How Commercial and Personal MVRs Impact Your Trucking Policy

Off the Clock Can Still Cost You: How MVR Activity Impacts Trucking Insurance

Let’s get one thing straight. There’s no such thing as off the clock when you hold a CDL.
Your driving record follows you everywhere, whether you’re hauling freight or heading to the grocery store.

Insurance carriers rate you on both your commercial MVR activity and your personal MVR now. Every ticket, every violation, every lapse in judgment off the job sends a message to underwriters about how you handle risk.

What Underwriters Really Look At

Underwriters build your profile from two records:

• Commercial MVR: Anything that happens while operating under your DOT authority.
• Personal MVR: Everything else. Your pickup, your family car, your weekend errands.

If your personal MVR shows tickets or violations, it tells the carrier that your risk doesn’t stop when your shift ends. A messy record can sink a quote before it’s even priced.

How It Impacts Your Policy

When off-the-clock violations hit your personal MVR, here’s what happens:

• Liability and cargo premiums rise even if your fleet’s safety record is clean.
• Driver eligibility shrinks. Many carriers won’t quote anyone with DUIs, reckless driving, or multiple moving violations.
• Renewal pricing jumps. Most violations stay visible for at least three years in carrier systems.

If one driver’s personal record is bad enough, it can throw your entire fleet into a higher risk tier. You pay for it, even if you never knew it was coming.

The “Two Lives” Myth

Some drivers think their CDL record is separate from their personal license. It’s not.
It’s one license, one record, one reputation.

That means:

• A DUI in your personal vehicle can suspend your CDL.
• A reckless driving ticket in your pickup gets rated the same as if it happened in your semi.
• Too many points at home can disqualify you from driving under most carrier programs.

How Smart Fleets Stay Ahead

The best fleets we work with treat MVR management like preventive maintenance. They:

• Run both personal and commercial MVRs at hire and at least once a year.
• Train drivers on how personal MVR activity affects insurance rates.
• Pull updated reports anytime they hear about a ticket.
• Remove or retrain drivers before renewal time if their record threatens the company’s rating.

This isn’t micromanaging. It’s smart business. Protecting your insurance program means knowing what’s on those records long before an underwriter does.

Bottom Line

Insurance carriers don’t care which vehicle you were in. They care how you drive.
Your personal MVR is part of your professional one, and both shape your insurance future.
If you want better rates and long-term stability, it starts with accountability behind the wheel, on duty or not.

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Not sure what’s showing up on your drivers’ MVRs?
We’ll help you pull the reports, clean up your driver list, and keep those personal violations from wrecking your policy.

Want to manage your drivers in real time and fix issues before they cost you?
Check out Motive, it’s the tool we trust with our own clients.

Call 254-294-7798 or email info@trucku.biz to get ahead of it now.

 

 

 

Disclosure:
This post is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice, insurance advice, or a substitute for calling your agent. We’re good, but we’re not psychic. Policies vary, laws change, and courtrooms get weird. Don’t make decisions based solely on something you read on the internet, unless it’s from us, in writing, with your name on it.

All opinions are our own and do not represent the views of any carrier, employer, or underwriting department that occasionally wishes we were quieter on LinkedIn.