What Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover

Are you a business considering buying commercial auto insurance cover? Maybe you want to know first what does commercial auto insurance covers. Either way, you are in the right place, as this post will explain what commercial auto insurance is and what it covers.

Whether you wish coverage for your business cars, vans, and trucks, commercial auto insurance is the answer. Moreover, you can also cover small businesses to large fleets.

Definition of Commercial Auto Insurance

A commercial auto insurance coverage is a policy that covers any liability and physical damage to your business vehicles. There are various types of vehicles that fall under the umbrella of a commercial auto insurance policy which are

• Cars
• Vans
• Box trucks, food trucks
• Service utility trucks
• Large commercial vehicles

Commercial insurance also covers the employees driving or operating the vehicle and any equipment within it. This insurance also has other names such as commercial car insurance, fleet insurance, or truck insurance.

While mostly associated with the coverage of trucks and other large vehicles, you can get commercial auto insurance for regular automobiles and cars too. However, you have to justify that the cars and automobiles are only for business purposes and not personal usage.

Why Commercial Vehicle Insurance

If you have business usage vehicles, then they will most likely not qualify for personal auto insurance. The answer is simple; personal auto insurance only covers cars and other automobiles for personal use. Most importantly, if you are a fleet manager or a business owner, your commercial vehicles will need more extensive coverage that only commercial vehicle insurance will be able to provide.

What Coverage Does Commercial Auto Insurance Include

A commercial auto insurance policy covers the expenses of accidents involving your company-owned vehicles. Moreover, it also protects your vehicles against vandalism, theft, and other specific vehicle damages.

Here is a complete breakdown of what protection does commercial auto insurance offers to your business vehicles.

·        Auto Accident Liabilities

Commercial auto insurance will provide liability coverage to your commercial vehicles to help pay for any damages caused by the accident. This also includes repair costs to cover damage to another person’s property or vehicle. If the other party sues you over their injuries, commercial auto vehicle insurance will also cover legal expenses.

·        Medical Expenses

Your commercial auto insurance policy also pays for medical bills for injuries caused during an accident. The policy will not only incur the costs of any medical expenses for your driver operating but for the passengers as well.

The best part is that this coverage is applicable regardless of who was at fault and caused the accident. For example, your driver causes an accident while driving a company’s car. In this case, the commercial auto insurance will cover even the most basic medical expenses of x-rays and first-aid even if there were no serious injuries.

·        Collision and Physical Damage Coverage

Your commercial auto insurance will cover your business-owned vehicles against vandalism and theft. Additionally, it will also cover any physical damages caused by an impact on other objects and certain weather-related events.

For example, an uprooted tree falls on your company’s truck by a windstorm and breaks its windshield. The commercial auto insurance will cover the cost of repairs and replacing the windshield. 

·        Accidents and Collisions Involving Uninsured Motorists

According to the Insurance Research Council, 1 out of 8 U.S drivers does not have insurance. Therefore, they will not be able to pay for the damages in case they cause an accident. Your commercial auto insurance policy offers your company vehicles full protection against such incidents caused by uninsured drivers.

Commercial Auto Insurance does not Include

Commercial auto insurance will not cover any personal as well leased vehicles. In case you hired a car, you will need a non-owned or hired auto insurance cover to ensure the coverage of damage caused by the accident.

That said, if your employee were driving a hired vehicle, your company would still be liable to pay for the medical expenses of the employee.

Tips to Get the Right Coverage

There are some tips to help you get the right coverage for your commercial vehicles.

• You must always hire smartly and runs background checks on the drivers. Make sure they have a proper license for the type of vehicle they will be driving for you.
• Understand your unique requirements and conduct some research when shopping for the right type of commercial auto insurance.
• Knowing your needs will allow you to get as much insurance protection as possible.
• Know your budget and pick a coverage that offers you comprehensive coverage with the maximum coverage limit you can get.
• Do not know mix your personal and business vehicles. Using commercial insurance for a personal vehicle will void your policy contract.
• Always ask questions from your insurance provider
• Do not buy into the myth of expensive is the best. You can purchase decent commercial coverage at a competitive rate. Just be smart enough to compare commercial auto insurance rates available out there.

Conclusion

Are you a business looking to purchase commercial auto insurance? Contact Velox Insurance today.