.S. Department of Transportation.
FMCSA requires commercial truckers to carry minimum limits of insurance in order to haul freight for hire across state lines.
Proof of that minimum insurance is posted to the SaferSys FMCSA website.
What are FMCSA’s minimum insurance limit rules?
Trucks over 10,000 GVW are required to carry a minimum of $750,000 Commercial Auto Liability.
Commercial Vans like sprinters under 10,000 GVW must also carry a minimum of $300,000 Commercial Auto Liability when hauling freight for hire across state lines.
All vehicles hauling Haz Mat are required to carry a minimum of $5,000,000 Commercial Auto Liability.
When does the MCS90-91X come into play?
Only when there is NO coverage on the Motor Carrier’s insurance policy.
The MCS90-91X promise is triggered once coverage is denied by the insurance provider, and there is a court judgment in favor of the injured plaintiff against the Motor Carrier.
The most common reason for no coverage on a trucker’s policy is when a hidden vehicle gets involved—so let’s use that as our example.
Let’s say the Motor Carrier Forgot to Add a Truck to his Policy…And his driver causes an accident causing injury to a pedestrian–then what?
First the insurance company denies coverage because the Motor Carrier didn’t buy insurance for the truck.
The injured person needs compensation.
The pedestrian sues the Motor Carrier.
The courts determine that the Motor Carrier should have bought coverage on the truck and didn’t.
Since there was no insurance purchases, there is no insurance coverage for the claim.
The pedestrian still needs compensation, and the courts then trigger the MCS90/91X promise to protect the public.
That’s when the insurance company completes their promise to the public and pays the judgment to the plaintiff.
How Much Can the Injured Pedestrian Collect?
Remember that this payment can only happen if the court rules in favor of the injured pedestrian (plaintiff).
Up to $750,000 if it was a large truck and up to $300,000 if it was a commercial van.
Even if the motor carrier has purchased $1,000,000 on his other trucks, the MCS90/91X will only pay up to these promised limits.
Who’s Not Covered by the MCS90/91X?
- The Motor Carrier
- The Driver
- The Broker
- The Customer
The purpose of the endorsement is to protect the injured party–the public–in the event of an uninsured accident.
The MCS90/91X only requires payment to the pedestrian because the courts deemed they were the injured plaintiff.
The uninsured accident did not harm the motor carrier, driver, broker or customer.
What else isn’t covered by the MCS90-91X?
Defense Costs.
The MCS90/91X does not provide defense costs for any party involved in the accident.
If the Motor Carrier had coverage in place on the truck when the accident occurred, the insurance company would provide defense for the Motor Carrier, the Driver, the Broker and the Customer–up to the policy limits he purchased.
A properly structured insurance policy covers all these entities, so they’re protected.
But without coverage on the missing truck, each party would have to handle their own defense if needed.
When a case goes to judgment, all entities named in the suit are impacted.
However, the MCS90/91X only requires the insurance company to handle the judgment against the Motor Carrier.
So What Happens After the Insurance Company Pays the Pedestrian?
Well, here’s the contract you sign when you buy your Commercial Truck Insurance:
“The (Motor Carrier) Insured agrees to reimburse the (Insurance)company for any payment made by the (Insurance)company on account of any accident, claim, or suit involving a breach of the terms of the policy, and for any payment that the (Insurance) company would not have been obligated to make under the provisions of the policy except for the agreement contained in this endorsement.
It is further understood and agreed that, upon failure of the (Insurance)company to pay any final judgment recovered against the (Motor Carrier) Insured as provided herein, the judgment creditor may maintain an action in any court of competent jurisdiction against the (Motor Carrier) company to compel such payment.”
As the Motor Carrier, you’re making a promise of honesty to the insurance company, and in return, they’re making a promise to the public with the MCS90-91X. When a breach of honesty occurs, the insurance company will circle back and attempt to collect from the Motor Carrier.
Sure, jokes like “let them come after me” or “getting blood from a turnip” might get a laugh, but here’s the deal—if you’re not reporting all your trucks, you could be looking at lawsuits or even insurance fraud charges that could follow you for years.
Let’s move on to FAQ:
Why does FMCSA Insurance and Licensing show lower limits than what I bought?
This is one of the most common questions from new Motor Carriers.
Some insurance companies will only post what’s required by the MCS90/91X.
So even though you actually bought and are insured for $1,000,000, the FMCSA Insurance and Licensing page shows $750,000 or $300,000.
They’re only required to post the minimum limits, so that’s what some of them do. Don’t overthink it:)
Rest assured, if you have listed all of your vehicles on your policy and have purchased $1,000,000, that is your actual insurance coverage.
What’s with the 35 Day Notice of Cancellation on a Motor Carrier Insurance Policy?
Because the MCS90/91X acts like a safety net to protect the public, time is required to keep that public informed.
That’s why FMCSA requires insurance companies to give them a 35-day notice of cancellationl.
Their thinking is that this gives both brokers and customers plenty of warning—visible on the FMCSA public forum—when insurance is about to run out.
If someone stops making payments and their insurance gets canceled, it’ll show as pending cancellation for 35 days.
During that time, the MCS90-91X still applies, but the Motor Carrier will still be charged for the insurance during those 35 days.
For the most accurate coverage limits and dates, it’s always best to get real time Certificates of Liability from the Motor Carrier’s insurance agent.