Businesses small and large need to be covered by commercial auto insurance. It is important to protect yourself, your employees, and your property. Not only that. Did you know that in the state of Nevada, you are mandated to, at the very least, have liability coverage?
While your typical liability coverage and commercial auto insurance are two different things, the latter is still very important.
For an in-depth look at commercial auto insurance in Tennessee rather than Nevada, check out our article on the subject.
What does commercial auto insurance cover?
Before we answer the question, “What does commercial auto insurance cover?” it’s important for us to briefly go over what commercial auto insurance is.
Commercial auto insurance is a form of insurance that covers vehicles that your business uses for work-related purposes. The type of vehicles commercial auto insurance covers includes cars, trucks, and even large fleets of vehicles. Essentially, any vehicle that your business owns and uses to run its operations can (and should in our opinion) be covered.
Commercial auto insurance is important because it protects you and your drivers financially in case of accidents, lawsuits, robbery, weather, and more.
Let’s look at some specific areas of coverage to answer the question, “What does commercial auto insurance cover?”
Uninsured Driver Insurance
Unfortunately, you may be in a collision with an uninsured driver who is at fault and responsible for the expenses but can’t afford to pay.
If this happens, your policy will cover the cost that should have been met by the other driver.
Likewise, if a driver flees the scene of an accident, your uninsured collision coverage should protect you here as well.
Typically, adding uninsured motorist coverage to your policy will increase the rate of your insurance. It is not mandatory in Nevada as it is in some other states to get this coverage. However, it is well worth it for your business.
In Nevada, if you do choose to reject this specific branch of coverage, the insurance company will keep a letter stating that you officially rejected the offer to purchase uninsured driver coverage.
Accidents and Liability
Even with an excellent driving record and the best of intentions, accidents can happen.
Commercial auto insurance provides coverage for car wrecks for your business, which is very helpful because sometimes even great employees make mistakes.
If one of your company’s vehicles is involved in a crash, you will be covered both for the other party’s vehicle damage AND your vehicle’s damage.
You also will have protection in case your company encounters a lawsuit.
25/50/20 Split For Coverage
Nevada requires the 25/50/20 split for coverage.
If you’re unfamiliar with the term, here is a link to the Department of Business and Industry, Nevada Division of Insurance on the subject: Nevada Division of Insurance (nv.gov).
Specific Areas of Commercial Auto Insurance Coverage Continued
Medical – No matter who is at fault, medical expenses are covered for you and any passengers present in the vehicle. Medical coverage can also protect you in case you are hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian.
Medical coverage is an important addition to your auto insurance and something we highly recommend.
Comprehensive – This differs from accident or collision coverage. Comprehensive coverage is for damage caused by mother nature, such as a tornado.
Comprehensive coverage also provides protection in the event of theft or vandalism.
Adding comprehensive coverage is wise since you never know when and where an animal might jump in front of your vehicle or an unpredictable storm will blow through.
What is not covered by a commercial auto policy?
Now that you have a basic answer to the question, “What does commercial auto insurance cover?”, let’s look at what is not covered.
Here’s a big one: You can NOT use your personal auto insurance to cover vehicles owned by your business!
This one may be obvious, but we’ve seen some people asking about this online, so we wanted to clarify here.
Rental vehicles are also NOT covered, so if you are using a rental for business-related purposes, you will have to purchase additional insurance.
Before getting a commercial auto insurance plan, talk to us, and we can let you know exactly what is and isn’t covered so that you can have peace of mind.
What is the difference between commercial and personal auto insurance?
There are some differences that separate commercial and personal auto insurance.
They are (1) the cost of your plan, (2) the vehicles and persons that are covered, (3) the complexity of coverage, and (4) how each plan can be used for tax purposes.
To learn more, contact us today. We are available 24/7.
