Thursday, January 24, 2013

Understanding Commercial Auto

How to Choose from a Variety of Commercial Auto Insurance Companies

Business owners are busy people. So, price is often the fastest and seemingly easiest way to judge a commercial auto insurance company. While price is important, it’s far from the only consideration. Smart business owners need to look beyond low quality commercial truck insurance companies and evaluate everything an insurer brings to the table: responsiveness of claims services, payment options that respect their schedules, coverage customized to fit their industry and the service an agent may or may not be able to provide.

Comparing your policy with other commercial vehicle insurance companies

Here are key factors to consider when selecting a business car insurance company, and the types of questions you should ask.
Fast and complete quotes
  • Does the commercial auto insurance company respond to your request quickly?
  • Does the commercial auto insurance company provide complete quotes, with lots of options?
  • Was it customized to reflect the needs unique to your business or industry?
Depth of knowledge
  • Is the agent knowledgeable about different types of car insurance for businesses, endorsements and the amount of coverage you’ll need to minimize your risk?
  • How long has the commercial auto insurance company been offering business car insurance?
  • How much insurance does the business car insurance company write?
Payment options
Find out which commercial auto insurance companies offer a variety of billing options, such as:
  • Flexible payment plans
  • Pay by phone with a debit or credit card
  • Payment online
  • Automatic monthly deductions from your financial institution
Claims service
  • Does the commercial truck insurance company offer claims services 24/7, with easy access to a live claims representative rather than a recording?
  • How long does it usually take to assess damage and settle a claim?
Competitive rates
Get quotes from at least three commercial auto insurance companies, and make sure that you can compare the quotes point by point as to the type of coverage: what’s covered (and what’s not), deductibles, and more. While you want to pay as little as possible, low quality commercial truck insurance companies can become a problem when the time comes to file a claim.

Commercial vehicle insurance companies offer choices you’ll want

When shopping around for commercial auto insurance companies you’ll find that the coverage and additional options available vary from company to company. Most commercial auto insurance company policies include basic auto liability, with options for comprehensive and collision coverage, and uninsured motorist insurance. Nationwide offers these and other options, including extra coverage at no charge in the event your airbag accidentally deploys, you become locked out of your car, or your windshield gets chipped or cracked.

Need more protection? You should look for commercial vehicle insurance companies that offer additional endorsements, which can provide you with complete protection bundled in a convenient, affordable package. These include:
New Vehicle Replacement Cost CoverageThe business car insurance company will replace your new vehicle if it’s in an accident resulting in a total loss without the costly deduction for depreciation.
Hired Auto Physical Damage with Loss of Use CoverageThe commercial vehicle insurance company provides comprehensive or collision insurance for leased or rented vehicles, as well as additional contractual obligations to the rental or leasing company.
Auto Loan or Lease CoverageThe commercial auto insurance company pays the unpaid loan or lease balance on a vehicle totaled in a
     crash.
Expanded TowingThe commercial auto insurance company covers towing of trucks, and increased coverage on cars for towing, jump starts and other minor roadside repairs.
Rental ReimbursementThe commercial auto insurance company pays for a rental vehicle while yours is in the shop.
Contact a Nationwide business insurance agent today, and learn why Nationwide should be the commercial auto insurance company that protects your business.

Contact Us

Call
1-888-490-1549*
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. - 9 p.m. ET

*Products may be provided by Allied Insurance, a Nationwide company.
 



©2012 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies, Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA. In MI only: Nationwide Investment Svcs. Corporation. Home Office: One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH 43215-2220.

Commercial Auto Insurance That Fits Your Business

You and your employees depend on commercial vehicles every day as an essential part of doing business. Protect your vehicles as well as your employees with commercial auto insurance from Nationwide because road conditions, weather and other drivers on the road are simply beyond your control.
A Nationwide agent can provide a commercial car insurance quote that can include:
  • Auto liability
  • Medical payments
  • Comprehensive coverage
  • Collision coverage
  • Uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage
  • Coverage for autos you borrow or rent
  • Coverage for employees using their cars for the business

Nationwide makes insurance claims easier

If you do have an accident, you can count on our team of business auto insurance professionals to gather all the facts, assess the damage and settle the claim quickly and fairly.
With our On Your Side® Claims Service, you’ll get:
  • A written guarantee on repairs – When you choose a repair shop from the On Your Side Auto Repair Network®, all repairs come with a written guarantee for as long as you own or lease the vehicle.
  • A choice of qualified repair shops you can trust – The On Your Side Auto Repair Network includes only shops that are pre-screened and pre-qualified for the highest level of service. Look for a shop in our network.
  • Nationwide® AutoWatch® – Get repair updates and actually see your car repair online when you have it serviced in the On Your Side Auto Repair Network. See a Nationwide AutoWatch demo.
 

