Tow Truck Insurance · California

Tow truck insurance for the car on the hook.

Commercial auto liability, on-hook towing, garagekeepers and physical damage coverage for tow operators, from one truck to a fleet.

Quick answer Tow trucks in California are insured by carriers that write tow operators, usually with commercial auto liability, on-hook towing, garagekeepers and physical damage coverage, shopped by a broker such as Sam Alishahi (CA Insurance License #4348151).

Standard commercial auto coverage doesn't cover a customer's car on the hook or in the tow yard.
On-hook towing coverage pays for damage to a customer's vehicle while it's attached to or loaded on the tow truck, which regular auto liability doesn't cover.
Garagekeepers coverage protects customers' vehicles while they're stored in a tow company's care, such as its yard or impound lot.
Many motor clubs require specific coverage, including minimum liability limits and on-hook coverage.
A new towing company can get insurance, though carriers look closely at driver experience and records when a company has no history.

By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed November 2026 · En español · How this page is researched

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How it works

Towing needs more than auto liability

A towing business is responsible for the vehicles it tows and stores, not just its own trucks. Standard commercial auto coverage doesn't cover a customer's car on your hook or in your yard.

I set up the coverages towing contracts, motor clubs and storage lots ask for, and shop them with carriers that write tow operators.

Auto liabilityInjuries and damage your tow trucks cause to others.
On-hook towingDamage to a customer's vehicle while it's being towed.
GaragekeepersCustomers' vehicles stored in your yard or lot.
Physical damageRepairs to your own tow trucks.

What I help with

Towing situations I'm called for

New towing company

Coverage for operators without a long history.

Motor club contracts

Limits and coverages motor clubs require.

Storage lot

Garagekeepers for vehicles held in your yard.

Flatbed and wreckers

Rollbacks, wheel-lifts and heavy wreckers.

Adding drivers

Driver records reviewed before they're added.

Other commercial trucks

Trucking coverage for the rest of your fleet. Trucking insurance

Before you call

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.

Start the Quote Form

Trucks: year, make, type and value.
Drivers: names, license numbers and experience.
Operations: radius, motor clubs and police rotation work.
Storage: number of vehicles held and lot security.
DOT or CA numbers: if you have them.
Current policy: declarations and loss runs.

What CHP's rotation tow agreement makes you carry

To get on a CHP rotation tow list you sign the Tow Service Agreement (TSA). Section 14 of the 2026-2027 TSA sets the minimum insurance, written by a carrier admitted in California, or admitted in the state where your business is located and authorized to do business in California:

Auto liability: combined single limit of at least $750,000 for Class A tow trucks and $1,000,000 for Classes B, C and D, including non-owned and hired auto.
Uninsured motorist: the legal minimum, combined single limit.
On-hook/cargo, by truck class: $50,000 (A), $100,000 (B), $200,000 (C), $250,000 (D).
Garage liability including premises and operations, at least $500,000 combined single limit.
Garagekeepers for vehicles in your care, custody and control in the storage yard, at the same minimum as on-hook.

Proof is a certificate of insurance, and it has to cover every storage facility listed on your CHP 234A. The policy must give CHP at least 30 days' written notice before it's canceled or expires. Falling below the minimums immediately nullifies the TSA, removes you from the list and opens you to Area commander discipline. Section 14 doesn't call for additional insured wording; instead, in Section 26 you agree to indemnify, defend and save harmless the state, its officers, agents and employees.

Classes follow truck size. To run a class you should have at least one truck rated at 14,000 lb GVWR or more for Class A, 33,000 for B, and a three-axle truck of 52,000 for C or 54,000 for D.

Driver files: rotation checks and the tow truck driver certificate

For rotation work, new operators, managers and drivers are fingerprinted through Live Scan, and each files a CHP 234F listing all felony and misdemeanor convictions. Leaving one off is cause for denial and a misdemeanor. You report a driver's arrest or conviction to CHP before the next work shift, and anyone away from the program more than a year is fingerprinted again. Drivers also need Traffic Incident Management training and a TSAAC-approved tow truck driver course for their truck class, completed within the past five years.

The state tow truck driver certificate is narrower than many assume. Vehicle Code 12520 requires it for a tow truck driver as Section 2430.1 defines one: a person providing towing or emergency road service in freeway service patrol operations under an agreement with a regional or local entity. The DMV issues the permanent certificate after Department of Justice or FBI clearance. It's valid for up to five years and expires with the driver's license.

Keep these records in one file per driver.

