AUGUST 2026 — POST 2 — ROOFERS

Trucks, Trailers, and Ladder Racks: Commercial Auto for Roofing Operations

A roofing company is a trucking operation that happens to install roofs — crews, materials, trailers, and dump loads moving between jobsites all day. Auto claims are a top severity driver for contractors, and roofing fleets carry a few exposures all their own. Here’s what a well-built commercial auto program looks like for a roofer.

The basics, done right

  • Every owned vehicle scheduled on a commercial auto policy — a work truck on a personal policy is a denied claim waiting to happen
  • Liability limits of at least $1 million, which is also what most GCs and commercial customers will demand on certificates
  • Hired and non-owned auto for the days employees run for materials in their own trucks
  • Driver management: MVRs pulled at hire and annually, with written standards for who drives — your worst driver sets your fleet’s reputation with underwriters

The roofing-specific exposures

Ladder racks and loose loads: material and equipment coming off a truck on the highway is a classic roofer claim — load securement is a training topic, not an assumption. Trailers: your dump and equipment trailers need to be scheduled, and liability follows the truck pulling them, but physical damage on the trailer itself doesn’t exist unless it’s listed. Debris hauling: if you’re running loads to the landfill all day, disclose it — a dump truck rates differently than a pickup, and some operations edge into territory where additional regulatory requirements apply.

The claim that combines everything

Picture the loaded trailer, the new hire driving, the missed MVR check, and the rear-end crash with injuries. That claim tests your limits, your driver file, and your umbrella all at once. Fleet discipline — maintenance records, driver standards, load procedures — is what keeps a road incident an insurance event instead of a company-ending one. And it’s another program underwriters pay you for having.

Questions about your coverage? I’ve spent more than 46 years helping Kansas City area businesses and families get insurance right. As an independent agent with access to over 50 markets, I work for you — not an insurance company. Call or text Jay Stoetzer at 816-384-7738, or email jay@insure247.com for a no-pressure review.