Tow Truck Insurance Companies: US Market Appetite
Six US carriers and programs that publish tow truck appetite: who takes repossession and new operators, on-hook and garagekeepers limits, and what to submit.
Placement criteria
- Federal minimum liability
- For-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in interstate commerce with a GVWR of 10,001 pounds or more need at least $750,000 of financial responsibility. [49 CFR 387.9](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/387.9). State and contract requirements (motor club, police rotation) can be higher.
- Type of towing work
- National Indemnity's tow truck class covers wreckers and rollbacks for repair shops, car dealerships, police rotation, repossessors and salvage yards. [Class description](https://www.nationalindemnity.com/terms-definitions.html). Repossession and auto hauling are excluded by some programs, so name the work precisely.
- Customer vehicles: on the hook vs. on the lot
- In-tow covers a customer's auto towed or carried by your truck; garagekeepers covers a customer's auto left for service, repair, storage or safekeeping. [Definitions](https://www.nationalindemnity.com/terms-definitions.html).
- Years in business and fleet size
- KBK does not write new ventures at this time. [KBK applications](https://novacore.com/kbk/applications/). Prime lists a new operators coverage option. [Prime](https://www.primeis.com/product-lines/garage-liability-and-towing/towing-operations-and-repossession-companies/).
- Rating factors
- Progressive rates on truck type and age, location, towing type, driving record, claims history and limits. [Progressive](https://www.progressivecommercial.com/commercial-auto-insurance/tow-truck-insurance/).
Who writes this risk
Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies
Carrier- Eligible classes
- Tow trucks and auto haulers (trucking class)
- Additional features
- Trailer interchange, hired car and non-owned, limited pollution liability, waiver of subrogation, additional insured, state and federal filings including the MCS-90.
Note: The page states that not all features are available in all states.
KBK Insurance Group
MGA- Eligible classes
- Commercial tow truck operators
- Limits
- Commercial auto liability, general liability and garagekeepers legal liability: $1M each; on-hook/cargo: $500,000 per vehicle.
- Territory
- All states except Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts and New York
- Status
- MGA and wholesaler.
- Not written
- New ventures, repossession and auto hauling.
- New agent appointments
- No longer appointing new agents in California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, New York and Texas.
- Radius
- No radius limits.
- Submission
- KBK application, 3 years of loss runs, driver list with dates of birth and license numbers, vehicle list, expiring and target premium.
Note: Program of Novacore; its coverages page says one-truck accounts are back in appetite.
National Indemnity Company
Carrier- Eligible classes
- Tow trucks: wreckers and rollbacks for repair shops, car dealerships, police rotation, repossessors, salvage yards
- Coverages
- Liability, physical damage, uninsured motorist, medical payments, cargo and in-tow/on-hook.
- Access
- Through more than 100 contracted wholesale agencies working with retail agents.
Note: Writes both standard and surplus lines business; no tow-specific limits published.
Prime Insurance Company
Carrier- Eligible classes
- Towing and repossession companies, Flatbed, hook and chain, wheel-lift, boom and integrated tow trucks
- Territory
- All 50 states
- Coverage options
- CGL, auto liability and physical damage, contingent auto, new operators, hired and non-owned auto, on-hook and cargo, recovery, dealer plates, assault and battery, garagekeepers, wrongful repossession, drive-away.
- Producer agreement
- Not required to quote; required before binding.
Note: Quote requests go to quotes@primeis.com per the product page.
Progressive Commercial
Carrier- Eligible classes
- Roadside service providers, Auto club contractors, Rotational towing, Auto body shops and mechanical repair, Full-service stations, Auto salvage and auction haulers
- Towing coverages
- On-hook towing, garagekeepers legal liability, roadside general liability.
- Storage locations
- Garagekeepers is called storage location insurance in Texas and Virginia; each location needs its own coverage.
- Premium reference
- 2025 median monthly premium $355, average $606 (Progressive customers).
Note: Rating factors: truck type and age, location, towing type, driving record, claims history, limits.
STAR Mutual RRG
Carrier- Eligible classes
- Towing (eligible trucking class)
- Lines
- Commercial auto liability, PIP and UM/UIM; physical damage and motor truck cargo through a program facilitated by Reliable Transportation Association.
- Excluded
- Building wrecker / heavy duty wrecker truck; auto dismantler vehicle.
- Eligibility
- Liability is offered to members of Reliable Transportation Association.
Note: Tennessee-domiciled risk retention group registered in multiple states.
Public terms gathered from each market's own website, as of the date shown on each listing. Confirm with the market before binding coverage.
Who writes tow truck insurance
Six markets publish towing appetite on their own pages:
- Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Companies (BHHC) lists tow trucks and auto haulers as a trucking class, with state and federal filings including the MCS-90.
