What is Commercial Auto Insurance?

Commercial Auto Insurance protects the policyholders’ assets and provides financial stability in the event of a loss.  It includes coverage for all vehicles used by a business, whether they are owned, leased, or owned by employees and used for business purposes.  The Business Auto Policy covers the policyholders’ cars, trucks and vans, as well as additional or ancillary coverages.

Who needs Commercial Auto Insurance?

You should strongly consider commercial auto insurance if your business:

• Owns, leases, or rents vehicles, such as cars and commercial trucks
• Has employees who drive their own vehicles for business
• Has employees who operate leased, rented, or owned company vehicles

What does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover?

Although coverage availability and requirements vary by carrier, these are some of the common types of commercial auto coverages available to business owners:

• Bodily Injury Liability Coverage helps pay for the other driver’s medical expenses if you or one of your employees causes an accident.
• Property Damage Liability Coverage pays for damage that you or your employees cause to someone else’s property.
• Collision Coverage helps pay to fix or replace your business’ car if you hit something, like another car or pole.
• Comprehensive Coverage can help pay for car damages caused by theft, fire or natural disasters.
• Medical Payments Coverage can help pay for medical expenses for your employees and their passengers in the event of an accident, such as medical treatments and rehabilitations, dental care or funerals.
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage helps pay for you or your employees’ medical expenses or to fix your car if the other driver lacks enough liability coverage or is uninsured.
• Rental Car Coverage offers liability coverage while you or your employees are driving a rental vehicle for business. Many rental companies have loss damage waivers or collision damage waivers that you can sign to avoid paying for property damage to a rental car.
• Personal Injury Protection (PIP), also known as no-fault insurance, can help cover medical expenses, lost wages or funeral costs after an accident, no matter who is at fault.
• Hired and non-owned auto insurance offers lawsuit liability coverage if you or your employees are involved in an accident with a personal, rented or leased car that was used for business errands.  However, this type of commercial vehicle insurance coverage will not pay for damages to the personal, rented or leased car.

What is Not Covered?

The following situations won’t be covered under a commercial auto insurance policy:

• Medical expenses unrelated to an accident that happened while an employee is driving a company vehicle.
• Contents inside your business vehicle that were damaged in an accident.
• Accidents that occur when an employee is driving a personal vehicle for personal reasons. You can get coverage for this with hired and non-owned auto insurance coverage.
• Repairs to a rental vehicle you or your employees were driving while waiting for your company vehicle to be fixed after an accident. If your business needs this type of coverage, you can add hired and non-owned auto insurance to your policy.