Commercial Vehicle Auto Insurance

Commercial auto insurance provides liability coverage and physical damage protection for vehicles used in the course of business, such as:

Commercial vehicle insurance policies provide similar coverage to personal auto policies, but usually with higher limits. Depending on exactly how your vehicle is used and who owns it, you may be required to purchase a commercial policy (versus a personal auto insurance policy).

Who Needs Commercial Vehicle Insurance?

It can be tricky determining whether you need commercial truck insurance or if a personal auto policy is sufficient. Here are some scenarios in which you’d need a commercial vehicle policy:

• You own a business and use one or more vehicles solely for business purposes (whether the vehicle(s) is registered in your name or the business’s name).
• Employees drive the vehicle for business purposes.
• You regularly use the vehicle for business (more than 3 times per month, on average). Examples of business use include carrying equipment like ladders, tools, and supplies; transporting hazardous materials; towing vehicles; delivering goods like newspapers, pizza, or flowers; trucking; and working as a messenger, chauffer, or taxi driver.

Not everyone who uses their vehicle for business use will need a commercial auto policy, however. Some business uses are covered under a personal auto policy.

For example, if you use your vehicle to sell cosmetics or other products on a part-time or infrequent basis, a personal auto policy may be enough.

Or, if you’re a real estate agent, attorney, accountant, or consultant who regularly transports clients, you don’t necessarily need to have a commercial auto policy. It may be wise to have a commercial policy, however, since it typically provides more coverage to protect your assets.

What Does Commercial Vehicle Insurance Cover?

• Bodily injury liability: Pays for bodily injury or death that happens as a result of an accident for which you’re at fault; bodily injury liability usually also pays for your legal defense (attorney’s fees).
• Property damage liability: Pays for damages to another person’s vehicle (or other property) that occurs as a result of an at-fault accident; property damage liability usually also pays for your legal defense.
• Combined single limit (CSL): Provides the same dollar amount of coverage per covered occurrence, whether the claim is for bodily injury or property damage, or whether the accident injured one person or several people.
• Medical payments/no-fault/personal injury protection (PIP): Pays for the medical expenses of the driver and passengers in your vehicle who are injured as a result of a covered accident, regardless of who is at fault
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: Pays for your injuries and/or certain property damages caused by an uninsured or a hit-and-run driver; some policies also include underinsured motorist coverage, which fills in the gap when the other (at-fault) driver has insufficient coverage to cover your injuries or property damage.
• Comprehensive coverage: Pays for damage to, or loss of, your vehicle from theft, vandalism, flood, fire, and other covered events.
• Collision coverage: Pays for damage to your vehicle as a result of an accident, whether you’re at fault or not.

With certain add-ons, commercial vehicle insurance covers your equipment—tools, merchandise, supplies—while it’s in transit in your vehicle or at the work site. It also covers your employees while they’re operating your work vehicles, and it covers your assets against a lawsuit.

Your insurance agent can help you determine exactly what coverages you need for your specific situation.

Call the Experts at Garvin Insurance Agency for a Commercial Auto Quote

For years Garvin Insurance Agency has been helping people and businesses throughout the San Fernando Valley—from Encino to Chatsworth to Woodland Hills, CA—find the right insurance policies for their needs.

We’re a family-owned and operated business focused on making real connections with our clients. We proudly partner with Mercury Insurance and offer cheap insurance for commercial vehicles. We also issue personal auto insurance policies as well as homeowners, condo owners, and renter’s insurance policies.

Call us for a Mercury commercial auto insurance quote today. We look forward to working with you!