UIIA Insurance Requirements: What You Need To Know

By Will Kremer, Truck Insurance Agent · Last updated August 24, 2026

Before an equipment provider hands you a container or a chassis, your insurance has to clear the Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA). The UIIA insurance requirements themselves fit on one page. The reason drayage operators lose weeks on them is that UIIA-compliant coverage is a specialty: the limits are higher than FMCSA minimums, two endorsements most policies don’t carry are mandatory, and every equipment provider on your list has to be named on the policy. We set intermodal operators up with UIIA every week, so here is the whole picture, requirements, cost, and the setup path.

The short answer The UIIA requires $1 million commercial auto liability (combined single limit) carrying the UIIE-1 hold-harmless endorsement, and $1 million / $2 million general liability with no self-insured portion. Most equipment providers add motor truck cargo (commonly $100,000) and trailer interchange on the chassis, and every provider on your 5C list must be named as an additional insured. A full UIIA package typically runs $835 to $1,500 a month ($10,000 to $18,000 a year) per truck.

Key takeaways $1 million auto liability is the floor. FMCSA lets many carriers run at $750,000; the UIIA does not. Two endorsements make or break compliance. The UIIE-1 on your auto liability and additional insured status for every equipment provider you work with. There are two layers of rules. The UIIA sets the base; each equipment provider’s addendum can ask for more cargo, higher chassis limits, or reefer breakdown. Budget $10,000 to $18,000 a year per truck for a UIIA-compliant package as a drayage operator. Setup does not have to take weeks. With your DOT, MC, SCAC code, and UIIA account in place, we can have the endorsement issued, the 5C sent, and your documents in the UIIA system within 24 hours of binding.

The UIIA insurance requirements at a glance

One thing to understand before the details: there are two layers of requirements. The UIIA base agreement sets the floor, and each equipment provider’s addendum can stack its own asks on top. You have to satisfy both for every provider on your list, which is why two drayage operators with the same trucks can need different policies.

Auto liability: $1 million, and the UIIE-1 endorsement

The UIIA requires a $1,000,000 combined single limit on commercial auto liability. This is where new intermodal operators get caught: the FMCSA will activate an authority at $750,000 for general freight, but no equipment provider will interchange with you at that limit. If you are coming into drayage from over-the-road work, plan on the bump to $1 million.

The policy also has to carry the Truckers Uniform Intermodal Interchange Endorsement, filed as UIIE-1 (or CA 23-17 / TE 23-17B depending on the form set). It is a hold-harmless endorsement that spells out your insurer’s obligations in accidents involving interchanged equipment and adds the equipment provider as an additional insured. Not every insurance company offers it, which is the single biggest reason UIIA coverage is harder to place than standard trucking insurance. The UIIA also expects your insurer to notify it if the policy cancels, and carriers that will not agree to that cannot be used for UIIA work.

General liability: $1 million / $2 million, no self-insurance

The UIIA requires $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate general liability, and no portion of it can be self-insured. The policy needs to respond to truckers and intermodal exposure, and a number of equipment providers require an additional insured endorsement on the GL as well, which is not standard on most policies. Ask whoever writes your GL both questions directly: does it cover intermodal operations, and can it carry UIIA additional insured endorsements? Our truckers general liability page covers what the coverage itself does.

Motor truck cargo: what the equipment providers add

Cargo is not in the UIIA base agreement, but the majority of equipment providers require it in their addendums, and $100,000 is the common ask. Some set higher limits, and providers moving temperature-controlled freight may require reefer breakdown coverage on top. The limit and deductible are set per provider, so the cargo policy gets built against your 5C list, not against a guess. Details on the coverage itself are on our motor truck cargo insurance page.

Trailer interchange: the chassis is your responsibility

The container and chassis you pull belong to the equipment provider, and trailer interchange covers physical damage to that equipment while it is in your care, custody, and control, comprehensive and collision both. Limits vary by provider addendum. Most sit at modest chassis-level numbers, a handful run higher, and we typically recommend a $30,000 limit so a single policy clears every provider on your list without a certificate bouncing. Trailer interchange follows a written interchange agreement, which for UIIA work is the agreement itself; how it differs from non-owned trailer coverage is in our trailer interchange vs non-owned trailer breakdown.

