Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total annual insurance cost
$14,700
Monthly insurance cost
$1,225
Insurance cost per mile
$0.147
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How to use this
- 1Enter primary liability ($/yr).
- 2Enter cargo insurance ($/yr).
- 3Enter physical damage ($/yr).
- 4Enter other (non-trucking, occ. accident) ($/yr).
- 5Enter annual miles (mi).
- 6Read your total annual insurance cost on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Trucking insurance quotes come split across primary liability, cargo, physical damage, and sometimes non-trucking liability or occupational accident coverage, which makes it hard to see the real total cost per truck at a glance. This calculator sums those premium components into an annual and monthly total per power unit, and converts it into cost per mile given your annual mileage — the number you actually need for pricing loads and comparing to industry benchmarks, which commonly run $12,000-$20,000 per truck per year depending on authority age, radius of operation, and claims history.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Primary liability: 9500 $/yr
- Cargo insurance: 1400 $/yr
- Physical damage: 2600 $/yr
- Other (non-trucking, occ. accident): 1200 $/yr
- Annual miles: 100000 mi
Results
- Total annual insurance cost: $14,700
- Monthly insurance cost: $1,225
- Insurance cost per mile: $0.147
What each field means
Inputs
- Primary liability ($/yr)
- The primary liability used in the calculation, measured in $/yr. Starts at 9500 $/yr so you have a working example on load.
- Cargo insurance ($/yr)
- The cargo insurance used in the calculation, measured in $/yr. Starts at 1400 $/yr so you have a working example on load.
- Physical damage ($/yr)
- The physical damage used in the calculation, measured in $/yr. Starts at 2600 $/yr so you have a working example on load.
- Other (non-trucking, occ. accident) ($/yr)
- The other (non-trucking, occ. accident) used in the calculation, measured in $/yr. Starts at 1200 $/yr so you have a working example on load.
- Annual miles (mi)
- The annual miles used in the calculation, measured in mi. Starts at 100000 mi so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Total annual insurance cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Monthly insurance cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Insurance cost per mile
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why is primary liability the biggest chunk?
It's federally mandated minimum coverage (generally $750,000, with $1 million or more common for general freight) protecting third parties in an accident, and it's priced heavily on driver experience, MVR history, and how new your operating authority is — new authority typically pays a steep premium in year one.
Why do new authorities pay so much more?
Insurers treat trucking operations under 2-3 years old as higher risk regardless of individual driving record, since there's no claims history to underwrite against. Premiums often drop meaningfully at the 2-year and 3-year authority marks if you stay claim-free.
How can I lower this cost?
Maintain a clean CSA score and MVR, avoid at-fault claims, consider a higher physical damage deductible if you have cash reserves to cover it, and shop renewal with multiple trucking-specialized brokers rather than auto-renewing with the same carrier.
Should insurance be in fixed cost or variable cost per mile?
It's fixed — it doesn't change whether you drive 5,000 or 12,000 miles a month, it's billed on an annual or monthly policy basis. Include the monthly figure in fixed cost, not spread as a variable rate, when computing true cost per mile.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Trucking Insurance Cost Per Power Unit Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/insurance-cost-per-power-unit
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/insurance-cost-per-power-unit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trucking Insurance Cost Per Power Unit Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Trucking Insurance Cost Per Power Unit Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/insurance-cost-per-power-unit) (2026).