Loading...
On-hook, garagekeepers, and commercial auto for light-duty to heavy recovery. Appetite review in 24 to 48 hours.
Trusted by 60+ carrier partners
$10k+ saved on GL
“We saved over $10,000 on our general policy alone, and it was a much much better policy with broader coverage. Their side-by-side analysis stopped all the guessing of whether the carrier was reputable and what was included.”
Joe Block
Co-Founder & CEO · Shottys
On-hook, garagekeepers, and garage liability built into the submission
Your broker structures the program around the lines that define towing risk: on-hook limits matched to the most expensive vehicles you tow, garagekeepers limits reflecting peak lot capacity, and the correct garagekeepers form (direct primary vs. legal liability). Motor club and police rotation insurance requirements are confirmed before the account goes to market.
Light-duty, heavy recovery, impound, and repo operations all get placed
Standard commercial auto carriers do not write on-hook or garagekeepers. Coverwatch places through towing-specialty markets including Zurich, AmWINS, and surplus lines that evaluate fleet mix, tow type, storage volume, and repo percentage. Heavy rotator operations and impound-heavy accounts that standard markets decline get submitted to carriers built for those exposures.
Motor club, police rotation, and municipal certificates managed year-round
AAA, Agero, and police rotation contracts require specific certificate language, limits, and timely renewals. A lapsed certificate removes you from the dispatch rotation. Your broker tracks expirations, issues renewals before deadlines, and handles mid-term changes for fleet additions or storage expansion.
A tow truck company needs on-hook coverage, garagekeepers liability, commercial auto liability, physical damage, and general liability at minimum. Workers comp is required in most states.
On-hook protects customer vehicles during transport. Garagekeepers covers vehicles at your storage lot. Carriers price on equipment class, storage lot capacity, tow mix, and whether the operation includes involuntary or repo work.
Updated
Tow truck insurance is a commercial program built around on-hook coverage and garagekeepers liability, the two policies that separate towing operations from general trucking. On-hook protects customer vehicles during transport, and garagekeepers covers vehicles at your storage lot or impound facility.
Light-duty flatbeds and wheel-lifts, medium-duty rollbacks, and heavy-duty rotators represent different risk classes with different premium bands. Heavy recovery operations pulling overturned semis from highway shoulders carry higher liability exposure than a light-duty operator running AAA calls. Carriers want the full vehicle schedule with tow ratings, and they price each unit based on its recovery capacity.
Towing companies that store vehicles on their own lot need garagekeepers coverage in addition to on-hook. The garagekeepers limit should reflect the total value of vehicles on the lot at peak capacity. Impound operations add regulatory complexity around notification timelines, lien processes, and involuntary tow liability that affect both coverage requirements and carrier appetite.
AAA, Agero, and other motor club contracts require specific insurance limits and certificate language as a condition of staying on the dispatch list. Police rotation programs in most municipalities require proof of commercial insurance, a minimum number of trucks, and storage capacity. Losing coverage or failing to renew certificates on time removes you from these revenue sources.
One platform for a different insurance experience, from quote to claim.
Your broker collects the vehicle schedule with tow ratings for each unit, storage lot capacity and peak vehicle count, current dec pages, three years of loss runs, and copies of motor club and police rotation contracts. The review identifies on-hook limit requirements, the correct garagekeepers form, garage liability needs for any repair work, and whether repo operations require separate underwriting.
Protects customer vehicles against damage while attached to your tow truck during transport, which standard commercial auto excludes.
Covers damage to customer vehicles stored on your lot or in your facility from fire, theft, hail, vandalism, and other causes.
Covers bodily injury and property damage from tow truck accidents on the road, including highway shoulder and recovery scene operations.
Collision and comp coverage for your tow trucks at full replacement value, including the mounted towing apparatus.
Covers third-party injury and property damage from non-driving operations at your shop, recovery sites, and storage premises.
Covers medical expenses and lost wages for employees injured during roadside work, heavy lifting, and all-hours recovery operations.
Combined GL and auto liability form for towing companies that also perform repair work or move vehicles on their premises.
Covers portable towing tools not mounted on the truck, such as chains, straps, dollies, go-jacks, and portable winches.
Adds a liability layer above commercial auto and GL limits, often required by motor club and police rotation contracts.
Need coverage not listed here? Let's talk about your specific exposures.
Real exposures your broker should understand and have a plan for.
