As a part of a small business insurance portfolio, hired auto insurance coverage and non-owned automobile insurance coverage are add on endorsements to your General Liability policy. In a nutshell, it’s property damage and liability insurance for a vehicle that isn’t owned by your company, but is used on your company’s behalf. It shouldn’t be confused with a standard automobile insurance policy, which covers vehicles owned by your company. Even when a business doesn’t own the vehicle or have the title, in most cases, this type of coverage can be added to your general liability insurance policy.
Hired Auto Insurance Coverage
Hired automobile coverage is used by business owners to supplement or replace existing car rental agency’s liability insurance coverage. If you cause an injury or accident while driving a rental car or a car you don’t own for business, hired auto insurance coverage will pay damages to a third party on your company’s behalf. If you drive a vehicle that isn’t registered or owned by you, then you need this type of business insurance to ensure that you’re protected.
Non-Owned Automobile Coverage
When an employee uses his personal vehicle for company business, non-owned automobile coverage protects your business from third party liability (bodily injury and property damage) coverage in an event of an automobile accident caused by an employee.
Why Small Business Owners Need It
There are a number of situations where you, as a small business owner, may be putting yourself at risk without even knowing it. Have you ever asked one of your employees to pick up lunch for the group? Have you ever asked an employee to run and pick up office supplies? How about delivering something to a client? Did you know that your company could be held responsible if an employee of yours has a car accident in their own or rented vehicle while conducting company business, and their personal insurance wasn’t enough to cover the claim? Well, you can, and these “incidental” accident claims be extremely detrimental to a business, even catastrophic in some cases. For this reason, every small business owner should take a good hard look at hired auto and non-owned automobile insurance coverage.
