As a business owner, you need some type of insurance coverage for vehicles that your employees will use while on the job: company owned, leased, or even personal vehicles. Jobs that require company vehicles, i.e., sales, are categorized among the most dangerous in the country. They are ranked 7th in the list of the top 10 most dangerous occupations in a 2016 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries by the US Bureau of Labor Report. Your business owner’s policy (BOP) does not provide any coverage for vehicles, so it’s vital you have a separate policy.
What Does Commercial Vehicle Insurance Cover?
If you or any of your employees are involved in an accident in your business’s car, you, the business owner, can be liable for the damages, lost wages, and bodily injuries. Standard commercial vehicle coverage includes:
- Bodily Injury—Provides coverage for damages that involve bodily injury to others for which you become responsible under the law.
- Property Damage Liability—Provides coverage to the property of others for which you become responsible under the law.
- Personal Injury Protection—Provides coverage for hospital, medical and rehabilitation costs. Also, for lost wages/services costs resulting from injury to you or any resident family member. In case of fatalities to the insured or a resident family member, death benefits and survivor benefits could be provided.
- Medical Payments—Provides coverage for medical and funeral expenses for those who are accidentally injured while in your vehicle or while getting into or out of your vehicle.
Additional Commercial Vehicle Insurance
- Collision—Provides protection to the collision damage to your vehicle and its equipment.
- Uninsured Motorist—Provides coverage and allows you to recover bodily injury damages when the other party does not have insurance and is legally liable.
- Comprehensive—Provides protection for the loss of damage to your vehicle and its equipment from all causes except collision.
Make sure to view our comprehensive list of other commercial coverage available.
What Vehicles Are Covered?
The scope of coverage in a business auto policy can be broad or limited. Generally, you have three options for what vehicles are covered:
- All autos your business owns, hires, or leases.
- Autos your business owns.
- Every auto used for the business, including those that your business does not own, hire, or lease.
Will Your Personal Auto Policy Cover Business Use?
Your personal auto policy could provide coverage for some business use of your vehicle. However, if the vehicle is used primarily for business use, a personal auto policy is unlikely to provide coverage because it may not have enough coverage to protect the business.
If your employees occasionally drive their personal vehicles for business-related tasks, like delivering invoices or sales meetings, you most likely need non-owned auto coverage. It provides liability protection if one of your employees were involved in an accident. It extends the liability coverage on your commercial policy to your employee’s vehicles, but only for occasional use.
Just like you need auto insurance for your personal vehicle, you need to have commercial vehicle insurance to cover your business-owned or leased vehicles. Properly insuring your company and its vehicles is important for any successful business. If you’re unsure if your commercial or personal vehicles are properly insured, contact the experts at TJ Woods Insurance.
