You could require commercial auto insurance coverage if your company relies on automobiles for operations. Additionally, commercial coverage could be necessary if you use your personal vehicle for business activities other than commuting to work, conducting errands, or taking road vacations.
Commercial Auto Insurance: What Is It?
Commercial auto insurance is made especially for cars used by or for a company, even though it is quite similar to personal auto insurance in many aspects. This may include both personal automobiles used for commercial purposes and vehicles purchased for a firm you operate.
Commercial auto insurance, for instance, may include:
● Vans or delivery trucks;
● Vans for work;
● Dump trucks;
● Construction vehicles such as forklifts;
● Food trucks;
● Maintain utility vehicles;
● Box trucks;
● Company vehicles.
For company cars and their drivers, commercial auto insurance may provide both collision and liability coverage. In the event that you are in an accident, the former assists in covering the other driver’s repairs and/or medical expenses. In the event of a collision, the latter covers any necessary repairs or medical expenses for you or your car.
The fact that your rates are usually tax deductible is one benefit of getting commercial auto insurance for your company. They may be deducted as company expenses, which might lower your annual tax liability. Unless you are using the vehicle for work, personal auto insurance rates are often not tax deductible. You may not be able to deduct the whole cost of the premium even in such a case.
The Process of Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial auto insurance is intended to cover situations unique to a company and its requirements. For instance, if you have workers who drive business vehicles or trucks, you may need to include non-owned vehicle coverage in your policy. You would need commercial coverage to cover your car if you are self-employed and use it just for work-related purposes. At STAR Mutual RRG, for example, you can get commercial auto liability coverage that is a required minimum by law—covering damages and injuries to the other party in an accident.
Once again, both liability and collision damage coverage may be included in business auto insurance. It’s possible that your liability coverage limitations exceed what you would normally get from a personal insurance policy. That is advantageous if you are concerned that an accident involving you or one of your workers may result in a lawsuit against your company.
Commercial auto insurance may additionally cover the following in addition to liability and collision benefits:
● Accident-related medical expenses or personal injury claims.
● Theft, vandalism, falling items, and weather-related damage.
● Damages from drivers who are underinsured or uninsured.
● Trailers used in tandem with commercial automobiles.
● Costs of renting a car if your company has to temporarily replace its fleet of vehicles Rental cars used to carry staff or customers.
● Business-related cars driven by employees.
It’s possible that your coverage will also cover things inside corporate cars. For instance, let’s imagine you own a contracting company and use your work vehicles to deliver supplies or materials. You could be protected by your business auto insurance coverage if the van’s contents are stolen.
Commercial Auto Insurance: Who Needs It?
You probably need commercial auto insurance to protect your company’s cars if it depends on them for operations. It might be more difficult to determine if you want commercial coverage if you operate a company as a single owner or are self-employed.
The following should be taken into account while evaluating a business policy as a lone proprietor:
● What coverage is provided by your own auto insurance policy.
● How you usually use the car for work.
● The kind of vehicle and its weight.
● How much liability coverage you need depending on your company activities against the kind of coverage you have with your personal insurance.
An insurance agent should be able to assist you if you already have personal auto insurance and are unclear about whether you need commercial coverage. Simply be ready to describe how and how often you use the car for work so the agent can determine your coverage needs.
What Is the Price of Commercial Auto Insurance?
The amount of coverage you have, the number of cars covered, and the kind of vehicles your company uses are some of the variables that might affect the cost of commercial auto insurance. Assuming a $1 million policy maximum, the typical cost of commercial auto insurance is $147 per month, or $1,762 annually, according to the business insurance consulting website Insureon.com.
That is a median number, however, and your expenses may vary based on the risk profile of your sector, the drivers, and the coverage provided by your insurance. For instance, your premium expenses may be greater if you run a high-risk firm. However, you can spend far less than the median for commercial coverage if your company is less risky.
Make sure to inquire about any potential discounts from the insurance provider when comparing rates for business auto insurance. For instance, the insurance provider could be prepared to lower your rates if you’re covering a fleet of ten cars, which might result in financial savings for your firm.
