Commercial Auto Insurance in Hillsborough

Commercial auto insurance is an essential form of coverage for businesses that rely on vehicles in any sort of way. If one of your vehicles is involved in an accident, a commercial auto insurance policy can pay for the other person’s bodily injuries and the resulting property damage. This coverage can also pay for repairs if one of your cars are damaged by bad weather, vandalism or even theft.

Even if you and your employees are safe drivers, you can’t account for the other drivers on the road. Take this step to protect yourself and let us help you find a great commercial auto insurance policy in Hillsborough.

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If you don’t have this type of commercial insurance, then it could end up costing your business significantly in the long run. A study done by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, accidents involving commercial vehicles total more than $80 billion a year.

What Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover in Florida?

In Florida, a commercial auto insurance policy will cover the resulting damages (Including bodily injury) from an accident if the car was being driven for business purposes.

The types of coverages typically included in this commercial policy include:

Auto Liability Coverage

If one of your drivers is at fault in an accident, then auto liability coverage can be used to pay for the damages. These can include:

Resulting legal expenses if a lawsuit is filed.
The cost to repair the other person’s damaged vehicle or property.

If one of your drivers rear ends an expensive car making a delivery, you’ll be at fault for the accident and it won’t be cheap.

According to a 2015 study done by the Hartford, commercial vehicle accident claims cost on average $45,000 for small businesses. This would make them the second most expensive type of claim that a small business in Florida could face.

Car accident that should be covered by auto liability coverage insurance

Medical Payment Coverage

Including medical payment coverage on your commercial auto insurance policy can be a wise move. That’s because it can help to pay for the medical expenses incurred by yourself or one of your employees that were injured in a car accident. Plus, you’d have access to this coverage no matter who is at fault for the accident.

Physical Damage & Collision Coverage

A commercial auto insurance policy can also protect your vehicles if they’re damaged by any of the following:

Vandalism
Theft
Specific weather events
Impact with other objects

Imagine if a significant storm like a hurricane hits Tampa. Trees and power lines are toppled near your business and one of them significantly damages one of your vehicles. This is a situation where you want to have a commercial auto insurance policy with physical damage and collision coverage, because it will pay for the necessary repairs.

Window damage that's covered by collision damage insurance in Tampa

Florida drivers with comprehensive auto insurance in Hillsborough

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Did you know that 1 in every 7 drivers in Florida are uninsured? If someone uninsured causes an accident, they may not be able to pay for the damages. This is a reason why commercial auto insurance policies include uninsured motorist coverage, similar to your standard auto insurance policy. Having this coverage means you won’t be left with the bill if the at-fault party is uninsured and can’t pay.

It can pay for:

Damages to your commercial vehicles (dependant on the policy)
Any bodily injuries

We’ve Got Your Business Covered

Did you know that independent agents handle more than 50 percent of all active commercial insurance policies in the country? Give us a call today at (813) 685-9393 and we can get started!

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What Isn’t Covered By Commercial Auto Insurance?

This is a question that you’re going to want to ask your insurance agent, but we can provide some details here.

Commercial auto insurance policies won’t cover damage that was caused by an employee that was driving their own personal vehicle for a business purpose. That vehicle would not be insured under your commercial policy. You as the business owner could still be held responsible for repairing the damage.

If your employees are regularly using their personal vehicles for business errands, then you should consider purchasing hired and non-owned auto insurance. If you have questions about this, then please give us a call at 813-685-9393!

Why Personal Auto Insurance Isn’t Enough for Your Business

So you may be thinking “I don’t need commercial auto insurance, because I already have a really great personal auto insurance policy in Hillsborough.” Unfortunately, personal car insurance won’t be enough if you or one of your drivers get into an accident. Here’s why:

For insurance carriers, business driving is riskier than personal driving. Think about it this way, people who have to spend a lot of time behind the wheel for work are at greater risk for accidents and vehicular damage.
This can also be a violation of the terms of your personal auto insurance policy. With a personal policy, essentially you have contract with your insurance provider stating that you are only going to use the covered car for personal use. The quote you received for your personal auto insurance was based off of this agreement.

If you’ve been using your personal vehicle for your business, then you have been taking on more risk. This is the type of risk that your insurance provider has not agreed to cover when it wrote your policy. This gives them a viable reason to deny a claim if you get into an accident while driving your car for business in Florida. You may even be dropped as a customer.

Don’t take on this unnecessary risk, protect yourself and your business with a commercial auto insurance policy.

Tampa business owner saves money on commercial insurance quote

How Much Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cost in Florida?

Here’s a question that our insurance agents get all the time. The answer is that the cost of your commercial auto insurance policy is going to vary depending on a variety of factors. These include:

The liability limits desired for the policy.
The type and number of vehicles that you are insuring.
The driving record of the drivers that you are including on your policy.
The coverages that you choose to add to the policy.

Here in Hillsborough, commercial auto insurance policies cost typically cost between [price range]

Give us a call today at (813) 685-9393 and we can get started!

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