UIIA, Explained: What Every Agent Needs to Know to Win the Port Scramble

What the UIIA is, what coverage it requires, how filing works, and how to keep drayage clients moving through the gate.

If you haven't been watching the ports lately, it's time to look toward the water.

In September 2026, the Port of Long Beach moved 997,177 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), making it the busiest month in the port's 115-year history (up 25% from September 2025).

A huge share of those containers leaves the terminal behind a drayage truck. And almost none of those trucks gets past the gate without a piece of paperwork many commercial auto agents have never had to touch: the UIIA.

Let's be real: if you've tried to write UIIA business before, you know the filing process can feel daunting. Between the acronyms, the forms, and the pressure to move fast, plenty of agents pass on intermodal accounts altogether. The agents who learn it, though, earn something valuable: drayage clients who need them, stick with them, and refer their friends.

Here's what the UIIA is, what it requires, how filing actually works, where agents get tripped up, and how Cover Whale's human-first, tech-powered approach helps you write this business with confidence.

What Is the UIIA, Anyway?

The Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement (UIIA) is the standard contract that lets a trucking company borrow intermodal equipment, like containers and chassis, from the companies that own it. It is administered by the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA).

On one side are motor carriers: the drayage and intermodal trucking companies that haul containers between ports, rail ramps, and warehouses. On the other side are equipment providers (EPs): ocean carriers, railroads, and equipment leasing companies.

Before the UIIA, a trucker had to sign a separate interchange contract, with separate insurance paperwork, for every provider they worked with. The UIIA replaced that patchwork with one agreement and one insurance filing. Today, IANA reports more than 13,000 motor carriers and 58 equipment provider signatories, and the agreement governs roughly 95% of North American intermodal equipment interchanges.

In practical terms: if your trucking client wants to haul containers out of a port or rail yard, they almost certainly need to be active in the UIIA. And they can't be active until their agent files insurance that meets its requirements directly with IANA.

UIIA Terms in Plain English

Interchange: The handoff of a container, chassis, or trailer from the equipment provider to the trucker, and back again.
Equipment provider (EP): The owner of the equipment: an ocean carrier, railroad, or leasing company.
Drayage: Short-haul trucking that moves containers to and from ports and rail yards.
SCAC: Standard Carrier Alpha Code, a four-letter ID the trucker gets from the National Motor Freight Traffic Association (NMFTA).
UIIE-1 / CA 23-17: The hold-harmless endorsement the UIIA requires on the auto liability policy.
ACORD 22: The UIIA-specific certificate of insurance agents submit online to IANA.
Form 5B: IANA's list of each equipment provider's required coverages, limits, and maximum deductibles.
Form 5C: The equipment provider checklist: which EPs your client plans to work with.

What Are the UIIA Insurance Requirements?

UIIA insurance isn't one policy. It's a package of coverages that IANA verifies together, plus additional requirements set by each equipment provider your client works with. Here's the baseline:

Auto liability: $1 million combined single limit (CSL). The policy must be "Any Auto," "Scheduled and Hired," or "All Owned and Hired." An "All Owned" or "Scheduled Only" policy won't be accepted.
UIIE-1 / CA 23-17 endorsement: Required on the auto liability policy. Use the current version, and check the confirming box on the ACORD 22.
Additional insured on auto: Every EP your client works with. Blanket additional insured wording is acceptable when properly shown on the certificate.
General liability: $1 million per occurrence. No portion can be self-insured, so read the fine print on any policy with a self-insured retention (SIR). (Here's why SIRs deserve a closer look.) Some EPs also require additional insured status here.
Trailer interchange: Limits and deductibles set by each EP. It covers physical damage to non-owned equipment in your client's care, custody, or control, including comprehensive, collision, fire, and theft.
Motor truck cargo: Required by most EPs, at varying limits. Check Form 5B for each provider's limit and maximum deductible.
Workers' comp / employer's liability: Required by some EPs. Statutory limits apply where required.

Two details deserve extra attention.

First, the equipment providers set the real bar. The UIIA establishes the minimums, but each EP publishes its own required limits and maximum deductibles on Form 5B. A policy that satisfies the UIIA but carries a trailer interchange deductible above a provider's cap can still keep your client from working with that provider. Review Form 5B against your client's Form 5C list before you bind.

Second, cancellation notice is contractual. The UIIA requires the trucker's policies to provide 30 days' advance notice of cancellation, or 10 days for non-payment. Since your client signed the agreement, the policies you submit need to support that obligation.

