Carrier Vetting Agent

The carrier vetting agent validates every carrier's credentials, insurance, and compliance status before they can quote your loads.

Vetting Process

When a carrier joins your network (or on a schedule for existing carriers):

1. FMCSA SAFER check — query FMCSA database for violations, crashes, inspections
2. DOT number verification — confirm the number is active and matches the company
3. Insurance verification — contact their insurance carriers to verify coverage
4. Ownership screening — check management against OFAC, sanctions lists, watch lists
5. Claims history — analyze freight claims and chargeback frequency
6. Compliance score — assign overall risk rating

The agent produces:

• FMCSA Rating — Acceptable / Conditional / Unsafe
• Compliance Score — 0-100 (0 = low risk, 100 = high risk)
• Insurance Status — verified/current or flagged
• Recommended action — approve / conditional approval / reject

FMCSA Checks

The agent queries:

• Serious Violations — safety issues (e.g., fatigued driving, brake violations, speeding)
• Crash History — accidents in the last 3-5 years (more recent = worse)
• Inspection History — roadside inspections; more = higher risk
• Out-of-Service (OOS) Status — if OOS, the carrier is prohibited from operating

Result: FMCSA Rating

• Acceptable — clean record or minor violations resolved
• Conditional — some violations but not disqualifying; use with caution
• Unsafe — multiple serious violations or out-of-service; agent recommends blocking

Insurance Verification

The agent:

1. Requests insurance data from the carrier (via email or our system)
2. Contacts the insurance carrier directly to verify:
   • Policy is active and current
   • Coverage amounts (minimum $100K cargo, $1M general liability)
   • Policy hasn't been cancelled
3. Re-checks monthly (insurance can lapse)

Result: Insurance Status

• Verified — coverage confirmed and current
• Expired — policy lapsed; carrier flagged as unable to quote
• Unverified — carrier didn't provide docs or carrier couldn't confirm; escalated for manual review

Carriers without verified insurance are automatically suspended from your network until coverage is restored.

Ownership & Fraud Screening

The agent:

1. Identifies company ownership (from state business records)
2. Runs ownership names through:
   • OFAC list — sanctions/terrorism concerns
   • SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) — similar
   • Industry blacklists — previous fraud convictions
3. Checks for related entities (companies with same ownership as blocked carriers)

Result: Fraud Risk Score

• 0-30 — low risk; safe to approve
• 31-50 — standard risk; normal approval with monitoring
• 51-100 — high risk; flag for manual review or reject

Claims History Analysis

The agent reviews:

• Freight claims — damage, loss, shortage claims filed by brokers
• Chargebacks — payment disputes on loads booked via FreightConnect
• Average claim amount — $500 damage = less concerning than $5,000

Result: Reliability Score (part of overall FSC)

• More claims = lower FSC score
• More chargebacks = fraud risk flag

Conditional Approval

Some carriers don't pass cleanly but are worth monitoring. The agent may recommend Conditional Approval:

"FMCSA rating is 'Conditional' due to 2 brake violations in 2024. Recommend: approve but monitor. Re-check in 90 days."

When conditionally approved:

• Carrier can quote your loads
• Agent tracks their performance closely
• If performance is good, status upgrades to full Approved
• If issues arise, they're suspended

Auto-Suspension

The agent automatically suspends carriers if:

• Insurance coverage lapses or is cancelled
• FMCSA rating drops to "Unsafe"
• Fraud flag is triggered
• Multiple damage claims in a short period

You get notified and can reinstate if the issue is resolved.

Manual Review Escalation

Some situations require human judgment:

• Grey area FMCSA violations — borderline but unclear
• New carriers with no history — no data to analyze
• Ownership changes — need to reverify
• Shipper complaints — subjective quality issues

The agent escalates to you. You review the details and make the final decision.

Monitoring Schedule

The agent re-vets carriers on a schedule:

• New carriers: vetting within 24 hours of network entry
• Active carriers: re-vet monthly
• Inactive carriers (no loads in 90 days): re-vet quarterly

You can manually trigger a re-vet anytime: Carriers → select carrier → Force Re-Vet.

Transparency

All vetting results are visible to you:

1. Go to Carriers → select a carrier
2. Click Vetting Report
3. See:
   • FMCSA rating (with details)
   • Insurance status (policy numbers, expiry)
   • Compliance score breakdown
   • Claims history
   • Ownership screening results
   • Recommendation

Improving Your Network Quality

To maintain a high-quality network:

1. Review vetting reports — understand why carriers are flagged
2. Remove low-performers — carriers with FSC < 60 or multiple claims
3. Monitor insurance — replace carriers whose coverage lapses
4. Set filters — go to Settings → Carrier Filters and enforce minimum standards

The better your network, the better your quotes and deliveries.

Enterprise Features

Custom Vetting Rules (Enterprise):

Define your own criteria:

• "Reject any carrier with FMCSA violations in last 12 months"
• "Require cargo insurance > $250K"
• "Block any carrier in excluded industries" (e.g., hazmat if you don't do hazmat)

The agent applies your rules automatically.

Troubleshooting

Carrier shows as "unverified insurance": The insurance company didn't respond. Follow up directly with the carrier to get docs.

High fraud risk but carrier seems reputable: Review the details. Sometimes common names trigger false positives. Escalate to support if you disagree.

Carrier was approved but then suspended: Their insurance probably lapsed or an FMCSA violation appeared. Check the vetting report.

Next Steps

• Carrier Management — managing your approved carrier network
• Security & Compliance — how we handle sensitive vetting data
• Agent Configuration — customizing vetting rules