Vehicle insurance is one of those essential expenses that any business needs to consider carefully. Business owners need to make sure insurance is in place and that the business is getting the best value for money from the policies it chooses.
No business can afford to neglect the issue of vehicle insurance. This is because failure to have the right insurance in place could lead to a business being liable for damage or personal liability costs. When you consider that there are millions of road accidents each year in the USA, you can see how important it is for businesses to have insurance coverage. So what does a business owner need to consider when choosing the right vehicle insurance policy?
1. Is it necessary to have commercial vehicle insurance in place?
The fact is any vehicle which is owned by a business needs to be covered by commercial vehicle insurance. This type of insurance is more expensive than personal vehicle insurance. This is mainly because the vehicles are being driven by different people and for longer distances. This, in turn, means that there is more chance of an accident occurring.
2. How can a business make sure it gets affordable commercial vehicle coverage?
Any business with budgets to consider needs to make sure it gets the best value for money from its insurance coverage. This means it needs to purchase commercial vehicle insurance as affordably as possible.
In order to make this happen, businesses need to understand what factors are taken into consideration by insurers when they are determining the cost of a policy. These factors include:
- How safe is the driving of everyone who uses the vehicles?
- How many claims has the business previously made?
- How old are the people who will be driving the vehicles?
- Where are the vehicles stored when they are not in use?
- What security mechanisms are in place to protect the vehicles?
These factors all come together to determine the level of risk the insurer believes exists. This means that a business needs to do all it can to make the insurer feel as secure as possible. Doing so should help to reduce the insurance premiums that are payable.
3. What happens when vehicles are not owned by a business?
There are times when employees are required to drive vehicles that are not owned by the business. When this driving forms part of an employee’s official duties, the business is responsible for the health and safety of the driver and could be liable if the driver has an accident.
This means that the business needs to ensure the vehicles being driven have sufficient and relevant insurance coverage in place. This could mean that the business decides to invest in “hired or non-owned” coverage for the vehicles. This coverage provides protection for both employees’ personal vehicles that are being driven for business purposes and vehicles that are rented by the business.
It’s clear to see any business needs to invest in commercial vehicle insurance for any vehicles that it owns. Businesses also need to make sure any vehicles they do not own are sufficiently insured when they are being driven by employees for business purposes.