If I place door magnets on my car, will I be needing commercial vehicles insurance?

Mike

Chicago IL

There are lots of cars out on the highway with car wraps and magnetic ads that aren’t commercial cars, however if it’s utilized or advertising a company it might need a commercial vehicles insurance policy or at least a business endorsement. Probably you wouldn’t have to register your vehicle with the state as a commercial vehicle.

State laws do differ you will have to consult with your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles to ensure concerning the laws in your area for title and registration info.

Even though your vehicle is not registered as a commercial vehicle your insurance policy may have to be changed to business use or commercial based upon the rules of your insurance carrier. Including commercial advertising to your car can impact or change your automobile insurance needs. So this may certainly hinder your car insurance coverages.

Even though insurance guideline and insurance plan conditions differ, generally many personal car insurance firms wouldn’t cover a vehicle if you put an ads, lettering or a magnetic sign for a company on the car. Because of advertising a company on this car, an insurance company will usually now need you to purchase a commercial vehicles insurance policy or business use policy rather than a personal car insurance policy.

Hi. I’m a businessman in California and I travel quite often. Is it true that I’ll be paying higher premiums on my auto insurance because of this? What does travel distance have to do with auto insurance anyway?

Alvin

Bellflower, CA

Thanks for the question, Alvin.

You see, there are a lot of factors used to determine the premium price of your auto insurance. This includes the miles driven every year. This is because of the premise that the more often your car is on the road, the more likely it is for your car to figure in an accident. This may sound morbid, but it logically it is true, that’s why most insurance companies take this as a precaution. If your insurance company finds out that you drive more than the average given miles per year, which is 10,000 miles (this usually happens when you renew your policy), then the price of your premium will be higher.

There are also factors with regards to constant travel that can affect the price of your policy. Aside from mileage, your insurance company in California will also take a look at where you travel and how often you make trips there. This is to take note on how often you visit places that have higher car theft or accident rates. Because they are high risk areas, frequent visits and travels to those areas can also increase your auto insurance premium.

What types of insurance coverage are available for me in a commercial vehicle insurance in Indiana?

Yvonne

Indianapolis IN

Purchasing a car insurance policy for your car is mandated by law in many parts of the U.S including Indiana. The government sees to it that you have the means to pay for injuries and damages that you’ve caused to other people and their properties or cars during an accident. If you are running a business that uses a vehicle for operations, it is recommended that you purchase a commercial vehicle insurance instead of a personal vehicle insurance policy. Even if you use the car for both personal and business purposes, your personal car insurance policy may not be enough to pay in case of accidents or a loss.

You must purchase a commercial vehicle insurance coverage for all the vehicles that you use in your business. Additionally, vehicles owned by your employees but are used for business purposes should also be insured under your commercial vehicle insurance.

Your vehicle insurance should basically have the coverage for third-party liabilities in amounts of at least the minimum requirements mandated by the law. As mentioned earlier, this will cover for the bodily injuries and property damages that you will cause to other people and their cars in case of an accident.

Getting a collision coverage, on top of your liabilities coverage, can pay up for the repairs to the damages in your car due to a collision with a negligent driver or to something.

You will also have the option to get an uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage, which will cover you for damages made to your car due to a negligent driver who either doesn’t have insurance coverage or insufficient coverage.

A comprehensive coverage can also be purchased as part of your vehicle insurance coverage to cover you from non-collision damages made to your car. This damages include those that are due to vandalism, window breakage, fire, burglar attempts, as well as acts of God scenarios such as floods, blizzards and tornado.

There are more insurance coverage specific for your type of business that you can add to your insurance policy. Among these are the cargo insurance coverage, materials/tools coverage, car rental coverage and business interruption coverage.

I have a retail store here in South Carolina. I heard another store right across the street was sued by a customer because of a slip accident on the store’s wet floor. Will I get protection against such accidents for my own store?

Jodie

Columbia, SC

There is something called commercial insurance that can protect your business for such. This is probably one of the most common commercial auto insurance in South Carolina. This is also called liability coverage by some providers.

The liability coverage is an insurance used to protect the business from any form of liabilities, like costs for accident. The commercial insurance for liability can protect policyholders from lawsuits like in your example too. This can also be used to pay on medical bills for the injured third party.

A commercial insurance policy with this kind of coverage could help you in meeting financial obligation of the complaining customer. If you do not have liability coverage in your commercial insurance yet, it would be best for you to get one. Most liability coverage does not cover injuries of personnel or worker of the store. The coverage for this case is called worker’s compensation and this is directed towards the protection on the personnel or workers of the business which is a separate policy coverage. You can phone in your other queries to your local insurer there.

Should I get a commercial car insurance agent online rate quote or something else?

Jerry

Good question, Jerry.

Whether you should get a commercial car insurance agent online rate quote or something else depends on your situation. I would say that in most cases it is completely unnecessary for you to hire an agent. Helpful though they may be, they cost more because they charge a fee, and often can’t give you as wide a range of choices as you can get by just spending a few minutes online.

One situation where I would say that an auto insurance agent would be very helpful is if you have trouble deciding if you need commercial car insurance at all. To preempt that, I’ll give you an idea of who needs it.

• You need a commercial policy if you transpot goods or persons.
• You have employees who drive for work purposes.
• You require more coverage than is available through a typical personal car insurance policy.
• You have more than one vehicle as an artisan.
• You have certain work equipment which is attached to your car and cannot be removed.
• You own your business with someone else.

take care,

Fashun

How do I compare rates for commercial car insurance online?

Jacob

Thank you for asking, Jacob.

If you intend to compare rates for commercial car insurance online, the first step you need to take is to get together all of the information you have for things such as traffic tickets, the VIN for your car, your car’s make, model, or type, and determine what kind of coverage you want to buy.

Then you go to an instant quote site which allows you to compare rates for commercial car insurance online. There are plenty of these, and you should touch down at at least three to get the best range of car insurance quotes.

Once you have your quotes, research the companies by checking their financial stability and their consumer ratings. Go to the website for your state’s department of insurance to see how many complaints they have each year as compare to other companies.

Once you have narrowed down your selection, go to the websites for these car insurance companies. Look at their options for buying online and other things. Check out their discounts. Once you have come to a conclusion on which commercial car insurance company you want, try to buy online for a discount.

take care,

Fashun