You don’t have to own a U-Haul franchise to need commercial auto insurance.
There are many instances when insurance for personal use of a car or truck will not cover an accident or injuries caused by an accident on the job. Even if you, as the owner of the business, do not own the vehicle, you might be liable for damages.
An example that might be happening more frequently is employees using their own cars to make deliveries to customers. If the employee causes an accident while making those deliveries for you, your business will be at least partly liable.
Not only will payment of those damages be an unplanned expense that you may not be able to afford, but a serious accident resulting in death or serious injury could put you out of business.
It is not worth the risk.
GRBM can help you find the right amount and type of insurance to match your needs. And because we work with a number of insurance companies, we can compare prices to make sure you spend as little as possible.
If member of your crew haul equipment to the job site every day, you could be liable for their accidents. Salespeople who routinely drive to see clients probably should be covered, whether they are driving a company car or their own vehicles. And of course all vehicles owned by your company should be protected with business auto coverage, instead of personal insurance.
However, just as with personal auto insurance, you have several coverage options to choose from.
Liability covers you when the driver working for you damages property or injures someone else. It may not cover punitive damages caused by, say, drunk driving.
Collision pays you for repairs needed after an accident caused by your employee.
Uninsured motorist insurance pays for injury and damage caused by another driver who may not be insured.
Comprehensive will pay for damages to the vehicle by acts other than an accident. Theft, or a tree falling on a truck, for example.
The good news is, you do not need to provide auto insurance for employees who commute to and from work. That’s on them.
But if your company employs people who drive for the firm, best practices call for you to be aware of their prior driving records and educate them from time to time about safe driving. You may have to take driving privileges away from an employee who gets in too many accidents.