How UIIA Filing Works, Step by Step

The filing process feels daunting mostly because nobody walks you through it the first time. Once you've done it, it's a repeatable routine. Here's the path from "my client wants to haul containers" to "my client is active."

Confirm your client is UIIA-ready. They need an active USDOT/MC number, a federal tax ID, and a SCAC code from the NMFTA. The company name on the UIIA application must match FMCSA and NMFTA records exactly, using either the legal name or the DBA, not both.
Map out their equipment providers. Have your client complete Form 5C, listing every EP they plan to work with. Then check each one against Form 5B so you know the limits and deductibles you're quoting to.
Quote and bind the right coverage. Disclose intermodal operations and intermodal containers as a cargo commodity up front, so the program you're quoting can actually support UIIA endorsements. Not every commercial auto program can.
Register yourself with the UIIA (one time). Agents must be registered and approved before they can submit insurance. Complete IANA's online agent registration, then send the signed form along with proof that both you and your agency hold active licenses. IANA will ask you to re-verify your license every year.
Get two codes from your client. You'll need their SCAC and the insurance agent code IANA gives them when they join. That code is how your client authorizes you to file on their behalf.
Submit one online ACORD 22. List IANA's president as certificate holder, include each insurer's NAIC number and AM Best rating, and check the boxes confirming the UIIE-1 endorsement and additional insured status. One certificate covers every EP; IANA doesn't need separate certificates per provider, and it no longer accepts mailed documents.
Let your client finish activation. Being active in the UIIA doesn't automatically make your client active with every provider. Some EPs require their own paperwork, and some ports or terminals have separate access requirements. Also, incomplete applications sit in pending status for up to 30 days before being deleted.

One more thing to know before you file: some insurers require extra documentation to be emailed to IANA within 24 hours of the certificate submission before the policy is accepted. Know whether that applies to the program you're placing.

Common UIIA Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)

Most UIIA headaches come from a handful of avoidable slip-ups. Catch these and you'll look like a pro on your very first filing.

Missing the 12:01 a.m. expiration. The UIIA system expires policies at 12:01 a.m. on the expiration date (as soon as the day begins), not 11:59 p.m. (when the day ends). Post renewals before that date, with effective dates that match the expiring policy exactly. A one-day gap can suspend your client.
Forgetting the endorsement checkbox. Having the UIIE-1 or CA 23-17 on the policy isn't enough; you must confirm it on the ACORD 22.
Overlooking EP deductible caps. A trailer interchange or cargo deductible above a provider's maximum can block your client from that provider.
Leaving umbrellas vague. If an umbrella on the ACORD 22 doesn't specify which policies it sits over, IANA won't apply it to your client's account.
Name mismatches. A legal name on one record and a DBA on another can stall an application until the 30-day pending window closes.

Why Speed Matters as Much as Price

Picture your client at the port gate, ready to pull a container. If their filing is incomplete, or an equipment provider isn't properly covered, they're locked out. Wheels stop turning. Revenue stops flowing. And in a peak season like this one, that load goes to someone else.

That's why, for many intermodal truckers, how fast a filing gets done is shaping up to be just as important as the premium. Price always matters. But given the choice, most truckers will take a competitive rate from an agent who keeps them moving over a slightly cheaper one that leaves them on hold while the container sits.

Why UIIA Business Deserves a Spot in Your Book Right Now

The ports are busy, and the trucks that serve them need insurance. Long Beach's record September came as shippers leaned on the port to work around high diesel costs and Panama Canal restrictions, with year-to-date volume up 3.9% through September. Busy ports mean busy drayage fleets, and busy drayage fleets mean more UIIA filings, renewals, and endorsements.

The insurance market is moving, too. Some national carriers have adjusted how and where they write UIIA in 2026, which has drayage operators reviewing their options. When truckers shop, they look for an agent who already speaks the language.

That's your opening. UIIA accounts reward expertise: the learning curve keeps casual competitors out, and a trucker who finds an agent who handles filings smoothly has little reason to leave. Learn this class of business once, and it has the potential to anchor your trucking book for years to come.

The Cover Whale Difference: Human-First, Powered by Technology

As intermodal business surges, you need an MGA partner that understands how port work actually runs. Here's how Cover Whale helps you win and keep UIIA accounts.

