Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial Risk Management
Whether you run one work truck or a full fleet, your vehicles need coverage built for business use.
Why Commercial Auto Is a Separate Policy
Commercial auto insurance responds to vehicles used for business purposes, and it works very differently from personal auto. A personal auto policy explicitly excludes business use beyond basic commuting. If your employee is driving to a job site, making deliveries, transporting equipment, or running business errands and has an accident, a personal auto policy will likely deny the claim. The liability exposure from a serious commercial auto accident is also significantly higher than most personal policies are built to handle, which is why commercial auto sits separately from personal lines entirely.
Fleet management is a growing challenge for businesses of all sizes. Rising repair costs, parts shortages, distracted driving, and a documented surge in nuclear verdicts from commercial auto accidents have pushed rates up 8 to 15 percent annually for several consecutive years. Businesses that can demonstrate strong driver qualification programs, telematics-based monitoring, and solid loss history still get competitive pricing, but it requires proactive management rather than passive renewal.
Key Facts
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Responds to owned, leased, and hired vehicles
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HNOA responds to employees using personal vehicles for work available
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Liability, collision, and comprehensive available
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Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage available
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Medical payments for vehicle occupants
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Higher limits available for trucking and heavy equipment available
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Driver qualification programs and telematics affect pricing
Bodily Injury Liability
Responds to medical expenses, lost wages, and legal defense costs when your vehicle or driver causes injury to another person in an at-fault accident.
Property Damage Liability
Pays for damage your vehicle causes to another person's vehicle, building, fence, or other property, including legal defense if the third party sues.
Physical Damage: Collision
Pays to repair or replace your vehicle when it's damaged in a collision with another vehicle or object, regardless of who was at fault.
Physical Damage: Comprehensive
Responds to losses not caused by collision: theft, vandalism, fire, flood, falling objects, and weather-related damage to your business vehicles.
Medical Payments
Pays medical expenses for you and passengers in your vehicle after an accident, regardless of fault, up to the limit you select.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist
Protects your business when your driver is hit by someone with no insurance or not enough coverage to pay the resulting damages.
Hired Auto Liability
Responds to liability arising from vehicles your business rents or borrows for business purposes, including rental cars used by traveling employees.
Non-Owned Auto Liability (HNOA)
Responds to liability when employees drive their personal vehicles on company business and cause an accident. This is often the most overlooked gap for service businesses.
What's Not Covered
Understanding the exclusions helps you identify where other policies need to pick up coverage.
Personal use of vehicles. If an employee uses a company vehicle for personal errands or a weekend trip and has an accident, a personal auto policy should be in place for that driver. Commercial auto is designed for business use.
Intentional damage. Coverage doesn't apply if an insured, owner, or employee intentionally damaged their own or another person's vehicle.
Drivers excluded by endorsement. If a driver with a poor record is listed as an excluded driver on the policy, any accident they cause won't be covered. Driver management matters.
Racing or off-road use. Vehicles used in sanctioned races, off-road competitions, or on tracks are outside the scope of a standard commercial auto policy.
Cargo and loads in the vehicle. Tools, equipment, or products being transported aren't covered under commercial auto. That exposure requires an inland marine or cargo policy.
Personal belongings in the vehicle. An employee's laptop, phone, or personal items lost or stolen from a company vehicle aren't covered under the auto policy.