ACORD Forms
ACORD 143: Transportation Section
The ACORD 143 is the transportation section of the commercial inland marine application. It serves two different buyers on one form: the shipper insuring its own goods in transit, and the trucker buying motor truck cargo legal liability for freight in its care. The first thing the form establishes is which one applies, and everything downstream reads differently depending on the answer.
What it is
The ACORD 143 is the transportation section of the commercial inland marine application. It serves two different buyers on one form: the shipper insuring its own goods in transit, and the trucker buying motor truck cargo legal liability for freight in its care. The first thing the form establishes is which one applies, and everything downstream reads differently depending on the answer.
It attaches to the ACORD 125 as part of a commercial submission and carries the transit exposure: what moves, how it moves, where it sits between hauls, and what the vehicles are.
When it's used
- Motor truck cargo submissions for trucking operations hauling goods for others.
- Transportation coverage for businesses shipping their own product, with shipment values broken out by how the goods move.
- Remarketing a trucking or transit account where the new carrier or wholesaler asks for the full ACORD package.
Section-by-section walkthrough
Coverage type and basis
Whether the request is transportation coverage or motor truck cargo legal liability, and whether the basis is open reporting or annual.
Watch for: Picking the wrong coverage. Shipper's interest and carrier legal liability are different products answering different exposures, and underwriters price them differently.
Property and territory
What property is covered, the commodities involved, and the territory of operations.
Watch for: Commodity descriptions that hide the hard part. Hauling electronics reads very differently to an underwriter than hauling gravel, and vague wording just delays the question.
Receipts and shipment values
Gross receipts and the value of shipments by conveyance type.
Watch for: Guessing receipts low on a reporting form. The numbers true up, and a lowball estimate sets up an ugly audit.
Vehicle schedule
The units used in the operation: manufacturer, model, VIN, and purchase details for each.
Watch for: A schedule that does not match the business auto submission on the ACORD 127. Same fleet, same list.
Terminal information
Each terminal where freight is loaded, unloaded, stored, or transferred, with the average and maximum values there and the limit needed per terminal.
Watch for: Blank terminal values. Freight sitting at a terminal overnight is often the largest single accumulation of value in the whole operation.
Coverage options
Limits, deductibles, and the form basis: special form or named perils.
Underwriting questions and remarks
Questions on maintenance programs, driver verification, theft protection and alarms, plus space to explain anything that needs context.
Watch for: Skipping the driver verification answers. On cargo risks the drivers are the risk, and the underwriter will ask.
In Relay
ACORD Generation is live in Relay. It drafts the ACORD 143 from the client record and the documents you already have, and a person reviews every field before anything goes out. See how →
Common errors
- Requesting motor truck cargo for a shipper, or transportation coverage for a for-hire trucker. The distinction is the first question on the form for a reason.
- Terminal values missing or understated.
- Commodity descriptions too vague to underwrite, especially on theft-prone freight.
- A vehicle schedule that contradicts the ACORD 127 in the same submission.
- Reporting-basis receipts estimated far below reality.
Common questions
What is the difference between transportation coverage and motor truck cargo on the ACORD 143?
Transportation coverage insures the shipper's own goods while they move. Motor truck cargo legal liability covers a trucker's liability for customers' freight in its care. The 143 handles both, which is why the form asks which one the applicant wants up front.
Does the ACORD 143 replace the ACORD 127 for trucking risks?
No. The 127 handles the business auto exposure: liability and physical damage for the vehicles. The 143 handles the cargo. A trucking submission usually needs both, with matching vehicle schedules.
Can Relay help with cargo submissions?
ACORD Generation is live and drafts ACORD forms from the client record. Document Parsing is live too, and reads the vehicle lists and schedules that usually arrive as spreadsheets and PDFs into structured data. A person reviews everything before it goes out.
Related forms
Part of the Relay ACORD form library. Updated 2026-07-11. See how we source content.
Get started
Get on the Summer ’26 list.
Spring ’26 is full. Get on the Summer ’26 list and we will be in touch as spots open.