In every state in America, as of 2022, it’s against the law to operate a motor vehicle unless that vehicle is insured. Not everyone is thrilled with this law, of course, but it’s proven to be absolutely necessary, especially for businesses that operate deliveries, fleets, and other sorts of commercial applications.
Even still, you might deal only with basic auto insurance (personal insurance), even if you do have company vehicles. It’s not at all uncommon for small businesses with only a few vehicles to bundle everything up under personal insurance. They believe the rates are good, and they feel they’re protected. However, a lot of these businesses find out the hard way that when one of their employees is involved in an accident, the basic insurance just doesn’t cover things well. So, the question remains: When do you need commercial auto insurance?
Knowing when Commercial Auto Insurance is Right For You
Knowing when and if you need commercial auto insurance is all about understanding the benefits of commercial auto insurance. For instance, if you’re insuring different delivery vehicles with personal insurance, and one of them is responsible for an accident, then you don’t have great coverage here.
What this means is that you’re exposed to an awful lot of liability, even if you have specific liability coverage under a personal policy. The reason this happens is that businesses end up on the hook for a lot more money per accident than personal citizens. So instead of being liable for a bill around $10,000 that might shoot up to hundreds of thousands of dollars, your personal insurance just cannot (and will not) cover that for you. Only commercial auto insurance can.
You also have to factor in things like uninsured motorists that are responsible on their end. If you’re hauling expensive goods, or if your company vehicles are worth a lot of money, then your own personal insurance isn’t likely to cover these expenses. In the cases where they do, your deductibles are going to be astronomical, and you’ll also then have to deal with huge payment increases that cause your personal insurance to shoot up well over what you would have paid for a premium commercial auto policy. You get much higher policy limits with commercial and are therefore protected a lot better under these sorts of policies.
A huge benefit here is that you can also insure your employees under the same commercial policy. You won’t have to create separate policies just for your employees or require that they take out some special type of insurance. They’re going to be covered as long as they’re working for your business, and so this gives you much more safety if things happen to go wrong.
Finding the Best Auto Insurance For Your Business
Of course, commercial auto insurance is only as good as the company you choose to go with. There are many different options, so it can be quite a difficult task to narrow them down to a few contenders or to find the best one. Not every insurer out there is like Milepost Insurance, for example. They happen to have an A++ rating, and they operate as one of the most respected commercial insurance companies in the industry.
Many others have none of those credentials but still manage to stand out as an attractive option because they’re offering discounted rates. They can certainly offer those rates at a discount, but it’s only because they’re also offering discounted insurance. This means that this insurance isn’t going to cover a lot of liability, uninsured drivers, etc.
The Only Wise Choice to Make
Many people starting businesses shy away from commercial auto insurance, even though they really do need it. Fuel prices are very high, and so profit margins are slimmer now than they have been in decades. However, if you end up in some sort of accident, you’re going to find that you end up losing a whole lot more with personal insurance than you do by paying for quality commercial insurance. The difference here can really make or break your entire business.