- KBK Insurance Group, an MGA and wholesaler (a Novacore program), publishes $1M auto liability, $1M GL, $1M garagekeepers and $500,000 on-hook per vehicle, with no radius limit. It does not write new ventures, repossession or auto hauling, and it is not open in Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts or New York.
- National Indemnity Company lists tow trucks and in-tow/on-hook on its commercial truck page. Access is through contracted wholesale agencies, not direct.
- Prime Insurance Company writes towing and repossession companies in all 50 states, with options for new operators, on-hook, recovery, garagekeepers, wrongful repossession and drive-away.
- Progressive Commercial covers roadside service, auto club contractors, rotational towing, repair shops, stations and salvage or auction haulers on its tow truck page. It is on the Progressive portal.
- STAR Mutual RRG lists towing as an eligible class on its homepage but excludes building and heavy duty wreckers. Liability goes to members of Reliable Transportation Association.
Why towing accounts get declined
Underwriters decline on the work, not on the truck. The same rollback can serve a body shop, a motor club contract, a police rotation list or a repo company, and each carries a different loss profile. National Indemnity's tow truck class names wreckers and rollbacks for repair shops, car dealerships, police rotation, repossessors and salvage yards. KBK excludes repossession and auto hauling outright. A submission that says only "towing" gets sent back or quoted on the wrong class.
The second reason is new ventures. KBK says it cannot write them at this time. Prime lists a new operators coverage option. A startup tow company with drivers who have years of towing experience elsewhere should say so, with dates, in the first paragraph of the submission.
Third: heavy recovery. STAR excludes heavy duty wreckers, so a fleet running heavy wreckers needs a market that names that equipment.
What underwriting looks at
- Driving records. Progressive rates on driving record and claims history, along with truck type and age, location, towing type and limits. Pull MVRs for every driver before you quote.
- Loss runs. KBK asks for 3 years. Order them early: carriers take days to send them.
- Custody of customer vehicles. On-hook (in-tow) covers a customer's car while your truck tows or carries it. Garagekeepers covers it while it sits on your lot for service, repair, storage or safekeeping. Progressive calls garagekeepers storage location insurance in Texas and Virginia, and each lot needs its own coverage.
- Limits. The federal floor for for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in interstate commerce, 10,001 pounds GVWR and up, is $750,000 under 49 CFR 387.9. Motor clubs, police rotation lists and states can require more, so get the contract or ordinance before you pick limits.
- Units. KBK's pages disagree on the minimum: one says one-truck accounts are back in appetite, the program sheet says 2+ power units. Ask before you submit a single truck.
What to send
KBK's application page is a good baseline for any towing market:
- Completed application.
- 3 years of loss runs.
- Driver list with dates of birth and license numbers.
- Vehicle list with year, make, VIN and value, plus tow equipment type (flatbed, wheel-lift, boom, integrated).
- Expiring and target premium.
Add a one-page operations summary: share of revenue by work type (motor club, police rotation, private property, repo, transport), number and address of storage lots, average and maximum value of vehicles towed, and radius. That page answers most of the questions that otherwise come back one email at a time.
A towing operation that also hauls freight or vehicles over the road should be checked against the new authority trucking page: freight appetite does not carry over to towing, or the reverse. For agencies writing a mix of garage and auto accounts, see how commercial lines agencies organize these submissions.
Preparing and entering the same towing submission across several carrier portals takes time. Covera's AI carrier quoting agents fill those portals.
Frequently asked questions
Who writes tow truck insurance for repossession work?
Prime's towing page covers repossession companies and lists wrongful repossession and drive-away coverage. National Indemnity's tow truck class includes wreckers for repossessors. KBK does not write repossession. [Prime](https://www.primeis.com/product-lines/garage-liability-and-towing/towing-operations-and-repossession-companies/).
Are on-hook and garagekeepers the same coverage?
No. In-tow (on-hook) pays for damage to a customer's auto while your truck tows or carries it. Garagekeepers pays for damage to a customer's auto left with you for service, repair, storage or safekeeping. [National Indemnity definitions](https://www.nationalindemnity.com/terms-definitions.html).
What is the federal minimum liability for a for-hire tow truck?
$750,000 for for-hire carriers of nonhazardous property in interstate commerce with a GVWR of 10,001 pounds or more. Many states, motor clubs and police rotation lists ask for more. [49 CFR 387.9](https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/49/387.9).
Can a new towing company get coverage?
Prime lists a new operators coverage option. KBK says it cannot write new ventures at this time. With no loss history, the drivers' MVRs and their prior towing experience carry the submission.