Commercial Auto Insurance

As a business owner, you need the same kinds of insurance coverages for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal travel -- liability, collision and comprehensive, medical payments and coverage for uninsured motorists. In fact, many business people use the same vehicle for both business and pleasure.

Whether you need to buy a business auto insurance policy will depend on the kind of driving you do. A Squires Insurance Solutions agent will ask you many details about how you use vehicles in your business, who will be driving them and whether employees, if you have them, are likely to be driving their own cars for your business. These details will help determine if you need a commercial auto policy.

While the major coverages are the same, a business auto policy differs from a personal auto policy in many technical respects. Ask your insurance agent to explain all the differences and options.

• You need commercial auto coverage if you or your employees will use titled vehicles in their work. Many small-business owners believe that if their car is in their personal name then commercial coverage is not necessary and their personal auto policy will cover the auto. This is not true. Most personal auto policies exclude from coverage the use of a vehicle for commercial purposes.

• A commercial auto policy does the same thing as your personal auto policy. It provides coverage to repair or replace a vehicle damaged in an accident and it will pay the claims of any third-party injured in the accident.

  If you're in an accident or your car is stolen, it costs money, often a lot of money, to fix or replace it.

  If you or any passengers are injured in an accident, medical costs can be extremely expensive.

  If you or your car is responsible for damage or injury to others, you may be sued for much more than you're worth.

  Not only is having insurance a prudent financial decision, many states require you to have at least some coverage.