Understanding Commercial Auto

Learn what to look for when purchasing auto insurance.

Business or Personal?

If your company car works at home, too, make sure it’s covered.
Home For Businesses Insurance Auto

A Company Car Policy for Your Business

For many small businesses, the idea of a “company car” all depends on the time of day. From 9 to 5, the vehicle is all business. Before or after those times? Well, that’s another story.
The truth is, many vehicles do double duty for personal and work use. This is a common problem that can be solved with company car insurance for business vehicles from Nationwide.
Employees often use their own cars for work (picking up supplies, running to the bank for the company) or they use business-owned vehicles for personal needs (picking up kids from school, running errands for the family).
If this describes your company, you’re not alone — it happens all the time. But you’ll want to make sure you and your employees are properly insured behind the wheel with commercial vehicles insurance.

Basics of a company car policy

If your business owns vehicles and they are titled in the company’s name, your commercial vehicles need insurance for complete coverage. If you’re a business owner with no employees, and you use your vehicle driving to and from work, a personal auto policy will cover you.

Protect employee-owned vehicles with company car insurance

If you have employees and they use their vehicles for business use, be certain they have sufficient liability coverage with their personal auto policies. For example, if an employee drives his or her own car to make a bank deposit for the business and is in an accident with another driver, his or her insurance company will pay the claim up to her policy limit.
But if the other driver sues the employee’s company for additional damages, a basic business owner’s policy (BOP) won’t suffice. Commercial vehicle insurance with an added non-owned auto liability endorsement could help protect the company’s assets from an expensive lawsuit.

Cover the business owner’s car with a company car policy

There are times when the business owner’s only vehicle serves double-duty for both company and personal use. In these cases, company car driver insurance is necessary. For added protection when it’s not used for business, Nationwide recommends an added drive other car endorsement to cover the owner and any family members who might drive the car.

Learn more about commercial vehicle insurance

You’ve worked hard to build your business – don’t put it at risk with incomplete van, truck or commercial vehicles insurance.
Contact a Nationwide business insurance agent today and learn more about these and other factors that will shape your company car policy. We’ll work closely with you to create a policy for your specific needs.

Thinking about buying a business vehicle? You may need company car insurance

Consider your commercial vehicle insurance needs before you begin comparing commercial auto insurance companies to help you save on premiums.

Contact Us

Call
1-888-490-1549*
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. - 9 p.m. ET

*Products may be provided by Allied Insurance, a Nationwide company.
 

When is company car insurance necessary?

1. Your vehicle is used for business
2. Your business picks up passengers or delivers goods
3. The business owns or leases the vehicle or fleet
4. Your employees drive company-owned vehicles
5. Employees use their personal vehicles for business
 


©2012 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies, Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA. In MI only: Nationwide Investment Svcs. Corporation. Home Office: One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH 43215-2220.

Commercial Fleet Insurance: Things to Know Before You Buy

When you shop for a vehicle for your company, you probably weigh the pros and cons of features and price. These and other factors can also affect the cost of your commercial fleet insurance long after you’ve bought or leased a new fleet vehicle. A vehicle’s class, intended use and age help determine what premiums you pay for commercial fleet insurance.

