Commercial auto insurance covers vehicles used for business purposes like transporting goods, people, or equipment. It provides similar coverage to personal auto insurance but with higher liability limits and additional optional coverage. The cost of commercial auto insurance depends on factors like the number of vehicles and employees, their driving histories, how and where the vehicles are used, and what is transported. Rates can range from $1,200-$2,400 for passenger vehicles, $5,000-$10,000 for taxis/livery, and over $2,500 for tractor-trailers depending on these risk factors.

1. Do You Need Commercial
Auto Insurance?
By Floyd Arthur

2. Commercial auto
insurance is insurance
designed to cover one or
more vehicles used for

3. business purposes, such
as a car, van or truck.
Commercial auto
insurance is generally

4. required when you use a
vehicle to transport
people or goods for a fee,
or when a vehicle

5. is driven by one or more
employees.

6. What Does Commercial
Auto Insurance Cover?

7. Although most of us think
of commercial vehicles
as pickup trucks and big
rigs,

8. commercial auto
insurance can cover any
type of vehicle that is
owned or leased by a

9. business, including cars,
minivans and SUVs. In
fact, you can purchase
commercial auto

10. insurance for almost any
type of vehicle you use in
your firm’s operations,
including:

11. * Vehicles outfitted with
work equipment

12. * Limousines and taxicabs

13. * Personal vehicles used
for transporting
passengers for Uber or
Lyft

14. * Flatbeds

15. * Trucks, such as dump
trucks, refrigerator
trucks, catering trucks,
box trucks and the like

16. * Rented or leased
vehicles

17. Generally, commercial
auto insurance provides
the same coverages as
individual

18. insurance with higher
limits. Add-ons are
available, however, that
offer coverage for:

19. * Equipment, such as that
used in loading and
unloading goods.

20. * Employees, including
additional employees or
people for whom you are
doing work.

21. * Your business, in the
event you are sued

22. As with personal
insurance, you can also
purchase optional
coverages, such as:

23. * Personal injury
protection, which covers
medical costs and lost
wages if you or your

24. passengers are injured in
an accident

25. * Uninsured motorist
coverage

26. * Personal effects
coverage, which pays to
replace or repair
damaged items that
belong to

27. you or an employee

28. How Much Does
Commercial Auto
Insurance Cost?

29. Commercial auto
insurance rates vary
considerably, depending
on variables such as the

30. number of employees you
have, the size of your fleet
and where in the United
States you

31. are. Ballpark estimates
run anywhere from $1,200
to $2,400 for commercial
car

32. insurance, $5,000 to
$10,000 for taxi or livery
insurance and $2,500-
plus for tractor-

33. trailers nationwide.

34. Other factors that
influence the cost of your
commercial auto
insurance include your

35. drivers’ histories, the size
and value of the vehicles
you own and where and
how far you

36. and your employees
drive.

37. Driver Histories

38. When your are hiring
employees to drive a
company vehicle, check
their driving record

39. with the DMV before
bringing them on board.
Drivers with a good
driving record may

40. lower both your
insurance rates and your
risks. Additionally, some
insurers offer

41. discounted rates to
companies who hire
drivers with a
commercial driver’s
license (CDL).

42. Fleet Size and Value

43. As with personal auto
insurance, the cost of
your commercial auto
insurance will

44. depend on the value of
the vehicles you insure. If
you own three older
model pickup

45. trucks, for example, the
cost to insure them will
be considerably less than
for a fleet of

46. 10 late-model limousines.
If you don’t own the
vehicles outright, the
lienholder will

47. require that you have
collision coverage on the
vehicles as well,
increasing the cost.

48. How Much You Drive

49. As with personal auto
insurance, commercial
auto insurance rates are
tied to the

50. number of miles the
vehicle(s) are driver each
year. More mileage
typically equals

51. higher rates. Vehicles
that transport hazardous
materials or those that
carry passengers

52. typically cost more to
insure as well.

53. Where You Drive & What
You Transport

54. If your business is
involved in transporting
goods or passengers
across state lines, or you

55. transport certain types of
hazardous materials to a
foreign country,
intrastate (within a

56. state) or interstate
(across state lines)
additional insurance
requirements will apply.

57. These are mandated by
the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration,
and include:

58. * $750,000 of liability
insurance if the vehicle
weighs more than 10,001
pounds and

59. carries nonhazardous
materials across state
lines

60. * $5 million of liability
insurance if the vehicle
weighs less than 10,000
pounds and carries

61. radioactive materials,
explosives, gases in
excess of more than
3,500 water gallons, or

62. any amount of materials
that are poisonous by
inhalation either
intrastate or interstate.

63. * $5 million of liability
insurance for trucks
weighing 10,001 or more
that carry hazardous

64. materials in excess of
3,500 gallons, or bulk
explosives or materials
poisonous by

65. inhalation either
interstate or intrastate.

66. * $1 million of liability
insurance if the vehicle
weighs more than 10,001
pounds and

67. carries hazardous
materials other than
those listed above, such
as oil.

68. At Carmoon Group, we
offer all types of
affordable commercial
liability insurance,

69. including coverage for
your business
automobiles or trucks.
Our agents are here every

70. weekday from 9 a.m. to 6
p.m., so why not call our
office at 516-292-3780 to
schedule an

71. appointment today? Too
busy to call? Simply
request a free
consultation online and
we’ll

72. get back to you within
one business day.

73. Sign up at
www.Carmoongroup.com
to get FREE 30-Minute
Consultation!