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What does a commercial auto policy cover?
Most people do not know that there’s a difference between commercial vehicle insurance and personal vehicle insurance. The difference between the two is that commercial auto insurance us based on conditions that are not insurable under a personal auto policy. This includes but is not limited to higher coverage amounts, vehicle usage (for commercial use) as well as the types of vehicles that are covered. Commercial vehicle insurance will help secure your property, employees, and naturally your finances. Realizing that there’s a difference between personal and commercial vehicle insurance is the first step in getting the right coverage for your commercial vehicles.
The next step is learning the importance of commercial insurance and whether or not your business needs it. Unlike worker’s compensation insurance which is needed by almost all businesses, commercial vehicle insurance is only needed in businesses that have vehicles as an essential part of their operations.
Commercial vehicle insurance should cover the car, truck, or van itself along with the driver and potentially even the equipment inside the vehicle. The drivers you hire to drive your vehicles should be added to the policy.
Basically anyone who is going to drive the truck on a regular basis should be added to the policy. Someone who drives the vehicle just once due to an emergency doesn’t necessarily need to be added to the policy but can be added on at a later date if they decide to use the vehicle more frequently. Trailers that have a gross weight of less than 2,000 pounds are automatically added to your policy while heavier ones are not and have to be reviewed by an insurance underwriter for approval and coverage.
As for the type of equipment that’s included in the policy, only equipment that’s attached to the vehicle is insured. Basically, anything that’s attached to the vehicle or part of it will be covered, but if you’re transporting products then commercial vehicle insurance won’t cover it as this is normally covered under a separate policy.
Bodily injury liability coverage is typically included as part of vehicle insurance. This means that the insurance company will pay for an injury or even death that happens to another party by your vehicle. Medical bills of the driver and passengers in the vehicle during an accident are included as part of the policy as well. Property damage is also covered (within policy limits) if there’s an accident and your vehicle ends up damaging someone else’s property.
Commercial vehicle insurance isn’t just about covering accidents. In the event that your vehicle is stolen, vandalized, or even damaged by natural disasters like a fire, damages will be covered by your policy too. So, by getting commercial vehicle insurance, you’ll be protecting your business from plenty of things that might lead to serious financial loss.
The more vehicles a business owns and the more active they are, the more likely they will be to accidents and damage. Commercial vehicle insurance isn’t necessary for all business but is essential for those that have vehicles and are therefore potentially at risk of a loss.
There’s no doubt that insurance can be a hassle, but without it, you’ll be gambling with the financial and legal security of your business. Maybe nothing happens to your commercial vehicles, but if something ends up happening, it’s always better to be insured.