Tennessee trucking workers' comp is priced per $100 of driver payroll, and driver codes sit toward the expensive end of the comp schedule because trucking injuries are frequent and severe. As a rough 2026 guide, trucking driver codes commonly run $8–$18 per $100 of payroll, depending on long-haul versus local operations, your ex-mod, and the carrier. A local fleet with $600,000 of driver payroll at $11 per $100 lands near $66,000 of base manual premium before the experience mod and credits move it.
Three inputs drive every Tennessee comp premium:
| Code | What it covers |
|---|---|
| 7228 | Trucking — local hauling only (drivers operating within a limited radius) |
| 7229 | Trucking — long-distance hauling (drivers operating beyond the set radius) |
| 7230 / 7231 | Drivers — mail, parcel, and certain courier operations |
| 8385 | Garage / mechanics maintaining the fleet |
| 8810 | Clerical office staff (much lower rate) |
The local-versus-long-distance split (7228 vs. 7229) is the classification that gets audited most. If your drivers routinely run beyond the local radius, they belong in 7229 — and an auditor who finds them in the cheaper code will reclassify and back-charge the difference.
| Scenario | Illustrative rate / $100 payroll* |
|---|---|
| Local hauling, clean loss history | ~$8–$13 |
| Long-distance / mixed, average history | ~$12–$18 |
| Adverse loss history / high mod | $18–$25+ |
*Illustrative only — not filed rates. Actual rates depend on carrier loss-cost multipliers, radius of operation, ex-mod, payroll, and loss history.
This is the single biggest cost and compliance question in trucking comp. If a driver is a true independent owner-operator running under their own authority, they generally aren't your employee. But if you control the work, dispatch them, and they run under your authority, an auditor or a court may treat them as an employee — which means their pay can be charged to your comp policy, and an uninsured injury can land squarely on you.
Many owner-operators carry occupational accident coverage rather than workers' comp. That can be a legitimate structure, but it has to be documented, and you need proof of the driver's own coverage on file. The parallel issue shows up in general liability and auto too — see our explainer on workers' comp and 1099 subcontractors for how the classification question plays out at audit.
Yes. Tennessee generally requires employers in most industries with five or more employees to carry workers' compensation. In practice, trucking coverage is effectively mandatory well below that threshold — shippers, brokers, and larger carriers routinely require proof of workers' comp before they'll tender freight. So even a small fleet usually carries it to stay eligible for loads.
Most of the trucking rate pressure in recent years has been on auto liability — large "nuclear" jury verdicts, rising repair and medical costs, and higher FMCSA minimum-limit expectations. Workers' comp rates for truckers are steadier than auto liability, but the two are almost always written together. A fleet with adverse auto loss history or a weak safety record often sees its whole program, comp included, quoted more cautiously. The upside: safety investments cut both lines at once. For the auto side, see FMCSA minimum liability changes.
Bettr Coverage is an independent commercial insurance agency serving Tennessee and the wider Southeast. For fleets, the danger in comp isn't usually the posted rate — it's the driver classification and the owner-operator paperwork that decide what you actually owe at audit, plus how comp is packaged with the auto liability that's been driving the whole market. We place workers' comp, auto liability, physical damage, motor truck cargo, and general liability together, get the driver classifications right up front, and make sure your owner-operator relationships are documented before an auditor tests them. One agency, one relationship, the whole fleet program checked before the bill arrives.
Bettr Coverage reviews your full trucking program — workers' comp, auto liability, physical damage, cargo, and owner-operator structure — and places it with carriers who want Southeast trucking.
Get a free coverage reviewRoughly $8–$18 per $100 of driver payroll before the ex-mod, varying with local vs. long-distance operation and loss history. A $600,000-payroll local fleet at $11 per $100 is near $66,000 base.
7228 (local hauling) and 7229 (long-distance) for drivers, plus 8385 for mechanics and 8810 for office staff. Local vs. long-distance is the most-audited classification.
Generally required at five or more employees, but effectively mandatory below that because shippers and brokers require proof before tendering freight.
If they run under your authority and you control the work, they may be treated as employees at audit. Document the relationship and collect proof of their own coverage; many carry occupational accident coverage instead.
Mostly it raised auto liability. Comp is steadier, but the two are written together, so a poor safety record can raise the whole program.
Keep the ex-mod down with safety and return-to-work, classify drivers correctly, document owner-operators, report payroll accurately, and shop with an independent agent who has trucking markets.
For general information only. Not a quote or contract of insurance. Cost ranges and class-code rates are illustrative, not filed rates, and vary by radius of operation, payroll, experience modification, carrier loss-cost multiplier, and loss history. Statutory thresholds, worker-classification rules, coverage terms, exclusions, and availability differ by policy and carrier — confirm specifics with a licensed Tennessee agent. Coverage subject to policy terms and carrier appetite.