Scratched bumpers, transmission damage from improper dollying, and vehicles falling off flatbeds are the highest-frequency claims in towing insurance. Modern vehicles with ADAS sensors in the front fascia and air suspension are particularly vulnerable to hookup damage. A single ADAS recalibration after a bumper scratch can push a minor claim well above the repair cost.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently ranks tow truck operation among the most dangerous occupations. Workers setting up cones, attaching chains, or operating controls on the roadside face struck-by hazards from passing vehicles. Night and poor-weather highway shoulder recoveries carry the highest fatality risk in the industry.
Vehicles on your lot are your responsibility under garagekeepers. A hailstorm, break-in, or fire at your storage yard creates a batch claim covering every vehicle on the lot. Total exposure equals the combined value of all stored vehicles at the time of the event. Legal-liability-only forms will not pay unless your company was at fault for the loss.
Police-ordered and private property tows generate a disproportionate share of liability disputes. Owners contest the tow, allege damage, or claim the vehicle was not inventoried before transport. Storage fee disputes escalate to small claims or consumer protection complaints. Documentation and dashcam footage reduce these exposures but do not eliminate them.
Heavy recovery involves rigging, winching, and handling unstable loads near active traffic. Snapping cables, shifting loads, and the physical demands of righting overturned vehicles produce higher-severity workers comp claims than light-duty towing. A single equipment failure can cause catastrophic injury.
A passing driver strikes your truck, your crew, or the disabled vehicle during a recovery. The secondary accident raises liability questions about scene setup, warning device placement, and whether the tow operator followed proper traffic control procedures. Both your commercial auto and GL policies come into play depending on the facts.
The licenses, endorsements, and proofs buyers and regulators want to see before they let you on the job.
Tow truck insurance is built around on-hook and garagekeepers coverage, two lines that standard trucking programs do not include. These are the operational and regulatory factors behind your towing program.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics consistently ranks tow truck drivers among the most dangerous occupations US. Struck-by incidents from passing traffic during roadside operations account for a significant share of fatalities. Night and adverse-weather highway shoulder work carries the highest risk.
On-hook covers customer vehicles while attached to the tow truck during transport. Garagekeepers covers vehicles on your lot or in your facility. These are separate policies with separate limits. A vehicle damaged during tow triggers on-hook. The same vehicle damaged by hail while parked on your lot triggers garagekeepers.
All 50 states require drivers to change lanes or slow down near stopped emergency and tow vehicles with flashing lights. Enforcement varies by state. Despite universal adoption, compliance remains inconsistent, and struck-by incidents continue to be the primary fatality risk for tow operators.
Modern vehicles with ADAS components in bumper fascias and windshields require recalibration after even minor impacts. A bumper scratch from hookup that would have been cosmetic a decade ago now involves sensor recalibration. This trend is increasing on-hook claim severity across the towing industry.
Towing companies need state-specific licenses that vary by jurisdiction. California requires a CPUC Motor Carrier of Property permit. Florida requires FLHSMV registration. Texas mandates TDLR licensing with separate VSF permits for storage. Illinois requires ICC-T authority for non-consensual tows. Each state imposes different insurance minimums as a licensing condition.
Direct primary garagekeepers pays for damage to stored vehicles regardless of fault. Legal liability only pays when the company's negligence caused the damage. A hailstorm or break-in triggers direct primary but not legal liability. Most towing operations with storage lots need direct primary to avoid uninsured batch losses.
For-hire tow trucks with a gross vehicle or combination weight rating of 10,000 pounds or more operating in interstate commerce must maintain this minimum level of financial responsibility. Not-for-hire and intrastate operations sit outside the federal rule.
Texas requires a minimum of $500,000 liability insurance per tow truck per incident plus $50,000 of cargo or on-hook coverage per truck for consent towing. Private-property towing carries a lower liability floor.
On-hook coverage, also called in-tow coverage, protects customer vehicles against damage while they are attached to your tow truck during transport. Standard commercial auto does not cover damage to vehicles you are transporting for others. If a customer vehicle falls off your flatbed, is scratched during hookup, or sustains transmission damage from improper dollying, on-hook coverage responds. The per-vehicle limit should reflect the value of the most expensive vehicle you regularly tow.
Requirements stack in three layers. FMCSA sets a $750,000 minimum for for-hire interstate towing at or above 10,000 pounds. Your state adds its own liability and on-hook floors for consent and private-property tows. Motor clubs and police rotations then impose contract limits above both.
Five policies carry a towing operation: commercial auto liability on each truck, on-hook coverage for vehicles in tow, garagekeepers for vehicles stored on your lot, general liability for premises claims, and workers compensation for drivers. Repossession and rotation work add contract-driven requirements.
