Montgomery converted negligent selection from a defense you could usually win early into a merits claim in every state. That exposure lands on the broker's liability program — and many programs were built around contingent auto liability, which may not respond to a negligent-selection claim the way the buyer assumes. The underwriting response has been fast: vetting discipline is becoming a rating factor, not a questionnaire box.
The form gap
Three names get used loosely and are not interchangeable: contingent auto liability, freight broker liability, and third-party liability.
Contingent auto is generally designed to sit behind a motor carrier's primary auto policy — responding when the carrier's coverage fails. A negligent-selection claim is different in kind: it alleges the broker's own negligence in choosing that carrier. A program assembled from contingent auto without a true broker liability form can therefore have a hole exactly where Montgomery put the pressure.
One question for your broker or underwriter, in writing: "Does this program respond to a claim that we were negligent in selecting the carrier — as opposed to a claim that the carrier's own auto coverage failed?" Get the answer on the form, not in conversation.
What underwriters are now asking for
- A written carrier-selection SOP — formalized, dated, and specific about thresholds rather than aspirational.
- Evidence it is followed — documented-tender rate, not policy existence.
- Override discipline — how often reps proceed past flags, and whether reasons are captured.
- Post-tender monitoring — whether the file stays current after onboarding.
- Identity checks — whether reincarnated-authority patterns are caught at all.
The through-line: an underwriter can no longer price this book on a questionnaire, because the questionnaire and the behavior have come apart. Measured behavior is the only signal left.
Why this is an opportunity, not just a cost
Vetting discipline becoming a rating factor cuts both ways. A broker who can demonstrate documented selection — with numbers, per desk, over time — is presenting a materially different risk from one who cannot, and is in a position to ask for that to be priced.
For insurers and MGAs
The exposure you are carrying is the aggregate of decisions made at desks you cannot see. A per-insured loss-control ledger — documented-tender rate, identity flags caught, override rate, a book score that moves with real behavior — turns that into something you can underwrite, condition, and produce at claim time.
Bring the record to your desk.
A 20-minute scoping call — no cost, no commitment. Bring your current carrier-selection process and we will show you what it produces at claim time.
See if we can help