Commercial Auto Insurance in Washington
Personal auto policies are written for commuting and errands. Use a vehicle regularly for business, title it to the company, or put employees behind the wheel, and a personal policy may refuse the claim.
Commercial auto covers business-owned vehicles. Hired and non-owned auto coverage protects the business when employees use rentals or their own cars on company errands, which is the exposure most small businesses forget they have.
What it covers
- Liability for injuries and property damage caused by business vehicles
- Physical damage to your vehicles: collision and comprehensive
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
- Hired and non-owned auto liability when employees drive rentals or personal cars for work
What it does not cover
- Tools and equipment stored in the vehicle (inland marine)
- Rideshare and delivery platform driving, unless specifically endorsed
- Drivers you have not disclosed or who are excluded
Who needs it
Any business that owns, leases, or titles vehicles to the company, and any business whose owners or employees drive for work, even occasionally.
What drives the price
- Vehicle type and use (service vans price differently from sedans)
- Driver records for everyone who drives
- Radius of operation
- Garaging location
- Liability limits
Where owners get caught: the employee running an errand
An employee takes their own car to pick up supplies and causes a serious accident. Their personal policy responds first, often with low limits. Then the injured party sues your business, and without hired and non-owned auto coverage there is nothing behind it. The coverage is usually inexpensive and often added to a BOP or GL policy.
Commercial Auto: common questions
Can I use my personal auto policy for my business vehicle?
Sometimes, if the use is light and the vehicle is titled to you personally. Once the vehicle is owned by the business, used heavily for work, or driven by employees, a commercial policy is the safer structure.
What is hired and non-owned auto coverage?
Liability protection for your business when employees drive vehicles the business does not own: their personal cars, or rentals for business trips. It does not cover damage to the employee's own car.
Do I need commercial auto if I only have one truck?
If the truck is titled to the business or used primarily for work, yes. A single serious accident can exceed personal limits, and a commercial umbrella only sits on top of a properly structured auto policy.
Commercial Auto in practice
Illustrative stories of businesses that needed it, and what else their review turned up.
A Food Truck Is a Vehicle, a Kitchen, and a Business. Its Insurance Should Be All Three.
A taco truck owner had a commercial auto policy and figured that was the whole program. The review found the kitchen equipment, the customers, and the events all needed coverage the auto policy doesn't provide.
AutoGLPropertyConstructionAn HVAC Company's Technicians Took Their Vans Home. The Auto Policy Needed to Know.
A heating and cooling contractor with eleven service vans had a fleet policy that didn't match how the vans were actually used, and liability limits too thin for a fleet on the road every day.
AutoGLUmbrellaConstructionSix Trucks, Four Trailers, and a Landscaper's Auto Policy That Only Knew About Three
A growing landscaping company added trucks, trailers, and drivers faster than it updated its insurance. The review found undisclosed vehicles, an unlisted driver with a bad record, and equipment nobody had insured.
AutoGLStop-gapMoving and logisticsThe Movers Who Were Insured for the Truck but Not for the Piano Inside It
A local moving company carried commercial auto on its box trucks and assumed customers' belongings were covered too. They weren't, and a crew injury exposed another gap.
AutoGLStop-gapConstructionAn Electrician Moved From Arizona and Asked Where to Buy Workers Comp
An electrical contractor relocated his company to Washington and asked a simple question: which carrier writes workers comp here? The answer surprised him, and the gap it revealed is one many Washington employers miss.
Stop-gapGLAutoHealthcareHome Care Workers Drive to Every Shift. That Changes the Agency's Insurance.
A home care agency with sixty caregivers had a professional liability policy and little else. The review found high employment exposure, caregivers driving clients in their own cars, and a gap around abuse allegations.
EPLIAutoE&OUsually written alongside
Commercial Umbrella
Extra liability limits above your GL, auto, and employers liability, usually at a lower cost per dollar.
Learn moreGeneral Liability
Injury and property damage claims from customers, clients, and the public. The policy most contracts require.
Learn moreBusiness Owners Policy
Property, liability, and lost income bundled into one policy. The right starting point for most small businesses.
Learn morePart of the programs we build for contractors & trades.
Not sure your commercial auto coverage fits?
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