Auto physical damage covers the vehicle. What's in the bed and on the trailer is a different policy.
Commercial auto · Updated September 2026
Commercial auto physical damage covers the vehicle. It is not property coverage for what the vehicle carries.
A contractor with twenty-five thousand dollars of tools in a work truck frequently assumes the auto policy handles them. It generally does not. Tools, equipment, materials and customer property riding in the truck belong on an inland marine policy, sometimes called tools and equipment or contractors equipment coverage.
The same gap applies to theft out of a locked truck overnight, which is one of the most common contractor losses there is.
Ask four questions about every trailer. Who owns it? What is it worth? What does it carry? And is physical damage coverage actually on it?
Liability while towing generally extends from the towing vehicle, so a trailer attached to an insured truck is usually covered for the damage it causes. That is not the same as coverage for the trailer itself, which needs to be scheduled, or for the skid steer sitting on it, which is equipment and belongs on inland marine.
Borrowed and rented trailers deserve a mention too — the rental agreement typically makes you responsible for damage.
If you transport customer property — a repair shop moving a customer's vehicle, a mover, a shop that takes equipment in for service — that is property in your care, custody and control, and standard forms handle it narrowly.
Motor truck cargo coverage or a bailee form is the right instrument, depending on the business. Worth asking about if anything you carry belongs to someone else.
If your most important truck were destroyed tomorrow, how fast could you replace it, and what would the days in between cost? For a two-truck operation, losing one can halve revenue while payments continue.
Rental reimbursement pays for a substitute vehicle. Loss of use coverage addresses the income side. And gap or loan-lease payoff coverage matters if the truck is financed, because a total loss settles at value, not at the balance.
Two figures are worth knowing: the maximum value of tools and equipment in any single vehicle, and the value of each trailer with whatever it carries. Most owners have never added it up, and the answer usually surprises them.
More on equipment schedules and inland marine.
Generally no. Auto physical damage covers the vehicle. Tools, equipment and materials in the truck need inland marine, also called tools and equipment coverage.
Under inland marine, usually yes subject to the limits and any theft conditions. Under the auto policy alone, generally not.
Liability while towing generally extends from the towing vehicle, but the trailer itself needs to be scheduled for physical damage, and equipment carried on it is separate again.
That is care, custody and control, handled narrowly by standard forms. Motor truck cargo or a bailee form is usually the right coverage.
The policy settles at the vehicle's value, which on a financed truck can be less than the loan balance. Gap or loan-lease payoff coverage closes that difference.
Questions about your own situation? Call 417.623.8300 or send us your current policy. We are licensed in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma.
Questions about your own policy? Send it over and we will go through it with you.