What is actually on file
The public record does not contain a carrier's insurance policy. It contains evidence that an insurer has filed a form attesting to coverage, along with the insurer's name, the form type, the effective date and, where applicable, a cancellation date. Coverage details beyond the filed minimum are not visible.
| Form | Purpose |
|---|---|
| BMC-91 / BMC-91X | Public liability — bodily injury, property damage and environmental restoration. |
| BMC-34 | Cargo insurance, required for household goods carriers. |
| BMC-83 / BMC-84 / BMC-85 | Surety bond or trust fund arrangements, commonly associated with broker authority. |
The thirty-day clock
When an insurer cancels, it files a notice and the cancellation takes effect after a statutory notice period, typically thirty days. During that window the record shows a pending cancellation while coverage remains in force. If no replacement filing arrives before the date passes, operating authority is normally revoked.
Minimum levels are minimums
Federal minimum liability requirements vary by what is hauled — general freight sits at one level, certain hazardous materials at substantially higher ones. The filing demonstrates that the minimum is met. It does not indicate the actual policy limit, which is frequently higher and is a commercial matter between carrier and insurer.
For the same reason, the absence of a cargo filing is not evidence that a carrier has no cargo coverage. Cargo filings are only required in specific circumstances; many carriers carry cargo insurance without any obligation to file evidence of it.
Reading the history
The filing history is often more informative than the current state. A carrier that has cycled through five insurers in two years, each ending in cancellation, is telling a different story from one with a single continuous filing since inception. Neither pattern is conclusive on its own, and both have mundane explanations — brokered placements, market hardening, a change of agent.
Timing
Filings are submitted by insurers, not by carriers, and processing is not instantaneous. A recently placed policy may not yet appear. When a filing and a carrier's own documentation disagree, the discrepancy is frequently a timing artefact rather than a substantive gap.