BIPD stands for Bodily Injury and Property Damage — the liability insurance every for-hire motor carrier is federally required to carry, covering harm the carrier's trucks cause to other people or their property in an accident. FMCSA sets minimum required amounts based on what a carrier hauls: $750,000 is the standard minimum for most general freight, $1,000,000 or more for carriers hauling certain hazardous materials, and $5,000,000 for carriers transporting the most hazardous commodities in bulk. This insurance is separate from cargo insurance, which covers the freight itself, and separate from a broker's bond, which covers payment obligations rather than accident liability. Carriers must file proof of BIPD coverage with FMCSA, typically through their insurer filing directly, and a lapse in that filing results in the carrier's operating authority being suspended, since FMCSA treats continuous insurance as a non-negotiable condition of holding authority. The dollar amount shown as "insurance on file" on a carrier's public FMCSA record reflects what's actually been filed, which should be at or above the applicable regulatory minimum for that carrier's cargo type.
A general freight carrier showing $1,000,000 in BIPD coverage on file exceeds the $750,000 federal minimum for its cargo type.
Shown as 'Insurance on file' and in the Insurance Coverage on File grid (Liability/BIPD) on every carrier profile.