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Your CSA score can affect insurance, according to at least one broker, but no rule says how. No federal regulation ties a premium to your Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) data. What is verifiable: underwriters can see your public inspection, crash and violation records, and broker HUB International says underwriters use CSA data to build a carrier's risk profile. The weight any single insurer gives it isn't published.
The rest of this page sticks to what can be checked: what an insurer can see, what it can't, and what you control.
Off Duty Not Driving Rewards is a rewards program for trucking fleets. Contact our team to learn more.
What "CSA score" actually means
There is no single CSA score. FMCSA's Safety Measurement System (SMS) gives a carrier a separate percentile in each of seven Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Categories (BASICs): Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator, Hours-of-Service Compliance, Vehicle Maintenance, Controlled Substances/Alcohol, Hazardous Materials Compliance and Driver Fitness (FMCSA CSA: Measure). SMS uses roadside inspections and crash reports from the last two years, plus investigation data, and updates monthly.
A higher percentile is worse. As of October 2026, the intervention threshold for most trucking fleets is 65% for Unsafe Driving, Crash Indicator and HOS Compliance, and 80% for the other BASICs (SMS Methodology v3.21, June 2026, Table 2-2).
What an insurer can see, and what it can't
The FAST Act changed this in 2015. Under section 5223, FMCSA removed SMS percentiles and alerts for property carriers from the public website. Passenger-carrier percentiles stayed public, and so did inspection, investigation, crash and registration data for all carriers (89 FR 91874, Nov. 20, 2024, Background).
| Data | Public for a property (trucking) carrier? | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Roadside inspections and violations | Yes | 89 FR 91874 |
| Crash records | Yes | 89 FR 91874 |
| Investigation and registration data | Yes | 89 FR 91874 |
| BASIC percentiles and alerts | No, only to the logged-in carrier and enforcement | 89 FR 91874 |
| Crash Indicator and HM Compliance BASICs | Never public, for any carrier | CSA: Measure |
| Safety rating (Satisfactory, Conditional, Unsatisfactory) | Yes, on SAFER | 49 CFR 385.19 |
So an underwriter looking at a trucking fleet can read the raw events behind your BASICs. Unless you share it, the underwriter can't read your percentile from FMCSA's public site.
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What insurers say they do with CSA data
The clearest public statement we found comes from a broker, not a regulator. HUB International says underwriters pull BASIC percentiles "alongside loss history, years in operation and fleet size to build a risk profile." HUB doesn't say where underwriters get percentiles for property carriers, which FMCSA no longer shows publicly (see the table above). It also says Unsafe Driving and Crash Indicator "tend to" carry the most weight, and that "a single elevated BASIC rarely closes the door on coverage" (HUB International FAQ, retrieved 2026-10-13).
That is one broker's view. It doesn't tell you what your insurer does. Ask your agent or broker directly which data their markets pull at renewal.
What FMCSA itself says about using SMS data
FMCSA warns against reading SMS as a verdict. Its SMS website says: "Readers should not draw conclusions about a carrier's overall safety condition simply based on the data displayed in this system" (FMCSA SMS). The same notice says a carrier is authorized to operate unless it has an Unsatisfactory rating or an order to stop.
Two more facts limit how far CSA data reaches:
- The federal insurance minimum doesn't move with your percentiles. For-hire interstate carriers of non-hazardous property in vehicles of 10,001 lb GVWR or more need at least $750,000 in coverage (49 CFR 387.9). The amount is set by the type of operation, cargo and vehicle weight, not by SMS data.
- The "new CSA" isn't live. FMCSA announced an enhanced SMS with "compliance categories" in November 2024 (89 FR 91874). As of October 2026 it has not launched, and the seven BASICs still apply.
What you control before renewal
- Check your own percentiles. Log in to the SMS site to see what enforcement sees. Your public profile shows the events, not the percentiles.
- Challenge wrong data in DataQs. FMCSA's DataQs system lets carriers and drivers request a review of data they believe is incomplete or incorrect (DataQs).
- Submit eligible crashes for a preventability review. Crashes found not preventable through the Crash Preventability Determination Program show as "Reviewed -- Not Preventable" and are left out of the Crash Indicator measure (89 FR 96269; SMS Methodology p. 2-5).
- Know the clock. Violations from the last 6 months count three times as much as those 12 to 24 months old. Events older than 24 months drop out of SMS scoring (SMS Methodology p. 2-5). They can still appear in other records.
Our step-by-step plan for each BASIC is in how to improve your CSA score. If a compliance review has left you with a Conditional rating, see conditional safety rating.
Can a rewards program lower your premium?
No one can promise that, and we don't. A rewards program is one way to keep drivers focused on the behavior your safety data already measures.
Off Duty Not Driving Rewards is a rewards program for trucking fleets. Contact our team to learn more.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm requirements against the current regulation text and with your compliance counsel.
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