You get a person. Our platform runs on cutting-edge tech, empowering you to quote and bind in minutes. But when the inevitable hits–you run into a snag on a UIIA filing, or a client is stuck at a terminal waiting on a certificate–you can reach a real person who works UIIA business every day. We don't hide behind chatbots when your client's livelihood is on the line.
Blanket additional insureds, built in. Keeping up with equipment providers is one of the most tedious parts of UIIA coverage. On Cover Whale policies bound with UIIA coverages, we automatically include an additional insured endorsement with blanket wording that covers any equipment provider listed on your client's UIIA certificate. That means there's no need to add EPs to the policy on our platform. As your client's provider list changes, just update their UIIA certificate. Easy, right?
Fast quoting and binding. We've taken the friction out of the process so you can price with precision and bind in minutes, not days.

How to Quote UIIA on the Cover Whale Platform

Cover Whale participates in the UIIA. Not every policy program offers UIIA coverages, so make these selections during quoting to be sure the right coverages are applied:

Operations tab: Select "UIIA - Intermodal."
Cargo tab: Select "Intermodal Containers" as a commodity.
FMCSA records: Confirm your client's MCS-150 shows "Intermodal Cont." in SAFER.
Trailer interchange: Review your client's equipment provider requirements before you bind. If the submission includes both auto physical damage and motor truck cargo, trailer interchange follows the physical damage policy by default, so report those policy details on the certificate.

After you bind, file with IANA using the steps listed above. A blank Form 5C is waiting in your Submission Files, and our Agent Resource Center guide to UIIA coverage has the details. Need policy form documentation IANA is asking for? Email hello@coverwhale.com and we'll help.

Keep Moving.

The ports are busier than they've been in more than a century, and the market is noticing. Don't let the reputation of the UIIA filing process scare you away from a class of business that rewards the agents who learn it.

With Cover Whale's fast platform and real people who know intermodal, you have what you need to win the port scramble. Let's get those filings done, keep those containers moving, and grow your book together.

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UIIA FAQ for Insurance Agents

What does UIIA stand for? Uniform Intermodal Interchange and Facilities Access Agreement. It's the standard contract between intermodal truckers and the ocean carriers, railroads, and leasing companies that own containers and chassis, administered by IANA.

Who needs UIIA coverage? Any trucking company that picks up or drops off containers or chassis from participating equipment providers, typically drayage carriers serving ports and rail yards.

What are the minimum UIIA insurance requirements? $1 million CSL auto liability with hired auto coverage and the UIIE-1 or CA 23-17 endorsement, plus $1 million per occurrence general liability. Most equipment providers also require trailer interchange and cargo coverage at limits they set.

What is the UIIE-1 endorsement? A hold-harmless endorsement the UIIA requires on the trucker's auto liability policy. The CA 23-17 and TE 23-17B forms are accepted alternatives.

Do I need to submit a certificate for each equipment provider? No. One online ACORD 22, with IANA as certificate holder, covers every participating provider.

When does a UIIA policy expire in the system? At 12:01 a.m. on the expiration date. Post renewals before then to avoid a suspension.

Does Cover Whale write UIIA coverage? Yes. Cover Whale participates in the UIIA, and appointed agents can quote and bind UIIA coverages directly on our platform.

Disclaimers & Disclosures

The information contained in this post is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice on any subject matter. You should not act or refrain from acting on the basis of any content included in this post without seeking legal or other professional advice. The contents of this site contain general information and may not reflect current legal developments or address your situation. We disclaim all liability for actions you take or fail to take based on any content contained in this post.

UIIA requirements are set by IANA and individual equipment providers and may change. Always confirm current requirements at intermodal.org before binding or filing.

Cover Whale policies are placed through Cover Whale Insurance Solutions LLC with unaffiliated insurers. Each insurer is solely responsible for the claims on its policies and pays Cover Whale for policies sold. Prices, coverages and privacy policies vary among these insurers, who may share information about you with us. Cover Whale's compensation from these insurers may vary between the insurers and based on the policy you buy, sales volume and/or profitability of policies sold. Not all policy programs offer UIIA coverages.

Sources

IANA — Uniform Intermodal Interchange & Facilities Access Agreement.
IANA — UIIA Insurance Requirements.
IANA — Register for Online Insurance Submission.
IANA — Motor Carriers: Apply for UIIA Participation.
IANA — UIIA Equipment Provider Limits (Form 5B).
AJOT — Port of Long Beach breaks all-time cargo record in September.
FreightWaves — New Long Beach record as volume nears 1M containers.
Cover Whale Agent Resource Center — UIIA coverage.