Commercial Auto Symbols 7, 8 and 9: Which Trucks Are Actually Covered, 2026
Short answer: symbol 7 insures a list, symbol 8 insures what you rent, symbol 9 insures liability for vehicles you neither own nor rent. On ISO form CA 00 01 11 20, a truck you own but never scheduled in Item Three is not a covered auto, and one you buy mid-term is covered only if the insurer already insures every auto you own on that line and you call within 30 days. Full range: commercial auto coverage symbols explained; the head-to-head on the broad symbols is in symbol 1 versus symbol 2.
What do auto symbols 7, 8 and 9 mean on a truck policy?
Each coverage line carries its own symbol, so the answer differs between liability and collision on the same truck. Definitions per the FC&S analysis of business auto declarations and coverage symbols, which reproduces the form text with ISO's permission.
| Symbol | What the form covers | What breaks if it is missing from that line |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Specifically Described Autos | Only autos in Item Three with a premium charge, plus non-owned trailers on a scheduled power unit, for liability | An owned truck you never scheduled is not a covered auto, so the claim is denied |
| 8 Hired Autos Only | Autos you lease, hire, rent or borrow, minus anything taken from an employee, partner, LLC member or their household | Physical damage on a rented unit runs bare. Liability picks up only a temporary substitute for an owned auto out of service |
| 9 Non-owned Autos Only | Autos you do not own, lease, hire, rent or borrow, used in connection with your business, including an employee's car; in practice used for liability | His personal limits are the only wall between the crash and your company |
If I buy a truck mid-term under symbol 7, is it covered?
Only if both are true for that coverage: the insurer already covers all autos you own for it, or the unit replaces one that had it, and you ask within 30 days. That is Section I.B of the form, word for word in its structure. Skip physical damage on one paid-off tractor and you no longer insure all owned autos on that line, so the new truck gets none.
| Symbol on that coverage line | Mid-term purchase covered automatically? |
|---|---|
| 1 to 6 and 19 (CA 00 01) | Yes, for autos of a type already insured, to the end of the term. Report at audit |
| 7 (CA 00 01) | Only if all owned autos are already covered on that line and you ask within 30 days |
| 67 (CA 00 20) | Same two-part test as 7. Symbols 61 to 66 and 79 pick up new units automatically |
Typical scenario, illustrative composite. Kuzma carries liability on 7 for four tractors but physical damage for only three, because the paid-off daycab runs bare. His fifth tractor rolls off a wet ramp on day four: liability would have followed, physical damage does not, because that bare daycab broke the all-owned-autos test. FC&S gives the cleaner design: put symbol 2 on the line and exclude the self-insured unit by endorsement, so the automatic pickup survives.
What does symbol 9 cover that symbol 8 does not?
Symbol 9 covers what nobody in the office calls a company vehicle: the driver's own pickup, a subcontracted carrier's tractor. FC&S describes it as the symbol used to provide liability coverage for such autos, and it never repairs the employee's truck. It is also where brokered-out freight lands, because hiring a company is not hiring an auto. The two symbols also pull different paperwork: symbol 8 on any line means the hired auto schedule in Item Four must be completed, symbol 9 means the nonownership liability schedule in Item Five. Next layer for leased-on drivers: non-trucking liability on a lease.
