Can I Have My Personal Auto Policy Added to My Business Policy?
Posted on Sep 29, 2017
Getting the right kind of auto insurance coverage to meet your needs, whether you’re insuring a business or personal vehicle can be a bit tricky. When you use the same vehicle for personal and professional purposes, though, it becomes trickier still – with many people wondering if they can add their personal vehicles to their business insurance policies.
There are many reasons why this is a bad idea, but there are alternatives to consider that might provide the perfect blend of protection to meet your needs.
Businesses Insuring Personal Autos
From a business perspective, it makes perfect sense to want to insure employee cars on your business policy – especially if you have employees conducting business in their personal vehicles. It is a way to protect the business from liability claims.
Fortunately for you, there is an option to consider. That comes in the form of non-owned automobile liability insurance. This coverage provides bodily injury and property damage protection on vehicles you rent or borrow for the purpose of conducting business as well as vehicles that are owned by employees but used for business purposes.
If you own a pizza restaurant, for instance, your employee may have only minimal liability coverage on his vehicle which can make your business responsible if he or she has an accident while making deliveries for you. Non-owned vehicle liability insurance offers protection for your business when this situation occurs.
Insuring Business Vehicles for Personal Use
Additionally, some companies provide employees with vehicles. Your company may specify that you will need to secure private insurance if you use your vehicle for personal matters during non-business hours. Since you don’t own the vehicle, it might sound like a tricky proposition.
The good news here is that you do have options by securing extended non-owned coverage for named individuals for liability only. If you want full coverage for your personal use of business vehicles, consider asking the company if you can purchase a named non-owned policy to take care of any coverage gaps.
Why it Isn’t Wise to Combine Personal and Business Policies
The bottom line is that personal policies and business policies offer unique benefits to individuals and businesses. It is one thing to have both a personal and a business policy on your vehicle –this is highly recommended if you’re working as an Uber driver or for some other ride-sharing business. It is something else entirely to try to merge the two policies so that you only have one. Coverage gaps are sure to occur if this is the road you take.
Since the purpose of insurance is to help you prepare for the unexpected and not experience financial hardship that you cannot recover from in the aftermath of an auto accident, it is best to seek out policies that will best serve your needs.
As always, it is wise to work with a trusted agency, like Otterstedt Insurance Agency, to make sure you have the right blend of business and personal coverage on all your vehicles and to protect your financial interests as a business, an employee, or in some cases as both. Full disclosure about your vehicles and their intended purposes works best, though, to ensure that you have the right type and amount of protection to meet all your protection and coverage needs.
Otterstedt Insurance Agency has been serving the needs of New Jersey residents (and beyond) since 1919 by offering the best insurance products for the right price and superior service – always.
