Guide to Purchasing Commercial Car Insurance

 What is Commercial Car Insurance?

Any business that has vehicles that it uses for business purposes, whether large trucks, cargo vans, tow trucks, or other vehicles, is going to need a commercial car insurance policy. Commercial car insurance does similar things to personal car insurance: it provides the business with financial protection in case of an accident.

Where Should You Purchase Commercial Car Insurance?

Most major insurance providers that offer personal car insurance will also offer commercial car insurance. However, some companies are more specialized than others and have more experience with the needs of businesses when it comes to car insurance. When shopping around for your business car insurance, you will want to make sure that your primary insurance agent is experienced in handling car insurance policies for businesses.

What Kind of Commercial Car Insurance Should You Get?

Similar to personal car insurance, you will want your commercial car insurance to cover liability and physical damage. As far as liability goes, it is a good idea to increase the property damage coverage to a high amount if the vehicles will be around anything that is expensive to fix. In addition, especially if it is a large vehicle that could potentially cause a lot of bodily harm, you should get a large bodily injury policy.

On the side of you and your company vehicle, you will also want to get medical payments insurance that will cover medical costs for your vehicle’s driver and passengers. In addition, physical damage to your vehicle should be covered by both comprehensive coverage (for damage by theft or natural disasters) and collision coverage (for damage in an accident). Lastly, uninsured motorist coverage is a good idea in case the motorist who caused an accident doesn’t have any (or enough) liability insurance.

Who is the Commercial Car Insurance For?

When purchasing commercial car insurance, it is important to make sure that the name of your business appears in the field of principal insured. This will protect your side in the event of a claim against you. Make sure to ask about who can drive the vehicles and be under the business car insurance policy, specifically, whether they need to be employees, and whether they need to be on the clock.

What other Commercial Car Insurance Factors should be Considered?

Lastly, there are a few other things to consider when purchasing commercial car insurance. The first is for vehicles only used for part of the year. If you have a landscaping business that doesn’t work during the winter, or snowplows that only operate during the winter, ask about adapting your policy to have minimum coverage during the months when the vehicles are inactive. In addition, you will want to consider getting a single-deductible policy if you often have vehicles with trailers, so you will only have to pay the deductible once if both are damaged in an accident.

About Clara

Clara Martin is a social media strategist and a content editor. She likes to cover business, finance and investments. She is currently managing In Trona Ut.

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