Insuring Your Business Vehicles

Even if your fleet is just your car, you'll need a commercial policy
By Barbara Whitaker, freelance writer none Whether your small business has a fleet of vehicles or you simply drive your own car for business, it's important to be adequately insured. For a sole proprietorship, a personal automobile policy may be enough, but inadequate coverage can put you and your business at risk. Here are some questions to answer when analyzing your needs:

1. How often do you drive your car for business? If you only use your car occasionally for business, your personal policy may be adequate, but if you use it frequently, consider a business upgrade on your personal policy.
2. Who is driving your car or your fleet? If your vehicles are used primarily for business and your employees drive them, a commercial auto policy is necessary.
3. Do employees drive their own cars for your business? If so, you may want to add a separate rider to protect your company from legal damages incurred from accidents.

When it comes insuring vehicles for your business, there is no one-size-fits-all advice; every company's needs are different. The following steps will guide you through the process:
 

Understand the basics

Insuring a work vehicle is like insuring a personal one - you need liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others, plus protection that provides payments for medical costs and personal injury for the driver and passengers. Several online resources can help you learn the terminology, compare different types of insurances, and save money.
Try: The Insurance Information Institute, a trade group, offers a primer on everything from finding the right agent to saving money on policies. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners provides an overview of types of insurances that small businesses need.

Go through a broker or get bids online

Buying commercial auto insurance can be complicated and expensive. It is always a good idea to speak with a professional when determining your needs. A good starting point is with the agent who currently handles your business insurance; you can often get discounts of up to 20% by purchasing multiple insurance lines from the same agent. But plenty of insurance companies also vie for your business online.
Try: Insurance Noodle specializes in policies for small business. Or try these sites for online quotes: NetQuote, InsuranceQuoteOnline, MostChoice and USInsuranceOnline.

Take steps to lower your costs

Some cars cost less than others to insure. Also, employing workers who have clean driving records can help to reduce costs.
Try: Check the driving records of employees using vehicles for your business. Federal law allows screening of drivers' records for business purposes; it's a good idea to get employees' consent before checking them. Records are typically available from state motor vehicle departments. Several companies, including 4SafeDrivers.com, will do the searches for a fee. Some companies are going so far as to administer drug tests to assure their employees are fit for the road. Insure.com provides safety information and repair costs on a wide variety of vehicles, helping you to gauge how expensive a car will be to insure.

• Be sure you name your company on your policy rather than yourself.
• Automobile policies cover physical damage to the car, but not the contents. Get additional coverage if you travel with valuable materials.
• Don't downplay your car usage for business when discussing your car insurance needs with your agent. You could ultimately be denied coverage in the event of an accident.