Almost every business owner has asked him or herself—Do I need business auto insurance? Many try to justify not having a business insurance policy by thinking about the fact that their business doesn’t own a vehicle, even though their employees use their own automobile for business errands. Or, they assume that their personal insurance policy will suffice since they are the only people who drive the company vehicle.
The real answer to the question is actually very simple, is universally applied and has no caveats:
If you have a vehicle that you use for your business, or, if your employees use their own cars to do business for your company, then you need a business auto insurance policy.
Understanding Why You Need Commercial Auto Insurance
The whole point of auto insurance is to protect your financial future. If you have an auto insurance policy you have it because you want it to make you whole after an insurable event. But when you try to cover a business car on a personal policy and an insurable incident occurs you will not be made whole. Instead, it is likely that your claim will be denied and your policy dropped.
The result of having a denied claim can be devastating. Not only can this hurt your business when you lose the benefit of your vehicle but, depending on the insurable incident, you could have a larger financial liability than just lost vehicle use and repair bills. You could have damages from collision liability, bodily injury and even liability to your clients and their items in your possession.
The Risks of Not Having Commercial Auto Insurance
Deciding not to have business auto insurance could mean that you are risking the financial future of your business and your family. Fortunately, there are many ways to structure your business auto insurance policy so that it covers you, your employees and even your family when necessary including drive-other-automobile endorsements and non-owned coverage.
Remember, cutting corners to save money in your business is sometimes necessary, but if those corners expose you to more risk financially than you can afford to absorb, you could be in for a real problem. Instead of taking risks and not buying business auto insurance, look for a reasonable insurance policy that you can easily support but that still offers the coverage that you need to protect your business, your employees and your family.
Contact Contractors Insurance Services to discuss insurance coverage at 512-518-6292 or fill out an online Austin business auto insurance quote.