Hunter NelsonOwner of Nelson Insurance Agency

Bobtail Insurance Shockingly High Costs Revealed! #truckinginsurance #truckingindustry #truckingjobs

14 Jul 2026 · 1 min

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0:42

In this segment of his YouTube video, Hunter Nelson explains how trucking carriers handle insurance billing, noting that some charge a flat percentage (e.g., 15‑20%) while others bill separately for insurance based on the driver’s safety record. He highlights that bobtail insurance is often obtained through Progressive, but the rates many drivers encounter are far higher than the advertised 5% or $500 per year. Nelson cites examples of drivers paying as much as $20,000 for bobtail coverage and warns that such inflated premiums are unreasonable and should be avoided.

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Some will charge 20%, not bill them for insurance. Some will charge 15%, maybe a little bit less, then bill them for insurance because ultimately, you know, what they cost for insurance is going to kind of vary based off of them. If they got a horrible record versus a really good record, it's kind of tough to go in there and not bill them for insurance because it could be double or half depending on the owner-operator. Now with the bobtail insurance, a lot of these guys are just going to go to Progressive. And Progressive is not those rates I was just talking about with the 5% and the $500 a year for bobtail. They are not those rates. I've heard of people paying $20,000 of bobtail insurance. Mind-blowing. Should not be doing that.