Shipper Guide
The Questions Every Shipper Should Ask Before Signing With an Asset-Based Carrier Directly
Booking directly with an asset-based carrier can absolutely be the right call for the right shipper and the right lane. What it requires, though, is a level of due diligence that most shippers underestimate going in. Here's what should actually be asked — and verified, not just asked — before signing.
Is the Insurance Current, Not Just On File?
Don't just request a Certificate of Insurance — verify it directly with the insurer, and set a recurring reminder to re-verify it, because a COI collected at signing tells you nothing about coverage six months from now. Ask specifically about cargo insurance limits, general liability limits, and whether your company can be named as an additional insured.
What Is the Safety Rating, and What Is Its Recent Trend?
A current Satisfactory rating is a starting point, not an endpoint. Pull the carrier's FMCSA SAFER record or CVOR abstract and look at the trend over the past 12–24 months, not just the current snapshot — a rating that's been sliding is a very different risk than one that's been stable.
When Was the Last Compliance Review, and What Did It Find?
Ask directly whether the carrier has had a full compliance review, and if so, when and with what outcome. Many carriers operate for years without a formal audit at all — which isn't automatically disqualifying, but it does mean you're relying more heavily on inspection-level data than a comprehensive review.
What Is the Carrier's Financial Stability?
This is the hardest one to verify independently, and it's exactly the kind of risk covered in our piece on carriers going bankrupt mid-relationship. Ask about how long they've operated, whether they own or lease their equipment, and how concentrated their business is around a small number of customers or lanes — high concentration in either direction increases fragility.
What Happens If They Can't Cover This Load?
Ask directly: if this specific truck breaks down or this driver becomes unavailable, what is the backup plan? A carrier with no answer to this question has no redundancy, which means you have none either.
What a Broker Checks For You, Automatically
Every one of these questions is something Bever verifies as a standing part of our carrier vetting and ongoing monitoring process — insurance currency, safety rating trends, compliance history, and financial stability indicators, checked continuously rather than asked once at signing. If you're evaluating a direct carrier relationship, run it by us first — we're glad to tell you what we'd check before you sign, whether or not you end up booking through us.
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