Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover Employee Vehicles?

If your business uses vehicles for work, you will need commercial auto insurance to cover the vehicles and your employees in case of an accident. In some cases, however, employees may use their own vehicles to travel and transport equipment for work. Be sure to speak with your insurance agent about insuring your employees’ vehicles used for work.

This does not apply if your employees simply use their personal vehicles to commute to and from work. Vehicles that are only used to commute to and from work do not qualify for commercial auto insurance. Personal vehicles used for commuting should be covered under your employees’ personal auto insurance policies.

To protect vehicles your business does not own, you will need Hired and Non-Owned Auto.
Red car from bottom left

What is Hired and Non-Owned Auto?
Hired and Non-Owned auto insurance is a policy you can add to your commercial auto insurance that covers vehicles your business does not directly own. This includes employee vehicles. If an employee is driving their car for work purposes, they may not be covered under your basic commercial auto insurance policy or their personal auto insurance policy. This is why it is important to offer additional auto insurance in case of an accident. If an employee gets in an accident while operating their vehicle for your business, responsibility for the damages and injuries could fall on your shoulders.

What Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover?
If your business owns commercial vehicles, such as delivery trucks, commercial auto insurance can cover damages to the vehicle and its occupants. A basic commercial auto insurance policy may include:

Comprehensive Coverage: Comprehensive coverage provides compensation for damages to the insured vehicle caused by wind, fire, hail, lightning, falling objects, theft, vandalism and more.
Collision Coverage: Collision coverage provides compensation for damages to the insured vehicle caused by a collision with another vehicle or object.

Liability: Liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage a driver may cause someone else while operating the insured vehicle.
Medical Payments Coverage: Medical payments coverage provides compensation for injuries the driver and their passengers may sustain after an accident, no matter who is at fault.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist: This insurance covers expenses (such as medical bills and property damage) that occur in an accident with a driver who is not carrying the proper amount of insurance.

This coverage can apply to commercial vehicles and company vehicles.

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