commercial auto insurance

Commercial auto coverage protects you and your vehicles if you have an accident while driving a company vehicle. Your personal auto insurance typically doesn’t extend to company vehicles, so commercial auto coverage can help protect you and your business from the unexpected.

Company cars, trucks, vans and specialty vehicles can all be covered under commercial auto policies. If your business relies on vehicles, such as delivery services, contractors or companies with fleets, then commercial auto insurance is a must.

If you have commercial auto insurance for your business, you’ll be protected from the financial burdens that come from accidents, like vehicle repairs and medical bills. Remember, a covered claim will be subject to your policy's deductibles and limits. Additionally, coverage availability and requirements vary by state.

Here are some common commercial auto insurance coverages to help you get started:

Liability coverage

There are two liability insurance components in a commercial auto policy: bodily injury liability and property damage liability coverage. Almost every state requires auto liability coverage.

Let’s say your employee is driving a company vehicle and causes an accident. Bodily injury coverage helps pay for the other driver's medical bills, and property damage coverage helps pay for their car repairs.

Collision coverage

Collision coverage helps pay to repair your company vehicle or may help pay to replace it if it's a total loss, after a covered accident.

Comprehensive coverage

Comprehensive coverage helps pay for your business vehicle repairs if it’s damaged in a non-collision-related event, like theft, fire, vandalism or hail. For example, if a storm rolls through and hail damages your company car, comprehensive coverage may help pay for repairs.

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

If one of your employees is in an accident and an uninsured or underinsured driver is at fault, this coverage helps pay for your employee's medical bills.

Rental car coverage

If your company vehicle needs to spend some time in the shop after an accident, rental car coverage helps keep your business running with a rental vehicle.

Not everything is covered by a standard commercial auto insurance policy. While coverages vary based on where you live, the following expenses and scenarios are typically excluded or require additional coverage options be added to your policy:

• Medical expenses that are unrelated to an accident when an employee is driving a company vehicle.
• The contents inside your business vehicle.
• Accidents that happen when an employee drives a personal vehicle for business reasons.
• Repairs to a rental vehicle you're driving while waiting for your company car to be fixed after an accident.

It depends on the business you’re in. Here are a few of the professions that may benefit from commercial auto insurance:

• Artisan / specialty contractors
• Carpenters
• Plumbers
• Electricians
• Landscapers
• Realtors
• Doctors and dentists
• Lawyers
• Florists

Personal auto vs. business auto insurance

If you use a vehicle for your business, we recommend having a separate commercial auto policy. A personal auto policy won’t cover claims if an accident happened while driving your vehicle for your business.

If you don’t have commercial auto insurance for your business, you may be vulnerable to financial risk when accidents happen. That’s because typically, a personal auto policy doesn’t cover your business vehicles. Here are a few of the risks you and your business may face without commercial auto insurance:

• No liability coverage
• No coverage for any vehicle repairs
• No coverage for legal expenses
• No comprehensive coverage for unrelated damages such as theft, vandalism or hail

There are a few factors that determine the cost of your commercial auto insurance policy. These include the type of business, types of vehicles, how they are used, the coverages you choose, your coverage limits (the maximum amount of money insurance will pay for a covered claim) and your deductible (the amount you pay out-of-pocket for a covered claim).

Not all company vehicles are the same. Here are some of the most common types of business vehicles covered by commercial auto insurance:

• Cars & SUVs
  Commercial autos and SUVs are frequently used for businesses that require transportation for employees, clients, equipment or small deliveries.
• Vans
  Ideal for delivery services, contractors, florists, or any business requiring the transportation of goods and larger equipment.
• Pickup trucks
  Commonly used by construction workers, landscapers, and businesses involved in hauling materials or goods that may not fit inside an enclosed space.
• Box trucks
  Widely used for freight transport, moving services, and by businesses that require a protected and weatherproof space for transporting goods.
• Service utility trucks
  Often utilized by maintenance crews, electricians, plumbers, and other service-oriented businesses needing a mobile workspace and storage for tools and equipment.

When you purchase an Allstate commercial auto insurance policy, you'll receive policy declarations. This document "declares" the choices you've made for your insurance policy, specific to your commercial auto coverage. Your policy declarations specify things like your deductibles and limits, as well as optional protection you may have purchased.

Take time to read through your policy declarations and reach out if you have any questions. Understanding your policy and what is and isn't covered is key to knowing what to expect in case you ever need to file a claim.

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