Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial auto insurance covers the vehicles your business owns and drives for work — liability if your driver causes an accident, physical damage to your trucks, and coverage gaps a personal auto policy will deny the moment it learns the truck was working. If your vehicle carries tools, materials, or crew, it needs a commercial policy.
What it covers
- Liability for bodily injury and property damage your vehicles cause
- Collision and comprehensive on owned trucks, vans, and trailers
- Hired and non-owned auto — employees driving personal vehicles for work
- Tools and equipment in transit (paired with an inland marine policy)
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist protection for your drivers
- Certificates showing auto liability for GC and vendor requirements
Personal auto policies deny business use
The most expensive surprise in contracting: a personal-auto claim denied because the truck was on its way to a job. If a vehicle hauls ladders, materials, or crew — even occasionally — carriers consider it commercial use, and only a commercial policy reliably pays.
Work trucks live a harder life
Jobsite backing accidents, loaded trailers, employees driving — commercial exposure is simply different. The right policy matches your vehicle list, your drivers, and your radius so claims get paid instead of investigated.
How we make it simple
Send us your vehicle list and drivers once. We structure the policy — owned autos, trailers, hired/non-owned — and shop it across carriers. Add a truck mid-year, text us the VIN; we handle the rest and the certificate follows the same day.
Commercial Auto — frequently asked questions
If the vehicle is used for business — hauling tools, towing a work trailer, driving between jobsites — you need commercial auto coverage regardless of how it's registered or titled. Personal auto policies exclude business use, and carriers routinely deny claims once a work pattern is evident. A commercial policy also lets you list the business as an insured, which GCs and vendors often require on certificates. We'll review how each vehicle is actually used and structure it correctly.
Most GC subcontract agreements and many municipal contracts in California require $1 million combined single limit for auto liability — noticeably higher than typical personal-auto limits. If your contracts require more, an umbrella policy can stack additional limits over the auto policy efficiently. We read the insurance requirements in your contracts and match the policy to them, so your certificates pass review the first time.
Generally no — auto policies cover the vehicle, not the cargo. Tools and equipment in transit or stored in the truck are covered by an inland marine (tools & equipment) policy, which we typically pair with commercial auto for contractors. That combination closes the classic gap: your truck is insured, but the $20,000 of tools inside it isn't. Ask us about scheduling high-value equipment individually.
Hired and non-owned auto (HNOA) protects your business when vehicles you don't own are used for work — an employee running to the supply house in their own car, or a rented truck for a big install. If that driver causes an accident, the injured party can sue your business, and HNOA is what responds. It's inexpensive to add and one of the most commonly missed coverages in contractor programs.
Ready to quote your commercial auto coverage?
One conversation and we take it to the market. Big or small… we write them all.