Drayage insurance the UIIA will accept.
Auto liability, general liability, trailer interchange and cargo for drayage companies and owner-operators who pull containers from ports and rail ramps, set up to match UIIA and equipment provider rules.
Quick answer Drayage companies and owner-operators that pull containers from ports and rail ramps are insured with auto liability, general liability, trailer interchange and cargo set up to match UIIA and equipment provider rules, shopped by a broker such as Sam Alishahi (CA License #4348151) with carriers that write intermodal truckers.
- Steamship lines, chassis pools and railroads want proof of insurance that meets the UIIA, the interchange agreement run by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), before they hand over their equipment.
- IANA's published UIIA requirements for motor carriers include commercial auto liability of at least $1 million combined single limit (Any Auto, Scheduled and Hired, or All Owned and Hired), general liability of $1 million per occurrence, and the UIIE-1 endorsement (or CA 23 17 or TE 23 17B) on the auto policy.
- Most equipment providers also require trailer interchange and cargo, with limits that vary by provider, and some require workers' comp and employer's liability.
- Trailer interchange covers physical damage to a trailer, chassis or container you don't own while it is in your care, custody or control under an interchange agreement.
- A certificate that is missing one endorsement or one additional insured can hold up a UIIA account and keep a drayage truck out of the terminal.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · En español · How this page is researched
You haul boxes you don’t own
Drayage trucks pull containers on chassis that belong to steamship lines, chassis pools and railroads. Before they hand you that equipment, they want proof of insurance that meets the UIIA, the interchange agreement run by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).
A certificate that is missing one endorsement or one additional insured can hold up your UIIA account and keep you out of the terminal. I check each piece against the UIIA’s published requirements and your equipment providers’ limits, then shop it with carriers that write intermodal truckers.
- Auto liabilityInjuries and damage your trucks cause to others. The UIIA asks for at least $1 million.
- General liabilityClaims that don’t involve driving. The UIIA asks for $1 million per occurrence.
- Trailer interchangePhysical damage to chassis, containers and trailers you don’t own while they’re in your care.
- CargoFreight inside the container. Most equipment providers set their own limit.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- UIIA status: signed up, pending or not yet, plus the equipment providers you work with.
- Ports and ramps: the terminals and rail ramps you serve.
- Trucks: year, make, value and port registry status.
- Drivers: names, license numbers, CDL experience and TWIC status.
- Authority: USDOT, MC and CA numbers, if you have them.
- Current policy: declarations, endorsements and loss runs.
Getting a UIIA certificate accepted
The UIIA's limits and the hold harmless endorsement are covered above. What holds an account up is the paperwork around them. From IANA's current instructions and the agreement itself, effective June 18, 2026:
- Online only. The agent has to be registered in the UIIA system and submit online. IANA stopped accepting mailed insurance documents on October 5, 2020. One ACORD 22 goes in, with IANA's president as certificate holder.
- Two boxes on the ACORD 22. Under description of operations, the agent checks one box confirming the hold harmless endorsement is on the auto policy and another confirming that the equipment providers checked on your EP Checklist (Form 5C) are additional insureds. Blanket additional insured boxes are available, and specific wording can go on an ACORD 101.
- Insurer details. For each insurer: the NAIC number, the AM Best rating and the effective date of that rating.
- Extra proof for some insurers. For Knights Specialty, Accredited Specialty, Trisura Specialty, Trisura Insurance and Progressive (since 01/22/2026), IANA wants confirmation within 24 hours that UIIE-1 or CA 23 17 (version 11/20) is on the auto policy and that hired autos are covered. Trisura and Accredited also need copies of the additional insured endorsements for auto, general liability and trailer interchange.
- Umbrella. The certificate has to say which policies the umbrella sits over, or IANA won't apply it to your account.
- Exclusions. Any endorsement that limits or restricts a listed policy goes on the ACORD 101 with the certificate.
Section F.6 of the agreement also says the auto policy must be primary and must insure all equipment involved in interchange, including vehicles of your agents or contractors. If owner-operators pull boxes under your UIIA account, read your auto policy against that line. Self-insured auto is allowed, but IANA lists equipment providers, including CSX Intermodal Terminals and Norfolk Southern, that refuse it or decide case by case. Need the base policies first? Start with commercial trucking and truckers general liability.
Trailer interchange vs. non-owned physical damage: what to read for
IRMI describes trailer interchange as part of the truckers and motor carrier coverage forms, and available by endorsement on the business auto form. If you're on a business auto policy, look for that endorsement. IANA's trailer interchange instructions spell out what it will accept:
- The name on the coverage. IANA accepts "Trailer Interchange," "Trailer Interchange physical damage" or "Non-owned physical damage." "Bailees" wording passes only if it doesn't reference hired auto physical damage. The CA 23 13 endorsement passes only if it shows comprehensive and collision as well as fire and theft.
