Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial vehicles are commonly an integral part of many businesses. Commercial Vehicle Coverage can be written as part of the Business Owners Package, or may be written as a separate Monoline Auto Policy.

We insure light pickup trucks, panel delivery trucks, walk-in type trucks, van type trucks, flat rack trucks, some passenger vehicles.

We do not insure trucks carrying flammable liquids, dump trucks, bus service, vehicles with cranes, emergency vehicles, antique, late model, classis or collector vehicles, vehicles over 20,000 lbs, vehicles with radius over 200 miles written on a monoline auto policy.

A business automobile is a motor vehicle that is customarily used in the business, profession or occupation of its owner. It can have two, three, four or more wheels, operated on land. This class includes many types of vehicles, such as private passenger automobiles, panel and pickup trucks, and trailers.

If you are running a home-based business you may assume your personal auto insurance is enough, but this isn’t always the case. Talk to your insurance agent about how often you use the vehicle for work, and he or she should be able to help you decide what’s best. If it turns out you need to add business coverage, you can expect to pay a bit more than you are paying for your personal auto policy.

If your business owns a company car, however, there’s no way around buying a commercial auto policy, which is meant to protect your business’s assets in the event of an accident. This is an absolute must.

Liability will be the biggest factor in your business auto policy when it comes to protecting your business. Bodily injury liability will protect your business from being sued for bodily injuries, lost wages, or death by a person involved in an accident with one of your employees. Property damage liability will cover the cost of damages done to property and structures not owned by your employee or business in the event of an accident.

If your employees use their own cars for company business, you can get protection in case your employees get involved in an accident. You would be protected if someone sued your company for the resulting damage or injury.

Commercial auto policy would protect you in case you were ever sued because of an accident involving a vehicle your company has rented, loaned or leased. It would also cover damages you are legally required to pay due to bodily injury or property damage that occurs during the use, loading or unloading of hired or non-owned vehicles used for your business.

Medical payments. If your employee is in an accident and the other person involved is hurt, it will cover the cost of treatments of that person.

It is important to have collision and comprehensive insurance since it will protect your property. Collision will cover the cost of repairs for damage done to a company car in the event of an accident. Comprehensive coverage takes effect if your car is broken into, vandalized, or damaged during a natural disaster.

Uninsured/Underinsured motorists coverage protects you in case you are involved in an accident with a driver who has inadequate insurance coverage, or none at all, this will kick in and cover damages and injuries.

To keep your costs down:

• Raise your deductibles. This will bring your premiums down. Just make sure you’ll be able to afford those deductibles if you ever need to pay them.
• If you do own company cars, drop collision coverage if repairs will end up costing more than the cars are worth.
• Choosing a company car that doesn’t cost much to repair or is an older model can also lower your premiums.

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