November 6, 2009

How To Determine If Commercial Car Insurance Is Right For You

Whether commercial car insurance is something you should consider depends on how you use your vehicle. If you own a company and you drive while on the job, commercial auto insurance may be worth having. In other words, your standard auto insurance coverage will protect you when you’re driving to and from work, but it may not protect you if you’re driving for work. A lot of people overlook that serious distinction. Usually, it’s not much of a problem. If you’re in an accident, though, your auto insurance may not cover you if you were driving in a work capacity at the time that the collision or other problem occurred – and that can be true even if the accident wasn’t your fault.

Checking with an insurance agent is the best and safest way to know for sure whether you need commercial auto insurance. However, if you don’t drive your vehicle for work, you probably shouldn’t worry about it. Your coverage is generally enough to cover you if you run out of the office for a few minutes to pick up something. Even though you were buying something for work, you weren’t really using your vehicle as part of your normal workday. Commercial auto insurance applies more to people like sales representatives who use their vehicles for work all the time. They need to be properly covered in case they are involved in a collision.

When you get a job where you’re working for someone else and driving one of the company vehicles, you shouldn’t have to worry about commercial auto insurance either. If it’s a company vehicle, the auto insurance is the responsibility of the company, not the employee who’s driving the vehicle. It’s always a good idea, though, to make sure that there is valid auto insurance coverage on any vehicle that you drive. Check the glove compartment for the insurance card, and make sure that it’s not expired. Even though the insurance is not your responsibility, it’s still good to be careful. Don’t be afraid to ask your boss about valid commercial auto insurance for any car or truck that you drive for work.

On your own vehicle, commercial auto insurance can involve some different things and specific requirements, so getting all your questions answered first is a good idea. There’s no point in buying a lot of expensive coverage for commercial situations if you don’t really need it. On the other hand, you don’t want to buy standard auto insurance and find that it’s not enough when you’re involved in an accident. What kind of business you use your car for will generally dictate whether you need commercial auto insurance.