Oversight of Highway Contract Routes – Insurance

The Postal Service contracts with supplier-operated HCRs to transport mail and equipment between plants, post offices, or other designated points that receive or dispatch mail. Per the Postal Service’s Supplying Principles and Practices (SP&P), the supplier must maintain automobile liability insurance with a comprehensive policy that provides bodily injury and property damage liability covering the operation of all automobiles used in contract performance. Evidence of supplier insurance must be maintained in Postal Service’s electronic or paper format repositories. Our objective was to determine whether Postal Service Contracting Officers (CO) are properly managing Highway Contract Route (HCR) contracts — specifically liability insurance requirements — in accordance with policies and procedures.