Is it good to put my car insurance in my business name?
Are you considering getting commercial car insurance for your business vehicles? Like personal vehicles, business vehicles also need to be properly insured, and it’s not advisable to insure them with a personal auto insurance policy. This is because commercial auto insurance covers accidents and incidents that occur while the vehicle is being used for work purposes, including traveling to a client’s location and putting business deposits in the bank.
Who Needs a Commercial Auto Insurance Policy
Every business that uses a vehicle for work purposes should have a commercial auto insurance policy, especially if the vehicle is titled in your business name. This includes small businesses and sole-proprietors who use their vehicles for both work and personal uses as well as corporations. A personal auto insurance policy doesn’t typically cover accidents that occur while you are using your vehicle for work purposes.
For example, you may use your car exclusively for business between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM. After work, you may use your car to pick up groceries, take the kids to their sports practices and run errands or go to the gym. In this scenario, your personal car insurance policy would protect you anytime you’re not using your vehicle for business purposes, but if you are running an errand or on your way to meet a client, your personal auto insurance policy would not cover you if you were in an accident.
What you can expect to pay for commercial auto insurance will vary.
How Commercial Auto Insurance Protects You
Commercial car insurance provides many of the same coverages as personal auto insurance. The difference is that it protects you when you are driving your car for business purposes, including driving to clients’ locations, delivering packages, and running errands for your business. Coverages may include:
- Property Damage – Designed to cover property damage caused by the individual driving the business vehicle.
- Personal Injury Protection – Designed to cover certain treatments for injuries sustained to the employee driving and/or any passengers in the company vehicle.
- Medical Payments – Designed to cover the cost of payments to medical providers after the accident if medical care is needed.
- Comprehensive – Typically covers non-driving-related damage, like fire, theft, and vandalism.
- Collision – Typically covers damage to the work vehicle, regardless of who is at fault.
- Uninsured Motorist – Designed to cover accidents with vehicles that are not insured.
- Underinsured Motorist – Covers damage caused by drivers who do not have enough insurance coverage to pay for the costs associated with the accident.
- Borrowing or Renting Vehicles – Covers employees if they are driving vehicles that have been rented or borrowed by the business.
- Car Coverage for Employee Vehicles – Covers employees’ vehicles when they are being driven for work purposes.
- Supply and Equipment Coverage – Commercial car insurance policies may sometimes cover damage or theft of supplies and equipment that are located inside the work vehicle.
- Liability for Unloading and Loading – If the vehicle is used for loading and unloading purposes, like box trucks and semi-trailers, additional coverage may be available to cover damage caused when products are loaded or unloaded.
Determining if You Need Commercial Car Insurance
If you own a business and have vehicles that you use for work purposes, you need commercial car insurance. Commercial car insurance can be used to ensure cars, trucks, vans, semis, dump trucks, box trucks, limousines, and special-use vehicles that have custom electronics or other equipment installed in them. It can also be purchased for vehicles that are used for ride-sharing services as well as limousines and taxis. Additionally, you will need a commercial auto insurance policy if your vehicles are titled in your business name. If you simply drive to and from the business that you own in your personal car, you probably do not need commercial auto insurance.
Commercial Car Insurance with Fearnow
Our agents at Fearnow Insurance offer many types of commercial auto insurance policies for small, medium, and large businesses that can help ensure you are protected in case of a car accident.
If you need commercial car insurance for your business vehicles, including cars, trucks, semis, rental cars or other types of vehicles, give us a call today at (813) 689-8878. Our agents can help you find the right car insurance policy for your business needs that will keep you and your employees protected while you’re on the road. We’d be happy to answer your questions and provide you with a quote.
