Commercial car insurance provides protection for autos and equipment owned and leased by your business. These policies normally consist of collision and damage coverage for your vehicles in addition to coverage for property and personal damage to your employees and others, including items like bodily injuries and lost wages. Commercial car insurance is critical to protect your company’s assets in the event of an accident.

Business owners and managers are responsible for insuring that their companies are protected with the same types of insurance coverage that we all carry personally to protect ourselves and our families. Government mandated liability coverage is basic for every vehicle owner, and collision and comprehensive, medical payments (called personal injury protection in some states), and uninsured motorist coverage can be even more critical for businesses with more assets to protect in the event of a lawsuit.

What if you or your employees drive the same vehicle as both their business and personal car—do you need commercial car insurance? Even if you have a personal umbrella liability policy in place, it probably excludes business-related liability incidents. Your company will probably need to make sure you are adequately covered for “non-owned” vehicles used by employees to run errands and visit clients, as well as coverage for cars that employees may rent when traveling.

Your insurance agent will know what questions to ask you to determine how to best insure these vehicles. Your goals are to not only get the most economical policies possible, but also to make sure that your business is adequately protected. Who owns the vehicles (the company or the employee), how much of their use is business and how much is personal, and what type of driving (travel, off road job sites, etc.) are expected are just some of the issues that your agent will go over with you during the insurance interview.

A commercial car insurance policy does differ from a personal policy in many technical aspects, but the major types of coverage are the same as your personal car insurance. Your insurance agent will go over all of the options available, but it is your job to make sure you understand the differences and technicalities in your policies.

The cost of your commercial car insurance will vary considerably depending on such factors as:

• Types of vehicles to be insured (sedans, tow trucks, dump trucks)
• The drivers themselves (your insurance agent will need to do background checks on all drivers—do you have employees with DUIs?)
• Your business type (large corporation or small start-up partnership)
• How much coverage you need (especially liability limits)
• The competition in your market for insurance business