If you're going to have your employees driving a company vehicle, you need to understand how your commercial auto insurance coverage works. This policy can cover your employees. But you need to have it set up properly.
How Do You Get Your Commercial Auto Insurance Policy To Cover Your Employees?
Getting your commercial auto insurance policy is a simple matter of choosing the right policy options. When you request a custom quote, the insurance company will usually ask how many employees you have and how many you need to add as drivers. Your rate will depend both on your number of employees and type of business.
For example, consider these two businesses. One is an office with 50 employees that needs everyone to be able to drive a company car on occasion. The other is a pizzeria with 50 employees — including 10 delivery drivers and 40 who don't drive. Even though the office has more drivers, they might pay less than the pizzeria since they might be driving less in total. The pizzeria could be classified as more risky, due to how common it is for delivery drivers to speed.
If your size or activities change, you'll need to call your insurer to adjust your policy.
One place to be careful is if you're buying cookie-cutter policies online. The ability to get quick insurance can be useful for many businesses, but you don't get personalized help to walk you through the process. For example, you might accidentally buy a policy intended for sole proprietors who don't have employees without realizing the policy won't cover your one employee.
The best way to avoid this outcome is to work with an independent insurance agent — such as the professionals at DJW Insurance Agency. Regardless, be sure to read your policy carefully.
Can You Make Your Employees Carry Insurance?
It's common in some industries — especially in food delivery — to try to get employees to carry their own insurance. There are a couple of reasons why this is a bad idea.
First, employees may not realize that their personal insurance doesn't extend to work. That may leave them uncovered without knowing it.
Second, you can still be sued for what your employees do. If your employees don't get the right coverage or don't get enough coverage, you could be sued.
The best way to make sure you're protected is to get your own commercial auto insurance policy that covers your employees. Get in touch with our trusted agents for guidance with this process.
Get A Quote