# How to price trucking insurance: rating factors and a worked example

> The rating factors that drive trucking insurance premiums, from vehicle weight and radius to cargo and telematics, with a worked quote for an eight-truck long haul fleet priced by a real rating model.

By Ptally Pricing Team, 4 November 2026. Category: AI in pricing.
Source: https://ptally.ai/blog/how-to-price-trucking-insurance

Trucking is the high-severity end of commercial auto. A loaded tractor-trailer at highway speed can cause a very large loss, so the factors that matter most are the weight of the vehicles, how far they travel and what they carry. Risk management, such as telematics and a formal safety programme, earns credits because it changes how often those losses happen.

This article walks through those factors and prices an eight-truck long haul fleet with a real rating model: the [commercial auto fleet example](https://ptally.ai/examples/commercial-auto), one of the default models in Ptally. The rates are illustrative and are not taken from any insurer.

## The main rating factors

### Weight and class

Trucking fleets are mostly heavy and extra heavy vehicles. In the example model a heavy truck has a base of $3,800 and an extra heavy truck $5,400. A weight factor then adds 1.25 for vehicles up to 45,000 lbs and 1.45 up to 80,000 lbs, the usual maximum for a loaded tractor-trailer.

### Radius of operation

Long haul is the biggest single load after weight. Each long haul vehicle takes a 1.35 factor in its own premium. The example model also has a fleet-wide radius factor of 1.25 for long haul operations. As we note in the [fleet pricing article](https://ptally.ai/blog/how-to-price-commercial-fleet-insurance), a real product should decide whether radius is rated at vehicle level, fleet level or both, because both together compound.

### Cargo

What is in the trailer changes the severity of a loss. General freight is neutral. Refrigerated loads take 1.08, for breakdown and spoilage exposure. Hazardous goods take 1.35, because a spill or fire costs far more to clear up.

### Risk management

Two credits reward operators who manage their drivers:

- **Telematics:** 8% off. Telematics data shows speeding and harsh braking, and helps recover stolen units.
- **Safety programme:** 5% off for a formal driver safety programme.

### Claims record and state

A credit of 3% per consecutive claim-free year, floored at 25%, rewards a clean record. A state factor reflects claim costs, from 1.00 in Texas to 1.25 in New York.

## Underwriting rules

The example model declines fleets of more than 200 vehicles. It refers fleets of 50 or more vehicles, and fleets of five or more vehicles with no claim-free years, to an underwriter. A real trucking product would usually add rules on driver experience, MVR violations and safety ratings, each as another rule in the same step.

## A worked example

Take a Texas carrier running eight trucks on long haul refrigerated routes: six heavy trucks at 40,000 lbs and two extra heavy trucks at 80,000 lbs. It has two claim-free years, a formal safety programme and telematics on every truck.

First, each truck:

| Vehicle | Class base | × Radius | × Weight | = Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy truck (×6) | $3,800 | 1.35 | 1.25 | $6,412.50 each |
| Extra heavy truck (×2) | $5,400 | 1.35 | 1.45 | $10,570.50 each |
| Vehicle total | | | | $59,616.00 |

Then the fleet:

| Step | Value | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle total | $59,616.00 | Eight trucks |
| × State factor | 1.00 | Texas |
| × Experience credit | 0.94 | Two claim-free years |
| × Safety programme | 0.95 | Formal programme |
| × Telematics | 0.92 | Fitted |
| × Fleet radius | 1.25 | Long haul |
| × Cargo | 1.08 | Refrigerated |
| + Policy fee | $200.00 | |
| = Fleet premium | $66,320.46 | |

The calculation is 59,616 × 1.00 × 0.94 × 0.95 × 0.92 × 1.25 × 1.08 = 66,120.46, plus the $200 fee.

Two variations from the same model show how much the operator factors matter:

- **Hazardous cargo instead of refrigerated:** $82,850.58. The cargo factor moves from 1.08 to 1.35.
- **No telematics, no safety programme and no claim-free years:** $80,681.60, and the quote is referred to an underwriter because a fleet of five or more vehicles has no claims-free history.

## Things to watch in a trucking model

**Schedules change often.** Trucks are added, replaced and sold during the policy year. Pricing each vehicle with a child model means a mid-term change is one more run of the same model, not a recalculation by hand.

**Credits stack.** Experience, safety and telematics credits multiply. Together they take 18% off in the example above. Many rating guides cap the total credit, which is one more step in the model.

**Referral is part of the price.** For trucking, the decision to refer is often as important as the premium. Keep refer rules in the model next to the rates, so they are tested and released together.

## Building the model

The full model, with every rate table, rule and test, is on the [commercial auto fleet example page](https://ptally.ai/examples/commercial-auto). Price a quote over the [API](https://ptally.ai/developer/api) and add `?debug=true` to see each truck's premium and each fleet factor in the response. To attach the right cargo and telematics wordings to the policy, see [building policy documents from the quote response](https://ptally.ai/developer/policies).

## Getting started

Ptally is free to build on, with no implementation fee. Send us your trucking rating guide or spreadsheet and we will help you turn it into a tested model, or start from the default fleet model and change the rates yourself. [Talk to our team](https://ptally.ai/#contact).