Why the internet says "hired auto coverage covers your rental", and why that is only half right
Most explainers stop at "symbol 8 covers rented and borrowed vehicles." It does, for the row it sits on, and then the Other Insurance condition in Section IV of CA 00 01 decides who pays first. Four things the one-liner hides:
| Claim on the internet | What CA 00 01 actually does | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Symbol 8 on liability makes my policy pay for the rented tractor | For an auto you do not own, liability under this form is excess over any other collectible insurance, so the owner's policy answers first | Other Insurance, paragraph a |
| Symbol 8 pays to fix the rental | Only if 8 sits on comprehensive and collision too. There it is primary: a hired auto is "deemed to be a covered auto you own" for hired auto physical damage | Other Insurance, paragraph b |
| Any rental counts | "Any 'auto' that is leased, hired, rented or borrowed with a driver is not a covered 'auto'" for that physical damage coverage | Same paragraph b |
| A long-term lease is just a long rental | The 11 20 edition adds primary coverage for an auto leased or rented without a driver under a written agreement of at least six months that requires it, per FC&S | Section I.B, 11 20 revision |
Second typical scenario, also a composite. Nikifor's Volvo goes in for an EGR job and the shop's estimate says nine days. He rents a tractor from a commercial lessor, signs the counter agreement, and declines the lessor's damage waiver because "my policy has hired auto." His declarations show 8 on liability only. On day six the rental clips a loading dock. Liability is not even in play; the lessor invoices him for the dock-side fairing and a week of downtime, and his own policy has no physical damage row with an 8 on it. The fix would have cost a line in Item Four and a symbol on two rows.
Does the MCS-90 cover a truck missing from my schedule?
For the injured public, yes. For you, no. The MCS-90, prescribed by 49 CFR 387.15, makes the insurer pay a final judgment for public liability "regardless of whether or not each motor vehicle is specifically described in the policy"; the form text then has you agree to reimburse the company for any payment it would not have owed under the policy. Chris Boggs calls the forgotten symbol 7 or 46 truck the classic trigger for an endorsement that is not insurance.
- Your policy pays nothing: no covered auto, no defense, no indemnity.
- The insurer pays the injured party, then recovers it from you.
- Your own truck gets nothing: public liability only, at the floor set by 49 CFR 387.9, $750,000 for non-hazardous freight at 10,001 lbs GVWR or more, $1,000,000 for listed oil and most hazmat, $5,000,000 for bulk hazardous substances and highway route controlled Class 7.
- Cancellation of the endorsement takes 35 days written notice under 49 CFR 387.7(b)(1), and 30 days to FMCSA for a registered carrier.
And when the filing stops, so does the authority: the lapse to revocation timeline.
My declarations shows 67 and 68, not 7 and 8. Why?
Because the 60s belong to the Motor Carrier Coverage Form, CA 00 20; an older third set, the Truckers Coverage Form, CA 00 12, ran 41 through 50 plus 59. ISO retired the Truckers form in its 2010 commercial auto revision with an advisory notice titled Replacement Of The Truckers Coverage Form With The Motor Carrier Coverage Form, CA P 005 06 10, listed in the North Carolina Reinsurance Facility circular that tracked the revision, and policies still on it in the market are legacy paper. Same jobs, different numbers, per the FC&S notes on the Truckers form and the Motor Carrier form.
| Role of the symbol | Business Auto CA 00 01 | Truckers CA 00 12 | Motor Carrier CA 00 20 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specifically described autos | 7 | 46 | 67 |
| Hired autos only | 8 | 47 | 68 |
| Non-owned autos only | 9 | 50 | 71 |
| Trailer interchange, theirs with you and yours with them | none | 48, 49 | 69, 70 |
Rows two and three are cousins, not twins. On the trucking forms the hired autos designation excludes only private passenger type autos hired from your people, while Business Auto excludes every auto hired from them. So an employee's truck hired for motor carrier work is answered by 68 and carved out under 8. The full numbering blocks and the custom symbols 10, 51, 52, 72 and 73 added by endorsement CA 99 54 are in the IRMI glossary; the section-by-section differences between the two live forms are in the Rough Notes comparison.
Which declarations items have to be filled in for symbols 7, 8 and 9?
