First Load Guide for trucking insurance agents · Updated October 27, 2026
Cancelled trucking insurance leads
A cancelled trucking insurance lead is a carrier whose liability filing with FMCSA was just cancelled and hasn't been replaced. Federal rules don't let a for-hire carrier run without that coverage, so these carriers need a new policy fast. In the last 30 days, 3,099 liability cancellations took effect nationwide, and 63% still had no replacement on file.
Counts are from First Load's daily pull of FMCSA's insurance history file on data.transportation.gov, as of October 27, 2026.
What is a cancelled insurance record?
It's the public trace of a carrier losing its liability policy. Every for-hire carrier proves its liability coverage to FMCSA with a filing from its insurer, usually a Form BMC-91X. When that policy ends, the cancellation shows up in FMCSA's insurance history dataset with the insurer, the policy number, the form and the date the cancellation took effect.
Join that record to the carrier's registration and you have a lead: the company, the officer, the phone and email they gave FMCSA, the trucks they run and what they haul. The one thing it can't tell you is why the policy ended.
Why do these carriers buy so fast?
Because they can't legally haul without coverage. Federal rules say a motor carrier can't operate until it has the required coverage in effect, and that the coverage must stay in effect continuously (49 CFR 387.7). For general freight in trucks over 10,001 pounds, the minimum is $750,000 in liability (49 CFR 387.9).
A carrier with no replacement filing loses its active authority in FMCSA's record. In the last 90 days, 5,167 carriers had their authority suspended for insurance. A new carrier waiting to start can wait a few weeks. A carrier whose trucks are parked because of a cancellation usually can't.
Where are the most cancellations?
The big trucking states lead, roughly in line with how many carriers they have. Liability cancellations that took effect in the last 30 days:
| State | Cancellations, last 30 days |
|---|---|
| California | 419 |
| Texas | 390 |
| Florida | 239 |
| Illinois | 160 |
| Georgia | 147 |
| Ohio | 144 |
For this week's new filers in your state, see new trucking authorities by state.
How do you work a cancellation lead?
Move fast and be specific. The carriers that replace coverage quickly are gone from the list within days, and 37% of the last 30 days' cancellations already had a newer filing by the time we checked.
- Lead with their date. "Your liability with your old insurer was cancelled effective October 14" gets read. A generic insurance pitch doesn't.
- Ask what happened. Non-payment, a switch they already made, a non-renewal after claims, or a carrier that stopped running all look the same in the record. One question sorts them.
- Ask for what underwriters will want. VINs, driver details, and loss runs from the old insurer. Loss runs are the usual hold-up, because only the carrier can authorize the old insurer to release them.
- Follow up in writing. Many owner-operators are driving during the day, so put the details in an email they can answer between loads.
Our playbook for winning new authority accounts covers the first call and the follow-up in more detail.
How does done-for-you outreach handle lapses?
For one agency per state, we email every carrier in that state whose liability was just cancelled, along with the new authorities that have no insurance on file. The emails come from inboxes in your agency's name, signed by your agent with your license number, and replies go straight to you.
When a carrier says yes, the reply can include a link to sign their loss run request on their phone. You get the signed request in your dashboard, ready to send to their old insurer.
A Texas agency on the same setup had 8 carriers ask for a quote or say when they need coverage in its first 12 days (October 2026).
Questions agents ask
Is a cancelled carrier a bad risk?
Some are and some aren't. The record doesn't say why the policy ended, and plenty of cancellations are a missed payment or a carrier that moved to a cheaper policy and is already covered. Ask before you quote.
How quickly should I reach out?
Within days of the cancellation date. Of the cancellations that took effect in the last 30 days, 37% already had a newer liability filing when we checked, so the window closes fast.
Is it legal to email these carriers?
The contact details come from the carrier's own FMCSA registration. Commercial email to a business falls under CAN-SPAM, which requires an honest sender and a working opt-out, and every email we send has both. Calls and texts fall under the TCPA and state rules, and those are on the agency.
Can I see my state's lapses before signing up?
Yes. The live dashboard runs on today's data with contact details masked, including the lapses tab.
See if your state is open
Tell us where you write and we'll send this week's lapses and new filers for that state, with a straight answer on whether it's taken.
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