Cost depends on fleet size, truck class (light-duty through heavy rotator), storage operations, motor club contracts, driver experience, and loss history. Heavy-duty and rotator operations cost more per unit than light-duty flatbed operations because the equipment value is higher and the recovery work involves greater risk. The spread across carriers is wide, which is why shopping multiple markets matters.
If you store customer vehicles on your lot, in your yard, or inside a facility for any duration, garagekeepers coverage is needed to protect against damage from fire, theft, vandalism, hail, and other causes. The direct primary form covers damage regardless of fault. The legal liability form pays only when your company caused the damage. Most towing operations with storage need the direct primary form.
Commercial auto is one component of a tow truck insurance program, but it is not the full picture. Tow trucks need on-hook coverage for vehicles in transit, garagekeepers for stored vehicles, and often garage liability if they operate a repair facility. A standard commercial auto policy without these endorsements leaves the towing-specific exposures uncovered.
Motor clubs typically require commercial auto liability at minimum limits, general liability, on-hook coverage, and workers compensation. Some clubs require garagekeepers if you store vehicles. The insurance certificate must name the motor club as a certificate holder with specific language. Requirements vary by club, so review the contractor agreement before binding coverage.
On-hook coverage responds to damage caused during hookup, transport, and release. Garagekeepers coverage responds to damage while the vehicle is stored on your lot. General liability may respond to damage caused during non-towing operations at your facility. The specific coverage that applies depends on when and how the damage occurred. Confirm that your on-hook limits are adequate for the most expensive vehicles you handle.
Legal liability garagekeepers only pays when your company is at fault for the damage to a stored vehicle. Direct primary pays regardless of fault, covering fire, theft, hail, vandalism, and other causes even when you did nothing wrong. Direct primary costs more but closes the gap on weather events and break-ins that legal-liability-only forms exclude.
Repo operations carry the same core coverage lines as other towing operations, but the involuntary nature of the work increases liability exposure. Vehicle owners may confront operators during repo, allege damage, or file complaints. Carriers underwrite repo work separately, and some standard towing markets exclude it. If repo represents a significant portion of your revenue, the policy must explicitly include it.
Bound in 72 hours
We were three days from a partnership deadline, and insurance was the last thing standing. I had four brokers working on it - Coverwatch went from our first call to fully bound in 72 hours, at the best price of the four. But what actually made them our broker for good was the quote email: it listed the exact risks that were covered so I understood how the policies function, and what each would cost to close. Since then they've acted as our risk management team, not just our policy vendor - proactive, same-day, and straight with us about every tradeoff. Swift turn around with thoughtful suggestion to a change of requirement in less than 24 hours.
34% below renewal
Coverwatch came in 34% below the renewal we were quoted, and every line got better at the same time. Our E&O deductible dropped 80% and our coverage improved significantly. They function as our risk management team, not just our broker.
Closed an enterprise deal
As a Fintech startup, it's very hard to find affordable insurance that has the coverage we need for our complex business. Kevin helped us navigate the complexity and cross-compare General Liability Insurance that I was unable to do on my own through all these online business insurance vendors. He was able to quickly get us affordable insurance to protect our business so that we could sign a new enterprise client.
Global program placed
Coverwatch took the time to deeply understand our international business before quoting anything: how we operate, where the real exposures are, what our clients expect from us. Then they helped us design a risk plan, with professional liability, crime and cyber working together, and placed coverage that genuinely meets all of our worldwide needs with strong carriers. Responsive, thorough, and truly advisory.
Bound when others passed
Roofing is one of the hardest classes in insurance, and other markets would not touch us. Coverwatch got both our liability and our workers comp bound, on terms that actually cover the work my crews do. Responsive, straight-talking, and relentless. They got it done when nobody else would.
Cyber, bound fast
Coverwatch got our cyber coverage right: the limits our customers actually ask about, at a sensible price, bound fast. They took the time to understand what we do, answered every question in plain English, and have been clear and responsive ever since. Simple, quick, and done properly the first time.
Covered in days
Fast, fairly priced, and none of the runaround. Coverwatch had us covered in days, explained exactly what we were buying, and they answer in plain English whenever we ask anything. No chasing, no surprises, no jargon. That is all we wanted from a broker, and it is exactly what we got.
46% lower premiums
Kevin and Coverwatch helped us reduce our premiums by 46% and improved our insurance coverage.
Fastest broker we’ve used
Coverwatch is the fastest and most responsive insurance broker I've worked with. They understood our needs and designed an insurance package that was affordable and covered exactly what our business needed.
Send us your policy and a licensed advisor benchmarks your tow truck insurance across 60+ carrier partners, showing the gaps and the savings. If your program is already solid, we'll tell you.
Your quote
Explore related coverage across the trucking space.