A symbol without its schedule is an unfinished sentence, and FC&S is explicit about which item each symbol pulls. The declarations page itself is walked item by item in how to read a declarations page.
| Symbol in Item Two | Schedule that must be completed | What is rated there | Where the deductible sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Item Three, Schedule Of Covered Autos You Own | Each unit: year, make, VIN, garaging, classification, premium per coverage | Per unit, in Item Three |
| 8 | Item Four, hired or borrowed autos | Cost of hire basis, liability and physical damage premiums | Item Four, for hired or borrowed autos |
| 9 | Item Five, nonownership liability | Headcount of employees and partners, premium | None: liability only |
Broker packets read those schedules too. The UIIA accepts a Scheduled and Hired policy and rejects Scheduled Only, which in symbol language means 7 alone fails and 7 plus 8 with a completed Item Four passes, at a $1,000,000 combined single limit.
Five questions that decide whether symbol 7 hurts you
- "Do I insure all owned autos for physical damage right now?" If not, the newly acquired auto condition is broken already.
- "If I buy a truck on the 3rd, what must I do, and by what date, for liability and physical damage to attach?" The answer should contain the words thirty days and a named person to email.
- "Does my 8 sit on comprehensive and collision, or only on liability?" Rentals are repaired by the rows, not by the word hired.
- "Is Item Four filled in, and with what cost of hire?" An empty Item Four next to an 8 is a question the adjuster will ask.
- "Am I on CA 00 01, CA 00 12, CA 00 20, or a proprietary form?" Any symbol outside those ranges is the insurer's own code, and only the carrier can define it.
TruckSafe is not a licensed insurance agency. We help small carriers read what they already have and route the policy to licensed professionals for comparison. Declarations reviewed in Russian or English: (315) 871-0833.
FAQ
What is auto symbol 7 on a commercial auto policy?+
Specifically Described Autos on ISO form CA 00 01 11 20: only the units listed in Item Three with a premium charge. A truck you own but never scheduled is not a covered auto.
What is the difference between auto symbol 8 and auto symbol 9?+
Symbol 8 covers autos you lease, hire, rent or borrow, but not ones taken from your employees, partners, members or their households. Symbol 9 covers autos someone else owns and you use in the business, including theirs.
If I buy a truck mid-term under symbol 7, is it automatically covered?+
Only if both are true: the insurer already covers all autos you own for that coverage, and you ask within 30 days of acquiring it. Skip physical damage on one unit and the new truck gets none.
Does symbol 9 pay to repair my employee's own pickup?+
No. Symbol 9 is used for liability. It answers the injured party's claim. Physical damage on a vehicle you neither own nor hire is not what the symbol is bought for, so his own policy repairs the pickup.
Is symbol 8 enough to cover damage to a rented truck?+
Only if 8 also sits on comprehensive and collision, not just liability. Hired auto liability is excess over the owner's insurance; hired auto physical damage is primary, and a unit rented with a driver is excluded.
Do symbols 7, 8 and 9 together equal symbol 1?+
No. Symbol 7 is narrower than symbol 2, so an owned auto you never scheduled still falls out, and so does an auto hired from your own employee or household member.
Why does my declarations page show 67 and 68 instead of 7 and 8?+
You are on the Motor Carrier Form CA 00 20, symbols 61 to 71 plus 79. Symbol 68 excludes only private passenger autos hired from your people, so an employee's truck stays covered.
Does the MCS-90 endorsement cover a truck missing from my schedule?+
It pays the injured public regardless of whether the vehicle is described in the policy, then the insurer can recover that payment from you. It works like a surety, not coverage for your truck.
Which items on the declarations page have to be filled in for symbols 8 and 9?+
Symbol 8 on any line means the hired or borrowed auto schedule in Item Four must be completed. Symbol 9 means the nonownership liability schedule in Item Five must be completed.
Is a long-term leased tractor treated like a rental under symbol 8?+
Not entirely. Per FC&S, the 11 20 edition of CA 00 01 gives primary coverage to an auto leased or rented without a driver under a written agreement of at least six months that requires it.
What liability limit does FMCSA require regardless of my symbols?+
Under 49 CFR 387.9: $750,000 for non-hazardous property at 10,001 lbs GVWR or more, $1,000,000 for listed oil and most hazmat, $5,000,000 for bulk hazardous substances. Brokers usually demand $1,000,000.