As a businessowner, you need insurance coverage for the cars, trucks, vans or other vehicles you use in your business as you do for vehicles used for personal travel. Your Businessowners Policy (BOP) does not provide any coverage for vehicles, so you must have a separate policy.
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Liability coverage
Physical Damage and Collision
Accident with uninsured motorist
Roadside assistance
Auto loan or lease
Liability coverage
Risk Factors
Your commercial auto may meet an accident resulting in damage to someone's property or causing bodily harm to someone. You then become liable for the property's repair or medical costs.
Solution
Bodily injury liability (BIL) covers you when you or one of your employees cause physical injury to another party while using one of your covered vehicles. Property damage liability (PDL) protects you when you or one of your employees causes property damage to another party while using one of your covered vehicles.
Physical Damage and Collision Coverage
Risk Factors
Your commercial auto can be damaged by fire, theft, or vandalism or collide with a fallen tree causing damage to your vehicle.
Solution
Commercial automobile insurance protects against vehicle theft and physical damage, including vandalism, certain weather events, or an impact on another object.
Accident with uninsured motorist coverage
Risk Factors
According to the Insurance Research Council, about one in eight drivers in the United States are uninsured. As a result, when they cause accidents, they might be unable to pay for damages.
Solution
Your policy’s uninsured motorist coverage ensures your business doesn’t have to pay for the resulting medical expenses or vehicle repairs.
Roadside assistance coverage
Risk Factors
Your commercial auto could break down, and you might need roadside assistance immediately.
Solution
Protects you when problems arise that are not typically handled under your commercial auto policy. This could include being locked out of your car, dead batteries, and flat tires.
Auto loan or lease coverage
Risk Factors
Your commercial auto may meet with an accident before your loan repayment. You can then become liable for the loss incurred.
Solution
This covers the difference between the unpaid amount on the loan or lease and the actual cash value of the vehicle if your vehicle is a total loss after an accident.
Do I need Commercial Auto insurance?
Whether you use your car or a fleet of pickups, box trucks, and even trailers to get the job done, you need to stay financially protected by getting commercial auto insurance coverage for liability, personal injury/medical, collision, and more — to keep your business moving forward. Plus, if your employees use their vehicles to perform deliveries, make sales visits, or run errands for your business, you could be liable for any accidents they cause. Unfortunately, the line between personal and commercial vehicles is sometimes unclear.
If you’re a sole proprietor who owns a vehicle used primarily for business, you may need this policy. A commercial policy typically has higher liability limits than personal auto insurance.
Commercial Auto Insurance is required if your commercial vehicles are used to
Transport goods or equipment
Drive clients or employees
Perform a service that you’re paid for
Ride passengers for a fee
Transport goods for a fee
Haul heavy, work-related loads
Tow a trailer used for business
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The difference between Personal & Commercial Auto Insurance
For small businesses, the line between what is considered a personal vehicle and a commercial vehicle is often blurry. Sometimes small business owners and employees use their personal vehicles to travel to job sites, transport equipment or deliver goods.
Personal auto insurance policies almost always exclude business use. That means you’re not covered if you get into an accident while driving for work (with the exception of your commute).
The main difference between personal and commercial auto insurance is who owns the vehicle. If your business owns a vehicle, it must be covered by commercial auto insurance.
Commercial auto insurance covers accidents that occur while you or your employees are driving a company vehicle. While both personal and commercial auto policies pay for legal and medical bills related to auto accidents, commercial auto insurance usually covers higher claims, different types of vehicles, and more complex legal issues.
A commercial policy typically insures all the business’s employees as additional insureds, which means every employee with a valid license can use the vehicle.
Already have Commercial Auto Insurance? Switching is easy
It might be time to switch insurers whenever the service that your existing insurer provides doesn’t meet your needs. For example, if you have a poor claims experience or an unexplained rate increase, it might be time to consider other options
If you cancel a previous policy before a new policy is effective, you could run into some serious financial problems.
Contact us today to help you with multiple options to choose from.
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We extend coverage to individuals and businesses in Lexington, VA, Buena Vista, VA, Staunton, VA, Waynesboro, VA, and Covington, VA.