- What equipment. The coverage has to reach non-owned containers, chassis and trailers in your care, custody or control. The agreement defines equipment as trailers, chassis, containers and associated devices, but not tractors. Check that your policy's wording reaches all of them.
- How the limit shows. The limit has to appear on the certificate. If it's actual cash value, the certificate has to say so. Under the agreement, lost, stolen or destroyed equipment is settled at actual cash value or depreciated replacement value, as you and the provider agree.
- Loss of use. FC&S notes that the trailer interchange section of the ISO motor carrier form says it won't pay for loss of use. Unless the provider's addendum sets its own process, the agreement stops per diem once the provider gets your written notice that equipment was lost, stolen or destroyed. Send that notice promptly.
- Named on the policy. Some providers, including Union Pacific, Flexi-Van and the North American Chassis Pool Cooperative, have to be additional insured or loss payee on trailer interchange.
- No trailer interchange? Only the equipment provider can waive it or approve self-insurance. The UIIA office can't.
- Your own trailers going out. In FC&S's reading of the motor carrier form, physical damage on your own trailer is excluded while someone else holds it under a written trailer interchange agreement, unless symbol 70 is entered for that coverage.
The freight inside is a separate policy: cargo insurance.
Intermodal and drayage insurance, answered
What are the UIIA insurance requirements?
IANA’s published requirements for motor carriers include commercial auto liability of at least $1 million combined single limit, written as Any Auto, Scheduled and Hired, or All Owned and Hired. They also include general liability of $1 million per occurrence and the UIIE-1 endorsement (or CA 23 17 or TE 23 17B) on the auto policy. Most equipment providers also require trailer interchange and cargo, with limits that vary by provider, and some require workers’ comp and employer’s liability.
What is trailer interchange insurance?
It covers physical damage to a trailer, chassis or container you don’t own while it is in your care, custody or control under an interchange agreement. The UIIA says it must include comprehensive and collision, plus fire and theft.
What affects the cost of drayage insurance?
Carriers look at driver records and experience, claims history, the number and value of trucks, where you run, what’s in the containers, years in business, and the limits your equipment providers require. Clean drivers and a clean loss history help the most.
Do drayage drivers need a TWIC card?
Workers who need access to secure areas of port facilities need a TWIC under the Maritime Transportation Security Act. TSA issues the card, and it is good for five years.
What do trucks need to work the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach?
Every truck entering a marine terminal must be on the Ports Drayage Truck Registry. At the Port of Los Angeles, motor carriers making regular calls also need an approved concession agreement, and the application includes insurance certificates. New registry entries since October 1, 2018 must be model year 2014 or newer.
Does California require zero-emission drayage trucks?
Not right now. CARB says no new regulations currently apply to drayage trucks, and it encourages zero-emission trucks on a voluntary basis. Port registry and concession rules still apply.
Do leased-on owner-operators need their own insurance?
In most lease setups, the drayage company’s auto liability applies while you’re under its dispatch, so check your lease. You still need physical damage on your own truck, and often non-trucking liability. With your own authority, you carry your own liability, your own filings and your own UIIA account.
How much cancellation notice does the UIIA require?
Section F.6 of the UIIA agreement effective June 18, 2026 says IANA must get at least 30 calendar days' notice of cancellation, or 14 days when the cancellation is for non-payment of premium. IANA's insurance requirements page still says 10 days for non-payment, so check which number your policy's notice endorsement uses.
When does the UIIA drop an expiring drayage policy?
The UIIA system expires policies at 12:01 a.m. on the expiration date, not 11:59 p.m., so the renewal has to be posted online before that day. IANA also wants the renewal to take effect on the same date the old policy expires so there's no gap.
Do you offer intermodal and drayage insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in all 50 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see insurance requirements by state.
Official sources
- IANA: UIIA insurance requirements for motor carriers
- Port of Los Angeles: Clean Truck Program, concessions and Ports Drayage Truck Registry
- California Air Resources Board: drayage trucks at seaports and railyards
- TSA: Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
- IANA: Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (effective June 18, 2026), PDF
- IANA: UIIA requirements for auto liability (PDF)
- IANA: UIIA requirements for trailer interchange (PDF)
- Port of Los Angeles: Concession Agreement FAQ (July 28, 2021), PDF
- IRMI: Trailer interchange insurance
- FC&S (PropertyCasualty360): Motor carrier form physical damage coverages
Send your trucks and your UIIA list. I’ll shop it.
Truck list, driver list and your current declarations page are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued.
Tell me how to reach you. I’ll take it from there.
Takes about 30 seconds. Your next step comes by email, and you get an update at every step until your quotes are ready.
(877) 711-4545Answered 24/7 · CA License #4348151
Get a reminder before your renewal.
Tell me when your policy renews and I’ll email you about six weeks before, when it’s worth comparing. One email, no calls.