Commercial Fleet Insurance

A commercial auto policy is designed to cover one vehicle that is used for business purposes. A fleet insurance policy is designed to cover five or more company vehicles used for business purposes. Though each policy contains similar types of coverages, a fleet insurance policy also covers any employee with a valid driver’s licence and can consist of a variety of vehicles including passenger cars, SUVs, vans, trucks, and trailers. Thus, any business with no designated drivers but with employees who may need to switch vehicles can benefit from fleet insurance, such as hotel shuttles, delivery services, taxi companies, moving companies, and car rental businesses.

There are many things you can do to help lower your commercial fleet insurance costs. For example, be selective with who you allow to drive your vehicles and vet each driver’s driving record thoroughly. Also, provide your drivers with advanced driving training, ensure regular maintenance of your fleet, use winter tires from November to May, and install anti-theft and tracking devices on all your vehicles. It’s also wise to ensure your vehicles are parked in a secured lot or garage, select higher deductibles for your coverages, and if you can, avoid filing unnecessary claims for minor damages you can fix yourself.

Beyond ensuring your drivers obey the rules of the road, avoid getting into collisions or racking up serious traffic violations, talk to your broker about adding an accident forgiveness endorsement or rider to your policy. Some insurance companies will provide you with accident forgiveness, which is an endorsement whereby the insurer will “forgive” you if you are at fault for a collision if it’s the first accident you’ve been in over the previous six years. If you get into an accident and are deemed to be at fault, your accident forgiveness endorsement (which can only be used once) will ensure your premium doesn’t increase come renewal time because of that accident.