Commercial Auto Insurance

What Commercial Auto Insurance Does NOT Cover

Commercial auto insurance does not cover every kind of driving or vehicle-related risk. Businesses often assume it protects everything, but several situations require separate policies or endorsements.

Common exclusions include:

• Livery services such as taxis, shuttles, ride-share, or non-emergency medical transport

• Hazardous materials transport without proper endorsements

• Mechanical breakdowns not caused by accidents

• Cargo damage unless cargo coverage is added

• Personal use of company vehicles without proper policy updates

• Injuries to employees (covered by workers’ compensation)

• Damage to personal vehicles used for business

• Intentional damage or illegal activities

• Wear and tear or maintenance-related damage

Standard commercial auto insurance does not cover transporting passengers for a fee. Livery requires specialized insurance.

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance (HNOA)

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance protects your business when vehicles you don’t own are used for work. This coverage fills one of the biggest gaps in commercial auto protection—liability created by employee-owned or rented vehicles.

Hired Auto Liability

Hired Auto covers vehicles your business rents, leases, or borrows, such as:

• Rental trucks

• Short-term vans

• Borrowed vehicles used for deliveries or job-site tasks

If your employee causes an accident in a rented or leased vehicle, Hired Auto helps pay for injuries, property damage, and legal defense costs.

Non-Owned Auto Liability

Non-Owned Auto applies when employees use their personal vehicles for business activities.

Examples include:

• Delivering materials using their own car

• Driving to job sites

• Running company errands

• Visiting clients or properties

Even though the employee owns the car, the business can still be sued if the employee causes an accident while working. This creates major financial exposure—especially if employees carry only state-minimum coverage.

Critical Risk: Personal Vehicle Damage

HNOA covers your company’s liability, not the employee’s vehicle.
It does not cover damage to the employee’s vehicle.
Repairs to their personal car must go through their personal auto policy.

This is a frequent misunderstanding. HNOA protects your business, not the vehicle being driven—yet your company is still financially at risk if the employee injures someone or damages property while driving for work.

Why HNOA Matters

HNOA is essential because:

• Many employees have low insurance limits that won’t cover a major accident

• Your company can be sued even if you don’t own the vehicle involved

• Legal defense costs alone can exceed vehicle damage

• It protects your business from one of the most common—and overlooked—liability exposures

Even businesses with no company vehicles often need HNOA coverage.

Who Needs Commercial Auto Insurance?

Any business that uses vehicles for work should carry commercial auto insurance. Even occasional driving creates liability that personal auto insurance will not cover.

Businesses that need commercial auto insurance include:

• Contractors and construction companies

• Delivery and courier services

• Landscaping, HVAC, plumbing, and electrical businesses

• Food service, catering, and mobile businesses

• Real estate agents and inspectors

• Cleaning and restoration companies

• Sales and service professionals

• Companies transporting tools, equipment, or materials

• Businesses whose employees drive for work activities

Important Note About Livery

Standard commercial auto insurance does not cover:

• Taxis

• Shuttle vans

• Limos

• Ride-share operations

• Non-emergency medical transport

These require specialized livery coverage, not a standard commercial auto policy.

How Conxis Insurance Services Can Help

Conxis Insurance Services makes choosing commercial auto insurance simple by helping you understand exactly what your business needs and why. They review how your company uses vehicles—whether you own work trucks, rent equipment, or rely on employees using personal cars—and identify the risks that many business owners overlook. Their team ensures you have the right mix of liability, physical damage, uninsured motorist, and hired and non-owned auto coverage so your business is fully protected on the road.

Conxis also compares multiple carriers to help you secure competitive rates and highlight discounts available to your industry. If your business carries tools or materials, they help add the appropriate cargo or inland marine coverage to prevent costly gaps. And if a claim occurs, Conxis guides you through the process, communicates with the insurer, and helps resolve issues quickly so you can stay focused on running your business.

What Commercial Auto Insurance Covers

Commercial auto insurance provides broad protection for vehicles used in business operations.

Typical coverages include:

• Liability coverage: Pays for injuries or property damage your driver causes in an accident

• Collision coverage: Covers damage to your vehicle from a crash, regardless of fault

• Comprehensive coverage: Protects against theft, fire, vandalism, weather damage, falling objects, and animal strikes

• Medical payments or personal injury protection: Covers injuries to the driver or passengers

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: Pays for your losses if the other driver has little or no insurance

• Towing and roadside assistance

• Rental reimbursement if a vehicle is out of service after a covered loss

• Cargo or equipment coverage (optional) for tools or business property inside the vehicle

This coverage follows your business wherever vehicles operate—on job sites, client locations, highways, and delivery routes.

Most businesses face risks that require more than one type of insurance coverage. The right combination depends on your employees, property, vehicles, contracts, services, and industry.

• Workers’ Compensation: Helps cover work-related employee injuries and illnesses and may be required depending on your state and business.
• Commercial Auto Insurance: Covers vehicles used for business operations and liability arising from covered auto accidents.
• Commercial Property Insurance: Helps protect buildings, equipment, inventory, and other business property from covered losses.
• Professional Liability Insurance: Protects against certain claims involving professional mistakes, negligence, advice, or services.
• Pollution Liability Insurance: Provides coverage for certain pollution and environmental exposures that general liability policies may exclude.
• Cyber Liability Insurance: Helps address costs and liability associated with data breaches, cyberattacks, and other covered cyber incidents.
• Employment Practices Liability Insurance: Helps protect businesses against certain employment-related claims such as discrimination, harassment, or wrongful termination.
• Commercial Umbrella Insurance: Can provide additional liability limits above certain underlying business insurance policies.

ConXis Insurance Services can review these coverages together to help identify gaps, overlapping protection, and the limits your business or contracts may require.

A straightforward process to review your risks, compare options, and put the right coverage in place.