The 5C: the list that makes it all work

The 5C is your equipment provider list, the form where you name every provider you intend to interchange with under the UIIA. It matters because the additional insured endorsements are written against it: your insurer needs to know exactly which providers to name on the auto liability, and where required, on the GL. When you add a provider later, the 5C and the endorsements get updated, so keep your agent in the loop as your customer list grows. When we set up a UIIA account, issuing the endorsement, sending the client their 5C, and submitting the insurance documents to the UIIA system is one motion.

How much does UIIA insurance cost?

A UIIA-compliant package for a drayage operator typically runs $835 to $1,500 a month ($10,000 to $18,000 a year) per truck. The higher liability limit, the endorsements, and the smaller pool of insurers that write intermodal all push it above a plain trucking policy. Inside that number, the pieces behave differently: trailer interchange adds about $85 to $290 a month, truckers general liability runs $40 to $100 a month, and physical damage on your own tractor is a percentage of its value, generally 3% to 12% a year. Where you land depends on your record, radius, garaging, and how many providers you run for.

How to get UIIA set up without losing weeks

The insurance is one of four pieces, and it goes fastest when the other three are ready. Have these in place first:

• Active DOT and MC authority. The UIIA account is built on your operating authority.
• A SCAC code. The four-letter carrier code the intermodal world runs on.
• A UIIA account. Register with the IANA; the account has a 30-day activation window, so start it when you are actually ready to bind coverage.
• Your equipment provider list. Know who you want to haul for; it becomes your 5C.

With those in hand, the insurance side does not have to be the slow part. Historically it was: few markets wrote UIIA coverage, guidelines were narrow, and new ventures were often shut out for weeks. That has changed. We quote UIIA packages same-day, and once the policy binds we issue the UIIA endorsement, send your 5C, and submit your documents to the UIIA system within 24 hours, for brand-new drayage operators as well as established carriers switching markets. The full coverage picture lives on our intermodal insurance page.

UIIA insurance FAQ

What is the UIIA in trucking?

The Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement, the standard contract that lets motor carriers interchange containers and chassis with ocean carriers, railroads, and equipment leasing companies. It is administered by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), and holding an active UIIA account with compliant insurance is what gets you in the gate at ports and rail ramps.

What is the UIIA endorsement?

The UIIE-1 (also filed as CA 23-17 or TE 23-17B) is a hold-harmless endorsement attached to your commercial auto liability policy. It defines your insurer’s duties in accidents involving interchanged equipment and names the equipment provider as an additional insured. Without it, your UIIA account does not activate, and not every insurance company offers it.

How much is UIIA insurance?

$10,000 to $18,000 a year per truck for a compliant drayage package: $1 million auto liability with the UIIE-1, general liability, cargo, and trailer interchange. Record, radius, and garaging move the number the same way they do on any trucking policy.

Does the UIIA approve specific insurance companies?

The UIIA approves policies, not insurers. Any policy that meets the limits, carries the UIIE-1, names your equipment providers, and files correctly will satisfy the agreement. In practice the list of insurers willing to do all of that is short, which is why working with an agency that places intermodal coverage every week saves the back-and-forth.

What is the UIIA 5C?

The form listing every equipment provider you intend to do business with under the UIIA. Your insurer writes the additional insured endorsements against it, so it has to stay current as you add providers.

Do I need the insurance before I register with the UIIA?

Register first, then bind: the UIIA account has a 30-day activation window, and your insurer submits the compliant documents into the UIIA system to activate it. Starting the account when you are ready to bind keeps you well inside the window; we submit documents within 24 hours of binding.

Get UIIA-compliant coverage set up

We spend all day around drayage operators and the ports and ramps they run, and UIIA setup is one of the things we do most. Send us your DOT, your SCAC, and the equipment providers you want on your 5C, and we will quote the package the same day and have your documents in the UIIA system within 24 hours of binding.

Get your free UIIA insurance quote → or call 855-281-2924 for a same-day rate.

About the author Will Kremer, Truck Insurance Agent A truck insurance agent at Trucking Insurance Services since 2011, Will Kremer specializes in owner-operators, new ventures, and fleets, and helps truckers pick the coverage that fits how they actually run.

Requirement figures are from the UIIA and equipment-provider addendums as of August 2026 and can change; premium figures are based on the intermodal policies Trucking Insurance Services places and are for general guidance only. Confirm the current requirements for your equipment providers before binding. Trucking Insurance Services — 380 Dahlonega St, Cumming, GA 30040 — 855-281-2924