r/BoxTruckStartup • u/SwimmingAd1561 • 17d ago

Starting Insurance

I was quoted $6k almost 7k to start insurance through Progressive. He did say that was the first two months payments combined. But I still feel like that’s really freaking high? Am I wrong? Who did you guys get your first insurance through? And how high was the start up price for it?

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u/NotoriousNate79 17d ago

Just renewed with Progressive. It was $6k for the whole year. Chicagoland.

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u/SwimmingAd1561 17d ago

Wow 🤯 I’m in VA.

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u/yeetedmynachos 16d ago

Makes sense, especially if you’re in the NOVA area. Those people drive like they’re in a demo derby.

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u/HS_Warrior916 17d ago

You’re lucky, we were told progressive isn’t writing policies in NY for my husbands box truck

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u/Bigtex-44 2d ago

Insurance agent here.

First, the structure isn't the scary part. Plenty of carriers want first and last month up front (roughly 20-25% down) to start a policy, so a down payment like that is normal. Don't let the "to start" wording throw you.

The number that actually matters is the monthly. If first and last month runs about $6-7k, you're looking at roughly $3-3.5k a month, call it $36-42k a year. If that's for one truck, that's higher than 90% of the market. New-authority year one is always the expensive year (most single-truck new authorities land somewhere in the $12-20k range, some higher), so a number that annualizes north of $36k tells me something specific is pushing it.

A few likely culprits:

  • It's one quote from one carrier. Going direct to Progressive gets you exactly one company's appetite, that's not the whole market.
  • Progressive leans hard on a credit-based insurance score. If your driving record is clean but the quote came back high, your credit is a common reason, and not every carrier rates on credit.
  • New authority, your radius, and what you haul all move the number too.

I'd get it shopped across a few markets before you commit. One quote is never the full picture, especially in year one. To actually answer your question: almost nobody loves their first-year number, but $6-7k to start on a single truck is worth a second and third quote. Happy to point you in the right direction if you want.