If your business often uses travel to operate, such as visiting clients or transporting equipment, you will likely need commercial auto insurance. Commercial auto insurance is an auto insurance policy designed to cover vehicles owned or used by a business for work purposes.
However, some of these vehicles may double as personal vehicles for business owners and operators or employees with company vehicles.
What is a Commercial Vehicle?
Essentially any vehicle can be a commercial vehicle if used for work, although some are automatically categorized as commercial vehicles due to their make and weight. Large trucks, for example, are typically commercial vehicles.
So can a commercial vehicle be insured for personal use?
In short, yes. Personal use can be covered on a commercial vehicle and even under a commercial auto insurance policy. It mainly concerns communicating with your insurance agent about the vehicle and what it is being used for. If you own a van that you use for both work and personal purposes, a commercial auto insurance policy may cover you for both.
Not all policies are created the same, however, so shop around, compare quotes and speak with insurance agents. The last thing you want is to get into an accident only to discover that you aren’t covered.
What Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover?
A commercial auto insurance policy offers a lot of the same coverages that are available under a personal auto insurance policy, including:
- Comprehensive Coverage: Comprehensive coverage provides compensation for damages to the vehicle caused by fire, wind, hail, lightning, smoke, falling objects, theft, vandalism and more.
- Collision Coverage: Collision coverage provides compensation for damages to the vehicle caused by a collision with another vehicle or object.
- Liability: Liability insurance covers bodily injury and property damage the driver may cause someone else while operating the insured vehicle.
- Medical Payments Coverage: Medical payments coverage provides compensation for medical bills the driver and their passengers may face after an accident, no matter who caused the accident.
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist: This insurance covers damages involved in an accident with another driver who is not carrying insurance.
- Roadside Assistance: Roadside assistance covers trip interruption expenses such as running out of gas or needing to be towed.
Not all policies are created the same, so be sure to shop around. Also speak with an insurance agent if you are having trouble deciding between commercial and personal auto insurance, as they can help you differentiate between these two purposes.