Even if your company doesn’t own a vehicle, you may still face auto liability exposure. Take the instance of an employee driving their personal vehicle to run a work-related errand. It is not a stretch to imagine that your company may be named in an ensuing lawsuit, especially if the worker’s personal automobile policy’s limits are insufficient.
Or what if the owner of a company that has no automobiles is involved in a serious accident in his personal vehicle and the claimant realizes the owner has most of his personal wealth in his firm?
The claimant could sue the owner and the company. Without specific coverage for non-owned auto liability, the insurance program would not protect the insured in these instances.
Meanwhile, a company can expect at some point that an executive or an employee is traveling and will need to rent a car to get around. A company executive may assume that if it’s in the course of business, that liability is covered by the company’s insurance.
Rented auto physical-damage exposure occurs here as well, but again, without specific coverage in place prior to an accident, a company may be looking at an uninsured claim.
The typical commercial auto policy covers the usual for company- owned vehicles: bodily injury to others, personal injury, collision, medical payments, comprehensive, property damage, bodily injury caused by uninsured motorist, and more.
It also includes rental and non-owned auto liability, and frequently rented-car physical damage. It’s the same for companies that own or don’t own their own vehicles.
If you don’t have a company car, you may still need the following coverages, which can be found in the business auto policy:
- Non-owned auto coverage, which provides your firm and you (as business owner) with liability protection for injuries or damages if your employee is involved in an accident and found responsible while using their own vehicle to perform company business.
- Hired-auto liability coverage, which provides your firm, your employees and you (as business owner) with liability protection when you temporarily rent, lease, hire or borrow vehicles for business use.
- Hired-auto physical damage coverage, which provides your business, your employees and you (as business owner) with physical damage protection when you temporarily rent, lease, hire or borrow vehicles for business use.
Did you know that in addition to being the leader in securing the most competitive bids for California Workers Compensation, Leader’s Choice Insurance Services offers competitive business insurance policies, including your business autos? Call us today to get your quote!
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