As a business owner, you know that protecting your assets is essential to the success of your business. One of the most significant assets your business owns is your commercial vehicles. Whether you use them to transport goods, equipment, or employees, your commercial vehicles are vital to your daily operations. That’s why having commercial auto insurance is critical.
Commercial auto insurance is similar to personal auto insurance, but it provides coverage for vehicles used for business purposes. It covers a wide range of vehicles, from cars to trucks, trailers, and vans. If your business owns or leases any of these vehicles, you need commercial auto insurance to protect them.
What Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover?
Commercial auto insurance covers a range of risks, including:
- Liability: This coverage protects your business if you or one of your employees causes an accident that results in property damage or bodily injury to another person.
- Collision: This coverage pays for damage to your vehicle in the event of a collision with another vehicle or object.
- Comprehensive: This coverage pays for damage to your vehicle caused by events such as theft, fire, vandalism, or natural disasters.
- Medical payments: This coverage pays for medical expenses for you or your passengers if you are involved in an accident.
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist: This coverage protects you if you are involved in an accident with someone who doesn’t have insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance to cover the damages.
What Factors Affect Your Commercial Auto Insurance Premiums?
Several factors affect the cost of your commercial auto insurance premiums, including:
- Your business’s location: Insurance companies consider the location of your business and the areas where you operate your vehicles when calculating your premiums. Similar to personal auto insurance, rates in cities tend to be higher because there are more accidents and cars on the road compared to rural areas
- Your drivers’ driving records: Insurance companies will look at the driving records of your employees who will be operating your commercial vehicles. Poor driving records can result in higher premiums. Implementing effective hiring practices to make sure you have qualified drivers can save you money on your commercial auto insurance.
- The type of vehicle you’re insuring: The make and model of your commercial vehicles can affect your insurance premiums. High-value vehicles may require higher premiums.
- The amount of coverage you need: The more coverage you need, the higher your premiums will be.
- Type of Business: A delivery vehicle is going from location to location everyday, that will be more expensive than the contractor that drives to one job site per day. The amount of time your business spends on the road is an important factor for your commercial auto insurance.
- The deductible you choose: The deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. Choosing a higher deductible can lower your premiums but may result in higher out-of-pocket costs in the event of an accident.
The Bottom Line
Commercial auto insurance is essential for protecting your business’s vehicles and assets. It provides coverage for a range of risks, including liability, collision, comprehensive, medical payments, and uninsured/underinsured motorist. Factors that affect your commercial auto insurance premiums include your business’s location, your drivers’ driving records, the type of vehicle you’re insuring, the amount of coverage you need, and the deductible you choose.
If you’re in the market for commercial auto insurance, talk to one of EnsureUp’s insurance professionals who can help you find the right coverage at the right price for your business. You can give us a call at (305) 452-0587 or email us at info@ensureup.com to have us run an insurance quote for you.