Commercial Auto.
A personal policy will not cover a vehicle being used for work, and nobody finds that out at a convenient moment.
Personal auto policies exclude regular business use, and carriers investigate after serious accidents. A denied
claim on a work vehicle lands on the business and frequently on the owner personally.
The gap most businesses miss is the vehicles they do not own.
An employee running an errand in their own car creates liability for you, and hired and non-owned coverage closes
it for very little. Send us your policy and we will check what is actually scheduled.
Business use is the test, not the badge on the door
A vehicle does not need signage or a commercial plate to need this policy. What matters is what it is used for and who owns it.
Vehicles titled to the business
If the company owns it, a personal policy will not respond. This is the clearest case and the easiest to get right.
Personal vehicles used regularly for work
Driving to a single office is commuting. Visiting clients, carrying tools, making deliveries or running errands is business use, and personal carriers exclude it.
Employees driving their own cars
Their policy covers them. It does not protect your business from a claim brought against you, and injured parties pursue the company because that is where the money is.
Rented and borrowed vehicles
Anything hired for business, including a van rented for one job. Rental counter waivers rarely address commercial liability properly.
Hired and non-owned auto
Why the business is liable at all
An employee causes a serious accident while collecting supplies in their own car. Their personal policy responds up to its limit, which is frequently modest. The injured party then looks at who benefited from the trip, and finds your business.
That is not an unusual outcome. It is the standard one, and it applies whether or not you knew about the trip, reimbursed mileage, or ever saw the vehicle.
Any business where staff run errands has this exposure, including offices, salons, clinics and restaurants that have never thought of themselves as having vehicles.
What the coverage does
Hired and non-owned auto protects the business against liability arising from vehicles it does not own: employee cars used for company purposes, and vehicles rented or borrowed for business.
It is liability protection for the company, not physical damage cover for the employee's vehicle. Their own policy still handles their car, which is why requiring proof of insurance from anyone who drives for you is sensible practice.
It is one of the least expensive endorsements in commercial insurance and among the most frequently absent. On a business with no owned vehicles it can often be added to a general liability or business owners policy.
What actually moves the premium
Driver records
The largest single factor. Carriers pull records on everyone who drives, and one poor record can reprice an entire fleet. Written hiring standards and annual checks are the cheapest control available.
Radius of operation
How far vehicles routinely travel from base. Local, intermediate and long-haul price very differently, and a business that quietly expanded its territory is often rated on outdated information.
Vehicle type and weight
Weight class, body type and value all matter. Heavier vehicles carry higher liability exposure and are rated accordingly.
What is being carried
Passengers, hazardous materials and goods for hire each change the rating substantially. Carrying anything for a fee needs declaring.
Use classification
Service, retail delivery, or transport for hire are separate classes. Misclassification is a frequent cause of disputed claims rather than merely a pricing question.
Loss history
Claims frequency matters more than one large loss, in the same way it does on workers’ compensation. Telematics can offset a difficult history with several carriers.
The additions that matter
Cargo
Goods you carry are not covered by the liability policy. Motor truck cargo coverage handles them, and it is essential for anyone transporting anything of value.
Tools and equipment
Contents of the vehicle are not vehicle coverage. Tools, ladders and equipment belong on an inland marine policy, and theft from vehicles is one of the most common trade claims.
Rental reimbursement
If a vehicle is off the road after a claim, this pays for a replacement. On a business that cannot operate without the vehicle, downtime costs more than the repair.
Uninsured motorist
Roughly one in eight drivers nationally carries no insurance. Without this, a serious injury caused by one of them leaves your driver and your business absorbing it.
Commercial umbrella
Vehicle accidents produce some of the largest verdicts in commercial insurance. A primary limit is exhausted quickly, and umbrella coverage above it is inexpensive relative to the exposure.
Delivery and rideshare
Any carrying for a fee is rated separately and frequently excluded by default. It needs adding explicitly, not assuming.
Correct the classification, then shop it
Carrier appetite in commercial auto swings harder than in almost any other line. A trade one company has stopped writing is another's target, and fleets are frequently rated on information set years ago that no longer describes the operation.
Check the classification first
Use class, radius and vehicle schedule are what every quote is built from. Correcting them changes every quote at once, which is worth more than switching carriers.
Clean up the schedule
Vehicles sold and never removed, and vehicles added and never scheduled, are both common. One costs you money and the other leaves you uncovered.
Driver controls
Written qualification standards and annual record checks improve pricing with most carriers and reduce the chance of a claim being contested.
Then shop appetite
With corrected information we approach the carriers that genuinely want your trade rather than the one you happen to be with.
Send us your policy and we will check the schedule before the price.
The declarations page shows every scheduled vehicle, your limits, your radius and whether hired and non-owned is present. That is everything needed to tell you where you are exposed before we approach a single carrier. No cost, no obligation.
Commercial auto, answered plainly
Can I just use my personal auto policy for business?+
Generally no, and this is the most common and most expensive assumption in small business. Personal policies exclude regular business use, and carriers do investigate after a serious accident. A denied claim on a commercial vehicle leaves the business and often the owner personally exposed.
What if employees use their own cars for work?+
That is exactly what hired and non-owned auto coverage is for. The business can be held liable for an accident an employee causes while running an errand for you, even in their own car on their own policy. It is inexpensive coverage and it is routinely missing.
Does it cover delivery or rideshare work?+
Not automatically. Delivery, courier and rideshare activity are rated separately and frequently excluded unless specifically added. If food, packages or goods are being carried for a fee, the policy has to reflect it or the claim will not be paid.
What is radius of operation?+
How far your vehicles routinely travel from their base. Local, intermediate and long-haul are priced very differently, and understating it is a common way policies end up in dispute. If your work has expanded geographically, the policy needs updating.
Do driver records affect the price?+
Substantially. Carriers pull motor vehicle records on everyone who drives, and a single driver with a poor record can move the premium for the whole fleet. Written driver qualification standards and annual MVR checks are the cheapest control a business has.
What limits should a business carry?+
Higher than most owners expect. Commercial vehicle accidents produce some of the largest liability verdicts in the country, and a minimum limit is exhausted quickly by a serious injury. Most businesses should be carrying a commercial umbrella above the auto policy.
Is cargo covered?+
Not by the liability policy. Goods being carried require motor truck cargo coverage, and tools and equipment in the vehicle need inland marine. Both are commonly assumed to be included and neither is.
What about vehicles I rent occasionally?+
Hired auto coverage handles rented and borrowed vehicles used for business. It is usually bundled with non-owned auto, costs very little, and prevents the awkward situation of relying on a rental counter waiver that may not cover business liability.