If you own a company that has a company car or uses cars for work-related purposes, then you will need to purchase a commercial auto insurance policy. These insurance policies will keep your company covered in the event something happens to your company vehicle(s) or an accident occurs that requires medical coverage.
What is Commercial Auto Insurance?
Commercial auto insurance provides coverage for cars that your business owns and any cars that employees may drive while on the job. This includes both company-owned vehicles and personal employee vehicles. It can also include rental cars that are used for business purposes.
Why Do I Need Commercial Auto Insurance
Many states require companies to have a commercial auto insurance plan if they use vehicles for their business. Any vehicles that hold a title under your company will be required to be listed under a commercial auto insurance policy. Depending on if your employees travel for business, there are policies that also include rental cars that are used for business purposes.
Commercial auto insurance can provide coverage for a personal car that is used for work that a personal auto insurance plan won’t cover. It is also needed in the event that an employee gets injured while driving on the job, as it will help cover their medical bills. It will also cover non-employees that may get hurt while in an accident with a car owned or used for your business. If you don’t have this included in your insurance policy, you may be sued.
Commercial Auto Insurance versus Personal Auto Insurance
Commercial auto insurance has many similar aspects to personal auto insurance, but the main difference lies in liability risk. There is an increased liability risk driving for work, so the price for liability minimums with commercial auto insurance is higher. The bright side to this is that it can extend the liability coverage to any car that is already owned by the company or any car purchased by the company in the future.
Different Kinds of Commercial Auto Insurance
Basic commercial auto insurance usually provides collision coverage, medical/personal injury coverage, liability coverage, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. These policies will cover most of your company’s needs.
If you need any additional coverage, you can add extra policies to your commercial auto insurance plan. For example, if you’re using a trailer that your company doesn’t own you will need trailer interchange coverage. There is an option to have rental car reimbursement in the event your company car needs repair and you need a rental. Sometimes you may need “hired vehicles” (U-Hauls) and can receive coverage for those, as well. Depending on your company’s needs, you may also require non-owned vehicle coverage, which will cover employees that use their personal cars for work (pizza delivery driver).
Every company has different goals and needs. Reach out to your local independent insurance agent to discuss the best commercial auto insurance plan that will suit your company’s needs.