Commercial auto · For contractors and owners
Trucks and drivers. Insured for the road.
Commercial auto covers the trucks and vans your business runs: injury and damage you cause to others on the road and, if you choose it, damage to your own vehicles.
Light RFP Risk Management Services LLC · NY DFS License # PC-1978982
What commercial auto covers.
Typically covered
- Liability for injuries and damage you cause to others while driving for work
- Collision: damage to your own vehicle in a crash, if you choose it
- Comprehensive: theft, fire, vandalism, hail and glass, if you choose it
- Hired and non-owned auto liability, when added: rented vehicles, and employees’ own cars used for work
- Medical payments and uninsured motorist cover, depending on the state
- Racks, bins and equipment permanently attached to the vehicle, on many policies
Where another policy answers
- Tools and equipment carried in the truck: Tools & equipment
- Your employee’s own injuries in a crash: Workers’ comp
- Accidents on site that don’t involve a vehicle: General liability
- Claims above your auto limits: Umbrella
Usually not covered
- Damage to your own vehicles, unless you carry collision and comprehensive
- Cargo and materials carried inside
- Drivers or vehicles you didn’t list, on some policies
Who on the block needs it.
Contractors with trucks and vans
Personal auto policies usually exclude a vehicle titled to the business or used mainly for work. Commercial auto is written for that use.
Crews that drive their own cars
If employees run errands or drive between sites in their own cars, non-owned auto liability can protect the business if it’s sued over a crash. The employee’s own policy pays first, and your policy doesn’t cover damage to the employee’s car.
Owners and managers with maintenance vans
If your staff drive vans or pickups titled to the company, the same application quotes them.
How the RFP asks for it
RFPs that bring vehicles onto the site usually ask for a combined single limit (for example $1M) covering owned, hired and non-owned autos, and often name the owner as an additional insured on the auto policy.
- Combined single limit
- One limit for injury and property damage together, per accident.
- Hired and non-owned autos
- Liability for vehicles you rent and employees’ own cars used for work. Damage to a rented vehicle needs hired physical damage cover, added separately.
Own or manage buildings? If your own staff drive maintenance vans or pickups titled to the company, this is their line too. For the contractors you hire, ask for their auto cover in the RFP.
How we quote it.
Light RFP’s brokerage quotes commercial auto alongside the rest of your program: you fill in the application, and our team takes it to market.
Tell us about the business
Your vehicles, your drivers, how far the vehicles travel, and your claims history.
We take it to market
A Light RFP broker reads your application, contacts you about anything missing, and takes it to the insurers that write commercial auto for businesses like yours.
Compare the quotes
Limits, deductibles and exclusions side by side, matched to what your contracts and RFPs require. Applying commits you to nothing; you choose whether to buy.
We place it
Our brokerage puts the policy you choose in force and issues the certificates your projects ask for.
Our application
6 sheets. Plan on 15 to 25 minutes for one vehicle and one driver, with your documents to hand.
- One vehicle, one driver
- about 61 answers, 53 required
- A small fleet, with a claim
- about 106 answers, 91 required
Follow-up questions appear only when an answer calls for them.
What it asks
Open a sheet for a few of its questions.
CA-01Business
- What does the business do, and what do the vehicles do in it?
- How many people work in the business, owners included?
CA-02Radius and use
- How far do the vehicles usually travel from where they are kept?
- Do any vehicles tow trailers, or carry a lift, plow or rack bolted on?
CA-03Vehicles
- What is the year, make and model of each vehicle, and where is it kept overnight?
- Which vehicles should be covered for damage, and what is each one worth?
CA-04Drivers
- How many people drive the vehicles?
- Is any driver under 25, or licensed for less than three years?
CA-05Hired and non-owned
- Does the business rent or borrow vehicles, and what does it spend on them in a year?
- Do employees drive their own cars for the business?
CA-06Coverage and history
- Which liability limit do your contracts ask for?
- Any auto accidents or claims in the last five years?
Have these ready
- Your vehicle listYear, make and model of each vehicle and trailer, the ZIP code where it is kept overnight, and the VIN if you have it. The form lists ten vehicles and ten drivers. With more, send the full list to insurance@lightrfp.com (a spreadsheet is fine).
- What each vehicle is worthFor the ones you want insured for damage: what it would cost to replace today, with anything bolted on.
- Your driversEach driver’s name, years licensed, the state that licensed them, and any accidents or tickets in the last three years. No license numbers or dates of birth on this form.
- Your current policyThe declarations page shows your limits, your deductibles and how each vehicle is insured today.
- What your contracts ask forThe auto limits and wording in your RFPs and contracts: additional insured, waiver of subrogation, primary and non-contributory.
- Loss runs, if you have themYour current insurer’s record of your claims, for the last three to five years. You can send them after by replying to your confirmation email.
Commercial auto questions.
Does my personal auto policy cover my work truck?
Usually not, if the truck is titled to the business or used mainly for work. Personal policies often exclude business use, so a claim on the way to a job can be denied.
Are the tools in my truck covered?
Usually not by the auto policy. A rack or a toolbox bolted to the truck may be, depending on the policy; the tools and gear inside are covered by tools and equipment insurance.
Can I insure only rented cars and employees’ own cars?
Often, yes. If the business owns no vehicles, hired and non-owned auto liability can be written on its own, or added to a general liability or business owner’s policy.
What affects the price?
The vehicles and what they’re used for, who drives them and their driving records, where the vehicles are kept, how far they travel, the limits you choose and your claims history.
Get a commercial auto quote.
Getting a quote is free. Light RFP earns a commission from the carrier on all policies.
Light RFP Risk Management Services LLC · NY DFS License # PC-1978982