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STATE REQUIREMENTS · DELIVERY & TRUCKING

Delivery & trucking insurance in Michigan

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Delivery & trucking in Michigan usually carry commercial auto, inland marine / equipment and general liability. Michigan itself requires workers' compensation at three or more employees at one time, or one employee working 35 or more hours a week for 13 weeks, sets minimum auto liability for the vehicles the work puts on the road. The state's rules with their sources, what delivery and trucking companies carry, who asks for proof and how to keep it all current are below.

Reviewed by CoverMatch licensed agents, Licensed property & casualty agents · Reviewed Oct 12, 2026 Updated
Coverage scoreA delivery and trucking companie with the right wallet
Commercial AutoRenews in 47d
General LiabilityLive cert ✓
Workers' CompensationCan switch
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Michigan rules with sources
TopicThe rule in MichiganSource
Workers' compensation: when it appliesA private employer must carry coverage if it regularly employs three or more employees at one time, or employs one or more employees for 35 or more hours a week for 13 or more weeks in the preceding 52.MCL 418.115, 418.161, 418.641; Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency — Employers
Securing coverage and penaltiesCovered employers insure with an authorized carrier or obtain self-insurance authority from the Agency; failing to secure coverage is a misdemeanor with fines and possible imprisonment, and the employer is liable for benefits and may be enjoined from operating.MCL 418.611 and 418.641; Michigan Workers' Disability Compensation Agency — Insurance requirements
No-fault auto: liability and property protectionResidual bodily injury liability of at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident (the default is $250,000 / $500,000 unless the lower limit is selected in writing) and $10,000 property damage for out-of-state accidents, plus $1,000,000 of property protection insurance for damage to other people's property in Michigan.MCL 500.3009 and 500.3121; Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services — Auto insurance requirements
Personal injury protection choicesSince July 2, 2020, policyholders choose a PIP medical level: unlimited, $500,000, $250,000, $50,000 for Medicaid enrollees, or an opt-out for those with qualifying health coverage; the choice must be made on the policy and renewals.MCL 500.3107c and 500.3107d (2019 PA 21); Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services — PIP choice

Rules change. Each row links to the agency or statute it came from; the review date above is when a licensed agent last checked them.

What Michigan asks of delivery and trucking companies

Michigan's rules that reach a delivery or trucking business are in the table above, each with its official source: workers' compensation: when it applies, securing coverage and penalties, no-fault auto: liability and property protection, personal injury protection choices. Everything else a delivery or trucking business carries in Michigan comes from leases, contracts, platforms and clients rather than from statute, which is why the next two sections matter as much as the first.

What delivery and trucking companies in Michigan carry

Coverage Who usually asks Why it matters
Commercial auto liability · expected Platforms, shippers, regulators, your lender The defining exposure. Contracts and regulators set the minimum limit; a personal auto policy will not respond to commercial delivery.
Physical damage (collision and comprehensive) · expected Your lender or lessor Repairs or replacement of your own vans and trucks after a crash, theft or weather.
Motor truck cargo · expected Shippers, brokers, platforms moving goods of value What you carry is not covered by auto liability. Cargo coverage pays for goods damaged, stolen or lost in transit.
General liability · expected Shippers, warehouses, platforms Injury or damage that is not an auto accident: a dolly through a glass door, a dropped crate at the dock.
Workers' compensation · expected Your state once you have employees; platforms Lifting, falls from the truck, and road accidents while working. Drivers on payroll are employees.
Occupational accident (for independent contractors) Platforms and carriers using owner-operators Where drivers are genuinely independent, occupational accident covers their injuries; it does not replace workers' compensation for employees.
Umbrella / excess liability Larger shippers and platforms Contracts frequently require auto liability above a primary policy's limit.

Who will ask a Michigan delivery or trucking business for proof

  • Delivery & gig platforms — commercial auto or hired and non-owned auto plus general liability (what they require)
  • Enterprise clients & vendor onboarding — general liability, professional or cyber liability, workers' compensation and often an umbrella (what they require)

Each of them wants a certificate, and most want it again at every renewal. A live certificate link from the wallet shows today's coverage to every holder and tells them when it changes.

Workers' comp the day a Michigan delivery or trucking business hires

In Michigan workers' compensation is required at three or more employees at one time, or one employee working 35 or more hours a week for 13 weeks, so the policy belongs in place before the first shift that crosses the line. CoverMatch quotes workers' compensation from the first employee, and asks every carrier that offers pay-as-you-go to bill through your payroll company, so premium follows each payroll run instead of a large deposit against an estimate.

Bring it, control it, get matched in Michigan

Bring your policies here. Upload what you already have. If the carrier is one we are appointed with in Michigan, one signed letter moves the policy to CoverMatch with no change to carrier, coverage or price; if not, we quote a replacement now or before the renewal. The wallet only holds policies CoverMatch takes care of.

Control them here. Renewal dates, documents, the roster of locations, vehicles and staff, and a live certificate for every landlord, contractor, platform or client in the list above, all in one place and current on their own.

Let us match you. When a delivery or trucking business in Michigan needs commercial auto, inland marine / equipment, general liability, we compare quotes from the carriers we are appointed with on coverage first and price second, and a licensed agent is one tap away at every step.

Sources

Questions people actually ask

Does Michigan require a delivery or trucking business to carry workers' compensation?

A private employer must carry coverage if it regularly employs three or more employees at one time, or employs one or more employees for 35 or more hours a week for 13 or more weeks in the preceding 52. Whether a worker is an employee is decided by Michigan's own test of control and independence, not by the form you file, and workers who fail it are added at audit.

What insurance does a Michigan delivery or trucking business need to sign a lease or win a contract?

Usually commercial auto, inland marine / equipment, general liability; Delivery & gig platforms typically ask for commercial auto or hired and non-owned auto plus general liability. A live certificate from the wallet answers each request without a new call to the agent, and changes to the policy update it on their own.

What auto coverage does Michigan require for a delivery or trucking business's vehicles?

The state minimum limits: Residual bodily injury liability of at least $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident (the default is $250,000 / $500,000 unless the lower limit is selected in writing) and $10,000 property damage for out-of-state accidents, plus $1,000,000 of property protection insurance for damage to other people's property in Michigan. Business policies are written above those limits because leases, platforms and clients ask for more, and hired and non-owned auto covers staff who use their own cars for the work.

Can CoverMatch take over the policies a Michigan delivery or trucking business already has?

When the carrier is one we are appointed with in Michigan, one signed broker-of-record letter moves the policy into the wallet with no change to carrier, coverage or price, and the live certificate and renewal shopping switch on. For any other carrier we quote a replacement now or before the renewal; the wallet only holds policies CoverMatch takes care of.

What auto liability limit do delivery platforms require?

It varies by platform and by the vehicles involved; the contract states a per-accident limit and often a requirement to name the platform as additional insured. Check the agreement rather than assuming; the wallet reads it from the uploaded contract.

Can my drivers use their own cars on my policy?

Hired and non-owned auto coverage protects your business when employees drive their own vehicles; it does not insure their cars. For regular routes in personal vehicles, carriers may require the vehicles to be listed or the drivers to carry commercial coverage.

Does cargo coverage cover everything I haul?

No. Policies exclude or sublimit categories such as electronics, pharmaceuticals, alcohol and live animals, and often exclude theft from an unattended vehicle. Match the policy to what you actually carry.

MANAGE IT IN THE APP

Every policy, renewal and live certificate in one wallet.

Scan a dec page and the card appears. Share a live certificate link that updates itself. Get matched when a renewal comes around.

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