Auto Insurance Coverage If You Use Your Car For Work Purposes
If you own a car that you use for personal purposes and for work purposes, you might be surprised to learn that a regular auto insurance policy might not cover claims you file if you cause an accident while using your car for work purposes. Standard auto insurance policies are designed to cover people driving for personal use and not for work purposes, and you should talk to an insurance agent about this if you use your car for work purposes.
Why This Matters
The first thing to understand about insurance is that the costs are based on risks, and insurance companies view personal driving as a less-risky event than work driving. Because of this, an insurance company might deny a claim you file if the event took place while you were using your vehicle for work purposes. Instead of taking this risk, you should consider talking to an agent to find out how you can make sure you are fully covered no matter what your purpose for driving will be.
The reasons you use your car also matters because of the wording in your auto insurance policy. Your policy is likely to state that the coverage offered is for personal use of the vehicle only. If your policy states this, you can be certain that work-related driving will not be covered under your policy.
Common Situations When People Use Their Personal Cars for Work
If you are driving for any reason that will result in earning money, your driving might be considered work-purpose driving. For example, if you deliver pizzas at night to make extra money and use your own car for the deliveries, your regular auto insurance policy probably will not cover any driving you do while you are out delivering pizzas.
If you work for a ride-sharing company, your regular policy also might not offer coverage for the times when you are transporting passengers. Additionally, if you have to deliver things for your work, these trips also might not be covered by your regular auto insurance policy.
How to Make Sure You Have the Right Coverage
Many people use their own vehicles for work-related use, and a lot of these individuals might not even realize that this type of travel might not be covered in their policies. If you want to make sure that your auto insurance will cover all your traveling, you will need to talk to an agent to find out if you should add additional coverage to your policy.
The agent you speak to might recommend purchasing a business auto insurance policy, which may also be called a commercial auto insurance policy. When you speak to the agent, tell him or her what you use your car for and ask what type of coverage you need for this. The agent will know exactly how to help you obtain the right coverage so that you have coverage during your all traveling events.
You could also talk to your employer about this if you use your car often for work. Your employer might be willing to compensate you for the extra expense you have for the business insurance coverage, or your employer might be willing to let you use a company vehicle. If you can use a company vehicle for all your work-related travel, you will not need to adjust your existing auto insurance policy.
Having car insurance is always an important thing if you own a car or drive regularly, but having enough insurance and the right types of coverages is also important. Contact an auto insurance company and check out sites like http://www.denverautoinsurancecompany.com to learn more about business auto insurance coverage.