If you or your employees regularly travel in rental cars as part of the job, or if your business rents trucks or other vehicles in order to provide a service, then it’s a very good idea to purchase hired auto liability insurance (it can be added to your business auto policy or business owners policy for a small cost).
Hired auto insurance protects your company in the event that you get sued for an accident, injuries or damages that you or an employee caused while driving in a rented (hired) vehicle when being used for business.
Many business owners don’t realize that if an employee is driving a rented vehicle for company business, the company could be held liable in the event of an accident for third-party injury or damage.
It’s important to note that hired auto liability insurance does not cover damages to the rental vehicle, so it’s probably a good idea for you and your employees to buy physical damage rental car insurance even if you already have a hired auto on your business auto policy.
You also need to be aware that your employee could still be liable if they cause an accident in a rental vehicle. Hired auto insurance only covers the company if it gets sued, and not the employee.
Whenever your employees are on the road as part of the job, you need to make sure that your business is covered. If your employee is the cause of a bad accident, the damages could easily overwhelm their personal auto insurance policy or the basic rental car insurance policy. That means injured parties are going to come looking to your business for damages.
Further, your liability extends beyond your employees. For example, if you (the business owner) happen to drive rented or leased vehicles at any time, you too are liable in the event of an accident. Thus, it is important to add hired auto liability coverage to your business auto policy.
Hired auto insurance is relatively inexpensive, usually less than $150 a year, and can be added to a business auto policy or business owners (BOP) policy. In our opinion, purchasing hired auto coverage is a must if your and/or your employees rent vehicles even just a couple of times a year.
Want to learn more about hired auto insurance or see what policies are available for your business? Give Fusco & Orsini Insurance Services a call at (858) 384-1506 to schedule a no obligation, no pressure consultation with one of our insurance brokers. We’ll sit down and discuss the personal insurance needs of your business and then help you find the most cost-efficient, comprehensive coverage available. You can also visit www.foagency.com for more information.
