Through a broker who can reach both standard commercial auto insurers and the specialty markets that write harder risks. Restoration and remediation firms get declined or overpriced online because of the hauling, the mileage, and the hazardous debris, so one application shopped across several insurers usually beats anything you can buy yourself. Who this is for: water, fire, mold, and environmental remediation owners with trucks, vans, and trailers.
The short version
- Restoration fleets get declined online because of high mileage, emergency driving, and heavy or hauling vehicles.
- The equipment mounted on your truck may sit on your auto policy or your equipment policy, and getting that wrong leaves a gap.
- If you haul contaminated soil or waste, you need transportation pollution coverage, and often a federal filing called the MCS-90, which is not pollution coverage on its own.
- A broker can shop standard insurers and specialty markets in one application, which is how declined firms still get covered.
- Illustrative cost is about $1,800 to $4,000 a year per vehicle, depending on the vehicle, the driving, and your drivers' records.
Why do restoration and remediation companies get declined for auto?
Because your driving looks risky to a standard insurer, even when your record is clean. Online quoting tools are built for light, low-mileage use, and they push out firms like yours. See the commercial auto overview for what the policy covers.
| What the insurer sees | Why it worries them |
|---|---|
| Emergency and after-hours driving | Techs rushing to a flood or fire at night raise the odds of an accident. |
| High mileage across a wide service area | More miles means more exposure, and CAT work can send crews out of state. |
| Box trucks, trailers, and heavy vehicles | Bigger vehicles cause bigger claims than the vans a small business tool expects. |
| Hauling debris or contaminated material | A spill in transit is a pollution claim, which standard auto does not cover. |
Is the equipment on my truck covered by my auto policy?
Not always, and this is where restoration owners get caught. A truck-mounted extraction unit, a generator, or an air scrubber bolted to the vehicle can fall between two policies. The rule of thumb: the vehicle is on your auto policy, and the gear is usually on your equipment policy, but permanently mounted units can be argued either way. Tell your broker exactly what is bolted on so one policy clearly picks it up. Otherwise a theft or a fire can leave the equipment uncovered on both.
What if I haul contaminated soil, water, or debris?
Then a plain auto policy is not enough. A standard commercial auto policy does not pay for a pollution release from what you are carrying. You need transportation pollution coverage, which pays for cleanup and damage if contaminated material spills from your truck. If you haul certain regulated waste, federal rules also require a filing called the MCS-90.
| Coverage | What it does |
|---|---|
| Commercial auto liability | Pays for injury and damage from an accident your vehicle causes. |
| Transportation pollution | Pays for cleanup and damage when contaminated cargo spills in transit. |
| MCS-90 endorsement | A federal financial guarantee for certain haulers. It backstops the public, it is not broad pollution coverage for you, so do not treat it as your pollution policy. |
| Non-owned disposal site | Covers you if the site where your waste ends up later leaks. Ask your broker if your work needs it. |
For the wider pollution picture, see what pollution insurance a remediation business needs.
What about my employees driving their own cars for work?
If a tech runs to a supply house in their own truck and causes an accident, your business can be sued even though you do not own the vehicle. Coverage for vehicles you rent or your employees drive for work is called hired and non-owned auto, and it is a low-cost add-on that closes that gap. Ask for it if any employee ever drives for you in a vehicle the business does not own.
How much does commercial auto cost for a restoration company?
These numbers are illustrative. Your vehicles, mileage, drivers, and claims history set the real price.
| Vehicle | Illustrative annual cost per vehicle |
|---|---|
| Service van, local work | $1,800 to $2,800 |
| Box truck with mounted equipment | $2,500 to $4,000 |
| Truck plus trailer hauling debris | $3,000 to $5,000 |
See how to find cheaper commercial auto for contractors.
How does a broker get me covered when I have been declined?
By taking one application and shopping it across insurers you cannot reach yourself. Some are standard commercial auto insurers that write contractor fleets but do not quote online. Others are specialty (surplus lines) markets, the specialty insurance companies that write what standard ones will not, reached through a specialty middleman brokers use, called a wholesaler. You cannot apply to those directly. That is the whole reason a declined firm still ends up covered.
What this looks like in real life
Illustrative example. It is typical of what we see and is not a promise of how any specific situation would be handled.
The setup: A remediation company in Florida with four trucks hauls contaminated debris from mold and sewage jobs. The owner buys commercial auto online at the cheapest quote he can find and does not mention the debris or the truck-mounted equipment.
What went wrong: A trailer comes loose on the highway and spills bagged contaminated debris across two lanes. The cleanup and a damaged car behind him become a claim, and part of the claim is the released material itself.
What it cost: The claim comes to about $70,000. The auto policy pays for the crash damage but denies the cost tied to the released contaminated material, because a standard auto policy does not cover a pollution spill from cargo. Without transportation pollution coverage, the owner pays roughly $30,000 of it himself.
The fix: For firms that haul contaminated material, plain commercial auto is only half the coverage. Transportation pollution is the other half, and the cheapest online policy almost never includes it.
Frequently asked questions
Q: Where can I get commercial auto insurance for a restoration or remediation company?
Through a broker who can reach both standard commercial auto insurers and specialty markets. Online tools decline or overprice restoration fleets over mileage, hauling, and heavy vehicles, so one application shopped across several insurers usually wins.
Q: Why do I keep getting declined for commercial auto online?
Online quoting is built for light, low-mileage use. Emergency driving, high mileage, heavy vehicles, and hauling debris all push restoration firms outside what those tools will quote, which is why a broker who can reach specialty markets matters.
Q: Is the equipment mounted on my truck covered by my auto policy?
Not always. The vehicle sits on your auto policy and the gear usually sits on your equipment policy, but permanently mounted units can fall between the two. Tell your broker exactly what is bolted on so one policy clearly covers it.
Q: Do I need special coverage to haul contaminated soil or waste?
Yes. A standard auto policy does not pay for a pollution release from your cargo, so you need transportation pollution coverage. If you haul certain regulated waste, a federal filing called the MCS-90 may also be required.
Q: Is the MCS-90 the same as pollution insurance?
No. The MCS-90 is a federal financial guarantee that protects the public and can require you to repay the insurer. It is not broad pollution coverage for your business, so carry transportation pollution coverage as well.
Q: Do I need coverage for employees who drive their own vehicles for work?
Yes, if any employee ever drives for you in a vehicle the business does not own. Hired and non-owned auto covers vehicles you rent or your employees drive for work, and it is a low-cost add-on.
How Morrow helps
Morrow is a licensed independent commercial insurance brokerage that works with contractors and trades every day. Placing commercial auto for restoration and remediation fleets, including transportation pollution and hard-to-place vehicles, is a routine part of what we do.
- Free contract review. Send us the contract or bid documents and we mark up the insurance section in plain English, whether or not you buy anything from us.
- Free, instant certificates. Clients issue their own certificates of insurance online in about a minute, any hour, any day, at no charge.
- Markets you cannot reach online. One application, shopped across many insurance companies for general liability, workers comp, auto, umbrella, and pollution coverage.
One more thing. This article is general information and is not legal advice or a statement of coverage. Your contract and your policy wording control in every case. Requirements vary by customer, by state, and by insurance company, so have a licensed advisor review your own contract and your own policy before relying on any of it.
Last updated: Reviewed by the Morrow commercial lines team. Last updated September 2026.