You must obtain commercial auto liability insurance if your business requires you or your employees to do any type of driving, whether:

• Running errands for the business, including collecting office supplies or food from an off-site location
• Delivering goods or documents on behalf of a client
• Transporting work equipment
• Picking up or dropping off employees or clients from work-related activities

Also known as business auto liability, commercial auto liability is designed to protect businesses from costly claims resulting from bodily injuries or property damage suffered by third parties in an accident caused by you or your employees in a covered vehicle.

Commercial auto liability insurance is highly customizable to fit your company’s unique situation. Our agents will assess your business needs and help you create a comprehensive coverage plan that may include:

• Bodily injury to another person - not your driver/employee
• Property damage - someone else’s car, building, or other property
• Pollution cleanup costs - cover costs for cleaning up pollutants arising from an accident that causes bodily injury or property damage

In addition, the insurer should cover the costs of defending you or your employee in the event that the injured third party decides to sue you. This additional expense does not reduce your policy liability limit.

What vehicles are covered?

The insurance can cover any type of vehicle used for business, from your own personal cars or your employees’ personal vehicles to company owned cars, vans, trucks, and other vehicles to rented or hired autos.

You will determine the autos that will be covered when buying the policy. Subsequently, the type of vehicles that qualify for commercial auto liability coverage will be indicated by numeric symbols - commonly referred to as covered auto designation symbols - in the policy declaration.

In general, your commercial auto liability coverage is automatically extended to include other types of vehicles that are not necessarily indicated by a symbol, including:

• Small trailers with a load capacity of less than 2000 pounds
• Mobile equipment in transit - like a forklift being carried or towed by your insured vehicle
• Short-term substitutes - vehicles used temporarily while the insured auto is unusable due to damage or servicing

A Requirement in most states

Most states require businesses to carry a minimum amount of commercial auto liability insurance, as well as uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverage to protect you in the event that the negligent driver cannot provide adequate compensation. The minimum coverage varies by state, though it’s recommended that you obtain more coverage than the state-minimum for adequate protection of your business.

Get in touch with our Capital Providers Insurance agents today to discuss about the best coverage for your business vehicles or fleet.