LICENSED INDEPENDENT COMMERCIAL BROKER | JASON LOPEZ | FL LIC #G280136
Commercial Auto Insurance in Florida
Work Trucks, Vans and the Vehicles Your Crew Drives
If a vehicle works for your business, a personal policy can walk away from the claim.
If you run vehicles for your business in Florida, this page covers what commercial auto protects, where a personal policy stops, and what a shop needs when customers hand over their keys. I am Jason Lopez, an independent broker in Miami.
What Commercial Auto Insurance Covers
Two things. Liability, when your driver injures someone or damages their property. And physical damage to the vehicles themselves, whether that is collision, theft, fire or vandalism.
It covers the vehicles your business actually runs on: the truck carrying tools to a job site, the van making deliveries, the car a manager drives between locations.
Where a Personal Policy Stops Covering You
Personal auto policies are written for commuting and errands. Use the same vehicle for business and the carrier can deny the claim, at exactly the moment the claim is largest.
There is also the gap most owners miss entirely. If your employees ever drive their own cars for work, that is hired and non-owned auto exposure. It does not appear on your policy or theirs unless someone adds it, and your business is the one that gets named in the suit.
Garage Liability and Garage Keepers Coverage
If customers hand you their vehicle, commercial auto is not the whole answer. Two coverages do the work, and they are not the same thing.
Garage liability
Covers claims arising out of your operations and the ownership or use of your premises: someone injured in your bay, damage you cause while test driving, the ordinary liability of running a shop.
Garage keepers
Covers the customer's vehicle itself while it is in your care, custody and control. Fire, theft, vandalism, collision while you have it. This is the one shops skip and then discover they needed, because a customer's car damaged on your lot is not your property and not covered by your property policy.
Who I place it for
Auto detailing and ceramic coating shops, mobile detailers, repair shops, tint and wrap installers, and dealers. The questions that move the price are how many vehicles you hold at once, whether you keep them overnight, whether the lot is secured, and whether anyone drives them off site.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does a personal vehicle become a commercial auto exposure?
The answer depends on how the vehicle is owned and used. Regularly carrying tools or equipment, visiting job sites, making deliveries, transporting employees, or conducting other business operations can create exposures a personal auto policy was not designed to handle. I want to know how every vehicle is actually being used, not just whose name is on the title.
What happens if an employee drives their own vehicle for my business?
Your business can still be pulled into a claim if an employee causes an accident while driving for work. Hired and non-owned auto coverage may help address that exposure. This is easy to overlook because the business does not own the vehicle.
Can employees automatically drive any vehicle on my commercial auto policy?
Do not assume they can. Driver eligibility and underwriting can depend on the carrier, vehicle, driving history, and how the vehicle is used. I recommend telling me who regularly drives your business vehicles so we can make sure the policy reflects the actual drivers.
What happens when I buy another work truck or van during the policy year?
Tell me as soon as you acquire it. Policies may provide limited automatic coverage for newly acquired vehicles under certain conditions, but I would never rely on that without confirming the policy terms. Adding the vehicle promptly avoids an unnecessary coverage question later.
If customers leave their vehicles with my business, is commercial auto enough?
Not necessarily. Businesses such as auto detailers, repair shops, dealers, tint shops, and other operations that take possession of customer vehicles may need garage liability and garage keepers coverage. Garage liability addresses liability arising from the operation, while garage keepers can address damage to customers’ vehicles while they are in your care.
Tell Me About Your Vehicles
One conversation, several carriers compared, everything explained straight, in English o en Español.