TL;DR: Minnesota property carriers file at $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $50,000 property damage, one of the lowest state floors in the country. Movers add $50,000 cargo, building movers carry $500,000 twice over, hazmat follows federal tiers to $5,000,000, and the market expects $1,000,000 regardless.
What is the intrastate floor in Minnesota?
For motor carriers of property, the Minnesota truck book sets public liability at $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident, with $50,000 for property damage, certified to MnDOT on an insurer-filed Form E. These are split limits rather than a combined single limit, and they sit among the very lowest trucking floors in the nation, a legacy schedule that has not chased the federal numbers upward. Household goods movers carry the same liability plus $50,000 in cargo coverage on a Form H, and special transportation services for elderly and disabled riders file at the same 100/300/50 level.
Which Minnesota operations carry higher floors?
Building and house movers must maintain $500,000 in motor vehicle liability and another $500,000 in general liability, reflecting what happens when a structure meets a bridge. Passenger carriers scale with seating: $1,500,000 for vehicles carrying 8 to 15 passengers and $5,000,000 at 16 or more, with limousines at a $1,500,000 aggregate per vehicle plus $100,000 in property damage. Hazardous materials transportation takes the federal schedule of 49 CFR 387.9 outright, so a Minnesota fuel hauler carries $1,000,000 and the highest-hazard cargo $5,000,000 no matter how short the route.
What do the federal tiers require?
Interstate operation over 10,001 pounds means at least $750,000 for general freight, $1,000,000 for oil products, and $5,000,000 for the most hazardous loads, unchanged since 1985 and evidenced by the insurer's BMC-91X filing or MCS-90 endorsement. Minnesota's geography pushes much of its fleet into this system: I-90 and I-94 long-haul lanes, the Duluth-Superior port feeding Great Lakes trade, and the Canadian border crossings all move freight in interstate or foreign commerce where the federal floors govern.
| Operation | Minimum | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Property carriers | 100/300 and $50,000 PD | MnDOT Section 16, Form E |
| HHG movers | 100/300/50 plus $50,000 cargo | Form E and Form H |
| Building movers | $500,000 auto, $500,000 GL | Certificate filing |
| Interstate freight | $750,000 | 49 CFR 387.9 |
| Hazmat top tier | $5,000,000 | 49 CFR 387.9 |
Why does the low floor mislead?
Because nothing in the freight economy prices against it. Shippers and brokers require $1,000,000 in liability almost universally before tendering loads, lenders require physical damage, and a single serious crash on an icy interstate can produce claims that consume 100/300/50 many times over, leaving the balance against the company's assets. The floor exists to activate authority; it was never calibrated to protect a business. Minnesota's no-fault PIP layer, $40,000 per person, handles smaller occupant injuries, but it does nothing for the third-party tort claims that destroy undercapitalized carriers.
How should a Minnesota carrier set limits?
Write the primary liability at $1,000,000 and let the Form E certify it, size umbrella layers to the largest contract in the book, and take the federal tiers as a floor rather than a target for hazmat and interstate work. Match cargo limits to real load values across the grain, timber, and manufactured freight the state moves, and review the stack each renewal as contracts and radius evolve. The gap between Minnesota's historic floor and the working market is wider than in almost any state, and the carriers that thrive are the ones that price their protection against the loads they haul and the winters they haul them through, not against a schedule written for a different era.
Real questions Minnesota owner-operators and fleet managers ask
What is the minimum liability to run intrastate freight in Minnesota?
The filed floor is $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $50,000 property damage on an insurer-filed Form E. It is among the lowest state floors, and the market standard of $1,000,000 governs actual freight relationships.
Why is Minnesota's floor so much lower than the federal minimum?
The state schedule predates the federal alignment wave and was never raised. Interstate and hazmat work take the federal tiers regardless, so the low floor only reaches purely intrastate, non-hazmat operations.
What limits do Minnesota passenger carriers need?
Vehicles seating 8 to 15 passengers file at $1,500,000 and those with 16 or more at $5,000,000, with limousines carrying a $1,500,000 aggregate per vehicle plus $100,000 property damage.
Do Minnesota hazmat haulers follow state or federal minimums?
Federal. The truck book adopts 49 CFR 387.9 directly, so fuel and chemical haulers carry $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 depending on cargo, even for routes that never leave Minnesota.
Is 100/300/50 enough coverage for a working carrier?
It activates authority but little else. A serious crash can exceed those limits many times over, shippers require $1,000,000, and the balance of any judgment above the policy comes from the business itself.
Can Morrow write trucking insurance in Minnesota?
Not directly today. Morrow is the brand name of Afthonea Inc, licensed in Massachusetts, Florida, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Texas. If your trucking company is based in Minnesota, we can refer you to a licensed Minnesota agent, and this guide still shows you exactly what to ask that agent for. Everything above comes from public Minnesota and federal sources, not from us selling you a policy.
Related Minnesota trucking guides
The other Minnesota trucking questions, answered the same way.
- Trucking insurance in Minnesota (start here)
- Trucking insurance requirements
- Intrastate authority and filings
- Cost of trucking insurance
- Business insurance in Minnesota
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
- What is an MCS-90 endorsement?
- Federal minimum liability limits by commodity
This guide is general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Limits, forms, and deadlines change, so verify current requirements with MnDOT Motor Carrier Services and the Minnesota Department of Commerce before you rely on them. Morrow is a brand name of Afthonea Inc. Last updated: July 2026.