Sometimes called business auto insurance, commercial auto / hired and non-owned auto insurance policies cover the cars, trucks, vans, and other vehicles you use in the course of business. Commercial auto insurance protects you against loss or damage to vehicles you own, plus the loss or damage your business vehicles may cause to others. Hired and non-owned auto Insurance covers liability for bodily injuries and property damage caused by a vehicle you rent, lease, hire, or borrow, up to the policy's stated limits.
Typically, hired and non-owned auto Insurance is added as an endorsement to your commercial auto policy. These can also be added to your general liability policy if you don't have commercial auto.
There are many situations you can find yourself in, in which non-owed and hired liability coverage is needed. If you ever rent a vehicle or send an employee to run an errand, you should have non-owned and hired automobile liability coverage. Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
Do administrative employees use their own vehicles to go to the post office or bank on your company’s behalf?
Do you occasionally send an employee to pick up a visiting client at the airport?
Have you sent employees to pick up lunch, drop off mail or pick up office supplies?
Have you ever rented a vehicle while on a business trip?
Do you have a sales force to which you provide a car allowance for business use of their personal vehicles?
Have you ever sent a limo to pick up a client?
If any of these activities are part of your business at all, you need to be covered incase anything unexpected happens in which you can be held accountable. Coverage kicks in if there is an auto accident and you are sued.
It is important to have an understanding of the range of protection for hired and non-owned liability coverage. First, it is essential to know that the coverage applies to the business, not the employee. If an employee gets into an accident in his or her own vehicle going to meet a client for example, the insurance will provide coverage up to the extent that the business is liable. If the employee gets injured, this specific coverage would not pay for the costs relating to the injury. Using that same example, the physical damage to the vehicle used by the employee is not covered. If in the accident the front end of the vehicle is damaged and needs to be repaired, that cost of repairs is not the responsibility of the insurance. The insurance is responsible for liability that is caused by the employee, not liability incurred. Another key point is that property being transported by a hired or non-owned vehicle is not covered by hired and non-owned liability coverage. If a business hires a truck to transport a grand piano across town, any damage that the piano experiences is not covered. Specific coverage for that falls under a different type of insurance that is available. Hired and non-owned liability coverage protects many circumstances of liability, but it is important to know that there are some gaps in coverage.
For more information on non-owned and hired vehicles, read our article Business Auto Insurance - Drive Other Car Coverage.
If you have questions or would like more information, call any of our 3 locations in the Chicago-land area today. Our customer service representatives are eager to share their knowledge and speak with you about any insurance related topic. Zeiler Insurance Services is an independent insurance agency and has been providing quality customer service for 101 years in our Alsip, Chicago, and Gurnee locations. Our goal is to help you understand insurance as well as provide you with the most competitive insurance rates in the industry. Whether you are a customer or just want more information, let us help you with our years of expertise in the insurance business.
Karli
karli@zeiler.com
708.597.5900 x130
www.zeiler.com