Private property tows: the paperwork behind a clean tow

In California, Vehicle Code 22658 governs towing from private property:

Signs. One way a lot qualifies is a sign in plain view at every entrance, at least 17 by 22 inches with lettering at least one inch high. It must prohibit public parking, say vehicles will be removed at the owner's expense, and list the local traffic law enforcement agency's number and each towing company with a written general towing authorization agreement.
Written authorization before you hook. It comes from the property owner or lessee, or their employee or agent, who must be present at the removal and verify the violation. The exception is a residential rental of 15 or fewer units with no onsite owner, agent or employee, when a tenant verified the violation in their assigned space and gave a signed request or email.
What the authorization lists. Make, model, VIN and plate; the signer's name, signature, job title, address and phone; the grounds for removal; when the vehicle was first seen parked; and when the tow was authorized. The owner gets a photocopy before paying, and you keep the original for three years.
Police notice. Notify local law enforcement once the vehicle is in transit. Missing 60 minutes after removal or 15 minutes after reaching storage, whichever is less, is a misdemeanor.
Release. If the owner or their agent asks before the vehicle is removed and in transit, release it immediately and unconditionally. The storage facility must accept cash or a valid bank credit card and release vehicles after normal business hours.

Breaking the authorization rules carries civil liability of four times the towing and storage charges. Ask how your garage liability policy treats a wrongful-tow claim.

Emergency tows vs. second moves: the towed load can set your limit

FMCSA guidance under 49 CFR 387.3 says for-hire tow trucks with a GVWR or GCWR of 10,000 pounds or more doing emergency moves in interstate or foreign commerce must carry $750,000 of financial responsibility. For secondary moves, the required level is the one for the commodity on the vehicle being towed. The federal minimums are on FMCSA trucking insurance requirements.

California's version is Vehicle Code 34631.5(c). A for-hire tow truck operator in compliance with the section's liability requirements may make emergency moves regardless of the load on the vehicle being moved. Emergency moves are limited to removing a disabled or damaged vehicle from a highway; removing a vehicle from public or private property after a traffic collision, or to protect public health, safety or property; and removal from any location for impound or storage at a peace officer's direction. That covers only the first one-way carriage from the scene to the nearest safe location. Any later move, and any transport that isn't an emergency move, needs liability adequate for the commodity on the towed vehicle. For hazmat loads, see hazmat trucking insurance requirements.

Separately, 49 CFR 390.23(d) lifts the Section 395.3 hours-of-service limits while you give direct assistance on a police officer's request to move wrecked or disabled vehicles, for no more than 24 hours from that request.

Reading a tow policy: where the gaps hide

Coverage names on a quote don't show where each one stops. Read the forms for these:

Where a "towing operation" ends. IRMI describes the ISO commercial auto definition, effective December 1, 2020, as attending, servicing or repairing a customer's auto where it becomes disabled, including transport from there to the repair garage. Ask how that reads for impounds and private-property tows, which don't end at a repair garage.
Transit and storage. Vehicle Code 22658 makes a towing company responsible for damage in transit and storage, and for towing the wrong vehicle. Read your on-hook and garagekeepers sections side by side for the moment a vehicle comes off the hook into your yard.
Legal liability or direct. IRMI notes standard garagekeepers depends on establishing your liability. Check which basis your declarations show; what garagekeepers insurance is explains the difference.
The indemnity. Ask how the policy's contractual liability wording treats the TSA Section 26 indemnity you sign.

Questions

Tow truck insurance, answered

What is on-hook towing coverage?

It covers damage to a customer's vehicle while it's attached to or loaded on your tow truck, which regular auto liability doesn't cover.

What is garagekeepers coverage for tow companies?

It covers customers' vehicles while they're stored in your care, such as in your yard or impound lot.

Can a new towing company get insurance?

Yes, though carriers look closely at driver experience and records when a company has no history. Clean driving records help.

Do motor clubs require specific coverage?

Many do, including minimum liability limits and on-hook coverage. Send the contract requirements and I'll match them.

Can a tow company remove a car from a private lot without the property owner there?

Generally no. Under Vehicle Code 22658, the person who signs the authorization must be present at the removal and verify the violation, though not necessarily at the vehicle's exact spot. Small residential rentals of 15 or fewer units with no onsite owner, agent or employee are the exception, on a tenant's signed request or email.

Do you offer tow truck 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 truck insurance by state or insurance requirements by state.

Official sources

Often placed alongside this

Coverage

Commercial trucking

Liability, cargo and physical damage for owner-operators and fleets.

See coverage Guide

Insuring a new trucking authority

Coverage, federal and California filings, and underwriting.

Read the guide Coverage

General liability insurance

Coverage for injuries and damage your business causes others.

See coverage

Questions people ask: Who insures tow trucks in California? What is garagekeepers insurance? How long does it take to get MC authority active? What is an MCS-90 endorsement?

Also covered with this: Auto body shop insurance Auto repair shop insurance

By state: Truck insurance by state Insurance requirements by state

Tow truck insurance

Send your trucks and drivers. I'll shop it.

Truck list, driver list and your current declarations page are enough to start.

Get a Quote Call (877) 711-4545

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.

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