Category: Business Auto Insurance

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance

Posted on by butlervetinsurance

When does a small business need hired and non-owned auto insurance?

Imagine for a moment:

Your receptionist brings the mail to the post office once a week and drives their own car. They’re heading back to work and get in an accident, totaling their car and injuring another person. Your employee is sued and only carries the minimum limits required by the state. The amount of damages to the other party exceeds your employees auto policy limit. Could your business be liable?

The answer is yes.

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In their day-to-day activities, many companies use cars they don’t own. This involves rental vehicles (hired) and vehicles owned by their workers (non-owned). These vehicles carry an extra risk for your business, but many company owners are not adequately prepared.

Hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA insurance) provides liability protection for injuries involving cars that the company does not own

If your business owns vehicles, but also rents vehicles or uses employee cars for business purposes, you should include HNOA insurance coverage to your commercial auto policy. Don’t have business owned vehicles? Not to worry, your agent can HNOA coverage with your business owners or general liability policy.

What to Read Next:

Hired Auto

Hired autos include vehicles hired, rented and borrowed by your business. If you were in an accident using a vehicle rented by your business, hired auto insurance can help with costs from a lawsuit. Make sure to discuss “hired auto physical damage” with your agent.

Non-Owned Auto

Vehicles owned by employees, but used for company business, are termed non-owned autos. This coverage normally kicks in if an employee were in an accident and found negligent. Non-owned auto liability insurance is applied after the employee’s personal auto limit is exhausted. Because of this, it is important to ensure that your employee has proper personal coverage as well.

The purpose of hired and non-owned auto insurance is to protect your business. Don’t let a gap in coverage leave your business assets at risk. Call your agent at Stromsoe Insurance agency today to discuss your business’ insurance needs.

Questions? Want to learn more? Here’s 4 easy ways to reach us:

Phone: 877.994.6787
Email: [email protected]
Text: 951-482-8144
Web: agency.thebutlerweb.com

PS Here’s a few words from a business that trusts Stromsoe Insurance Agency:
“Stromsoe Insurance Team is amazing, if every company that I worked with would operate like them, Los Angeles truly would be called city of angels.”
John Melkonyan – Crispy Crust Pizza – Hollywood, CA – Client Since 2005

PPS Every policy is backed by our iron clad, 100% complete satisfaction guarantee. Ask for your copy today!

What is Commercial Auto Insurance?

Posted on by butlervetinsurance

About Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial auto insurance covers vehicles your business owns such as automobiles and trucks. Commercial auto insurance is similar to your personal auto with coverage such as liability, collision, comprehensive, medical payments and uninsured motorist coverage. There are also some big differences such as eligibility, exclusions, and limits.

Commercial auto insurance is designed for company vehicles used for business purposes, to transport goods and equipment, for livery and many other business uses. 

Box trucks, food trucks, work vans; these are just a handful of vehicles that require a commercial auto insurance policy. Many vehicles commonly used for businesses are excluded from personal auto policies. This is because personal coverage was not meant for the risk of business usage so they are written differently.

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It’s important you talk with your agent to understand the terms listed below and how much coverage you have in case of an incident:

  • Bodily injury liability coverage helps pay for damages that your company might be liable for
  • Property damage liability coverage typically helps cover damages to another person’s property if you are found at fault for an accident.
  • Medical payments, no-fault or personal injury coverage will cover medical expenses regardless of who is found to be at fault in an accident. This can also include lost wages due to injury.
  • Uninsured motorist coverage covers damages done by another motorist who does not carry their own insurance or enough insurance.
  • Comprehensive coverage covers damages done by incidents other than a collision, also including hitting a deer or vandalism.
  • Collision coverage can help pay to repair or replace your car if there is a collision with another vehicle or another object, such as a tree.

What to Read Next:

Good to Know

  • Commercial auto insurance can cover any permanently attached equipment, but tools and similar equipment should be covered by a general liability policy.
  • Your commercial auto policy can cover employees, family members, and others as drivers, so be sure to list them as drivers on the policy.
  • Your trailer isn’t always automatically covered, so be sure to speak with your agent to understand your coverage options.

Questions? Want to learn more? Here’s 4 easy ways to reach us:

Phone: 877.994.6787
Email: [email protected]
Text: 951-482-8144
Web: agency.thebutlerweb.com

PS Here’s a few words from a business that trusts Stromsoe Insurance Agency:
“About as painless as buying insurance can be! Very attentive and professional. [Stromsoe Insurance Agency] did a very good job organizing our insurance mess!”
Dean Sbragia – Medical Fitness Solutions – Fallbrook, CA – Client Since 2016

PPS Every policy is backed by our iron clad, 100% complete satisfaction guarantee. Ask for your copy today!

Do I Really Need Commercial Auto Insurance Protection?

Posted on by butlervetinsurance

Understanding Commercial Auto Coverage

Commercial auto insurance is necessary for any business that that use cars, trucks, vans, or any other type of vehicle to conduct business operations. Without this essential coverage, you leave your business assets vulnerable to financial harm.

Common Commercial Auto Insurance Questions:

  • How do I know if I need a commercial auto insurance policy? There are a variety of factors that may mean it is time to obtain commercial auto insurance protection. If you deliver customers, food, goods, or anything else for a fee, it is time to seek a commercial auto insurance policy. A safe rule of thumb is to contact your commercial insurance agent once your operations require vehicles.
  • Do I need to purchase more liability coverage than a standard auto insurance policy? Most likely, yes. Generally, these policies come with more liability coverage already, but you will need to look into exactly how much liability insurance would best protect your business assets.
  • Am I going to need special coverage when using commercial vehicles to operate business? You can customize your commercial auto insurance policy to meet your unique needs. Each policy comes with standard coverage, but you and your commercial insurance agent can discuss additional coverage options that may be necessary to protect your business to the fullest.
  • Am I going to need to list each of my employees as drivers under my policy? Yes, you will need to add your employees to your policy. However, this is much more favorable than a personal auto insurance policy where there are often complications associated with listing multiple drivers under one policy.

Contact Stromsoe Insurance Agency for all of your California commercial insurance needs. You deserve to feel confident in the protection of your commercial vehicles. Allow us to help you obtain commercial auto insurance in California that optimizes your protection.

Buying Commercial Auto Insurance

Posted on by butlervetinsurance

All vehicles used by a business needs to insured. Such coverage generally is more expensive than Personal Auto insurance, it makes sense to purchase a Commercial Auto policy that provides the best long-term value for your premium dollar. To make sure that you’re getting the right policy at the right price follow these guidelines:

    1. Determine which vehicles you need to insure. In addition to coverage on any vehicle your firm owns, leases, or rents, be sure to cover any personal vehicles that employees will be using on company business.

 

    1. Select the right type of policy. Although Personal Auto insurance will cover a vehicle used for business purpose as long as the title is in your name, if the company owns the vehicle you’ll need Commercial Auto coverage (which is more expensive).

 

    1. Choose the coverages you need. These should include Liability, Comprehensive, Collision, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist and (in some states) Personal Injury Protection, which pays medical expenses for the insured driver, regardless of fault.

 

  1. Comparison shop. Because every Auto insurance company has its own way to calculate premiums, your cost, the amount that you will need to pay can vary widely from one carrier to another. As independent insurance agents, we’ll be happy to offer our professional advice on selecting the coverage and price that’s best suited to your needs.

Just give us a call at 877-99-INSURE today for a free quote!