Fleet costs hit $0.102 per mile
- Transport Topics reported April 23 that trucking insurance costs are climbing again in 2026, after ATRI pegged 2024 premiums at a record 10.2 cents per mile. - ATRI’s latest benchmark showed insurance rose 3% in 2024 after a 12.5% jump in 2023, and 2025 increases were expected to accelerate. - Carriers are adding dashcams and telematics as insurer capacity tightens. (ttnews.com)
Truck insurance costs are rising again in 2026, with carriers entering renewals after ATRI put 2024 premiums at a record 10.2 cents per mile. (ttnews.com) (truckingresearch.org) Transport Topics reported April 23 that the 10.2-cent figure came after a 3% increase in 2024 and a 12.5% jump in 2023. ATRI said 2025’s increase was expected to outpace the prior year. (ttnews.com) ATRI also moved insurance cost and availability to No. 3 on its list of top trucking industry concerns in 2025, up one spot from a year earlier. The group opened its 2026 operational-cost survey on Feb. 23 and set an April 24 deadline for submissions. (ttnews.com) The pressure is not only the premium itself. Ken Anderson, Nationwide’s risk management technical director for business auto, told Transport Topics that repair bills are higher, vehicles carry more technology, and longer repair lead times create more downtime for fleets. (ttnews.com) Nathan Meisgeier, chief legal officer at Werner Enterprises, said at the American Trucking Associations’ Management Conference that fewer insurers are serving trucking and those still in the market are writing fewer policies. (ttnews.com) That is pushing fleets toward tools that promise to document risk in real time. Transport Topics said carriers are leaning on dashcams, telematics sharing, and stricter distracted-driving policies to reduce claims and try to win premium discounts. (ttnews.com) Responsible Fleet, a telematics vendor, has used the ATRI benchmark in a March 31 marketing guide that says GPS tracking and artificial-intelligence dashcams can cut premiums by 15% to 30% and pay back in 30 to 60 days. Those figures come from the vendor’s sales material, not ATRI’s report. (responsiblefleet.com) The split in the evidence is the point. ATRI and Transport Topics document the rise in insurance costs and the tighter underwriting market, while vendor claims about discount size and payback depend on the carrier, the insurer, and how the data is used. (truckingresearch.org) (ttnews.com) (responsiblefleet.com) For fleets heading into 2026 renewals, the number to watch is still 10.2 cents per mile. The new argument is over whether cameras and telematics can keep that line from rising further. (ttnews.com)
