On-Hook Towing Insurance

What does on-hook towing insurance cover?

On-hook coverage helps pay for covered damage to customer vehicles during the towing or transport described in the policy. The insurer determines which vehicles, services and causes of damage qualify.

Review where coverage begins and ends, including loading, unloading and temporary custody. Progressive’s on-hook coverage guide explains its protection for customer vehicles.

How on-hook differs from other towing coverage

• Commercial auto liability helps cover injuries and property damage you cause to others in an accident involving your insured truck.
• Physical damage helps protect your own tow truck, including covered collision and other selected losses.
• On-hook coverage addresses the customer’s vehicle during covered towing or transport.
• Garagekeepers or storage coverage addresses customer vehicles kept at an insured yard or service location.

For example, a collision could damage your truck, the customer’s car on the rollback and another driver’s vehicle. Different parts of the insurance program may respond to each loss.

A lender may require physical damage coverage for your financed truck. Review customer-vehicle coverage separately when arranging the policy.

Do flatbed and rollback operators need on-hook coverage?

Yes, customer-vehicle protection matters even when the vehicle rides on a flatbed. Describe how you load and secure vehicles, the equipment you use and the types of vehicles you transport.

Multi-car transport, motorcycles, luxury vehicles, heavy equipment, repossessions and damaged auction vehicles may require additional review. Include those services when requesting a quote so the insurer can evaluate the work.

How much on-hook insurance should you carry?

Start with the highest value of a vehicle you may tow and the maximum number of vehicles you may transport at once. Then compare those values with your state and customer requirements.

Check whether the limit applies per vehicle, per load or per event. Also review how the deductible applies when more than one customer vehicle is damaged.

Illinois’s registration requirements include $25,000 of on-hook coverage, subject to a specific exception for towing only the company’s own vehicles. Illinois tow truck registration guidance.

Texas requires at least $50,000 in cargo or cargo-on-hook coverage for private-property and incident-management tow permits. Its consent-towing permit rule does not set that minimum. Texas TDLR permit requirements.

Roadside networks and auction customers may require higher limits. Choose coverage that reflects both the work you perform and the contracts you accept.

What happens when the vehicle stays at your yard?

A tow may end after the repair shop closes, leaving the customer’s vehicle at your lot overnight. Review the transition from transport to storage so your policy accounts for both stages.

Provide every storage location and explain how long vehicles may stay. Garagekeepers legal liability generally applies to eligible damage for which your business is legally responsible; direct-coverage options have different terms.

Coverage names vary by insurer and state. Progressive uses garagekeepers terminology for on-hook protection in Texas and Virginia, and storage-location terminology for vehicles kept at a facility. Its storage coverage guide explains the distinction.

Questions to ask when comparing on-hook quotes

• Are my vehicles and towing services eligible?
• How does coverage apply during loading and unloading?
• What limit applies when I carry several vehicles?
• How are deductibles calculated?
• Which exclusions affect my recovery, repossession or specialty work?
• What coverage applies while a vehicle waits for delivery or remains in storage?