The impact of your fleet and commercial truck insurance decisions

Things to understand before you buy your next company car or truck:
  • A basic rule of thumb is the more expensive the vehicle, the pricier the premiums. Buying used vehicles is one way to potentially lower the cost of commercial fleet insurance.
  • There are three basic classes of vehicle: passenger cars, trucks, and trailers. And within these classes there are variables. A mini-van or SUV would fall into the passenger vehicle class, while full size vans and pick-ups are classified as trucks.
  • Passenger vehicle insurance will typically cost less than insurance for commercial trucks. Keep in mind that an accessory-loaded SUV will cost more to insure than a basic four-door sedan.
  • In the truck category, vehicles vary primarily by weight, and generally speaking, commercial truck insurance for lighter-weight trucks costs comparatively less on a commercial fleet policy. Here’s how the truck class breaks down:
Light Trucks – weighing up to 10,000 poundsThese include panel vans, pick-ups, parcel vans, refrigerated trucks and flatbed trucks.
Medium Trucks – 10,001 to 20,000 poundsMid-sized refrigerated, stake bed and box trucks are included.
Heavy Duty and Extra Heavy Duty Trucks – ranging from 20,001 to 45,000 + poundsIncludes beverage trucks as well as farm and grain trucks.
  • The trailer class includes small service or utility trailers, flatbed trailers, refrigerated trailers and specialty trailers. As you might expect, commercial truck insurance premiums increase proportionately with the size and weight of the trailer.
  • The intended use of the vehicle also impacts the cost of commercial fleet insurance. Service-oriented vehicles, such as a plumbing truck or a van used by an HVAC contractor, are the least expensive to insure. Next is retail-use vehicles, such as commercial van insurance for florist or dry cleaning deliveries to homes. The most expensive commercial fleet insurance covers commercial trucks and vans that deliver goods to other businesses.
Contact a Nationwide commercial insurance agent to help you understand these and other considerations about commercial fleet insurance before you buy.

Contact Us

Call
1-888-490-1549*
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. - 9 p.m. ET

*Products may be provided by Allied Insurance, a Nationwide company.
 


©2012 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies, Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA. In MI only: Nationwide Investment Svcs. Corporation. Home Office: One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH 43215-2220.

Business Auto Insurance Glossary

Find the answers to frequently asked business insurance questions with a helpful business auto insurance glossary from Nationwide. Understand the type of insurance coverage that your company needs by reviewing these commercial auto insurance terms.

Actual Cash Value

This is what it would cost to replace your vehicle with one in the same condition. Wear and tear of the vehicle, age, and mileage all determine the actual cash value.

Appraisal

An appraisal determines the value of a vehicle or property, or determines the extent of damage. Appraisals are usually conducted by an impartial expert.

Arbitration

If you cause an accident, you are “at-fault” and legally liable for the damages in an accident.

Assigned Risk

Someone who cannot qualify for insurance in the regular market is considered an assigned risk, and must get coverage through a state assigned risk plan that specifies each insurance company must accept an equal share of these drivers.

At-Fault

If you cause an accident, you are “at-fault” and legally liable for the damages in an accident.

Bodily Injury Liability Coverage

This insurance pays damages for bodily injury or death resulting from an accident for which you are at fault and provides you with funds for a legal defense.

Carrier

The company providing the business auto insurance is called the carrier.

Catastrophe

Events such as tornadoes, hurricanes, flood, fires and hailstorms are examples of catastrophes.

Certificate of Financial Responsibility

This varies from state to state and has different names, but essentially this is a form certifying that specific insurance has been purchased to meet a state’s particular financial responsibility laws.

Certificate of Satisfaction

A form signed by the insured when the insured takes delivery of a car from the repair shop indicating satisfaction with the repairs.

Claim

This consists of a demand or request for payment under the terms of the policy.

Claim Adjuster

Employed by the insurance company, an adjuster investigates and settles claims.

Damages

Damages consist of money that one person is legally obligated to pay another.

Declarations Page

This is a page in your policy that includes basic information, such as your name and address and a description of the vehicle(s) insured; the effective dates of the policy; the amount of insurance coverage and the premiums.

Deductible

This is the portion of a claim that you pay. Having a higher deductible amount will lower your insurance premiums.

Defensive Driver Discount

If available in your state, this is a discount offered to drivers, typically over 50, who have taken a defensive driving course.

Depreciation

Practically unavoidable, depreciation is a decrease in a vehicle’s value due to wear and tear, age, mileage and decline in price, and typically is not insurable. Most auto policies pay for the "actual cash value" which deducts for depreciation.

Endorsement

An endorsement modifies the policy by amending specific coverage. It can add coverage, modify it and even reduce or remove coverage.

Exclusion

This is a restriction in your business auto insurance reducing and/or removing coverage for certain potential events, persons, property or locations.

Expiration Date

This date indicates when your insurance coverage ends. The renewal policy (or new policy) typically starts on this date.

Field Adjuster

An insurance adjuster is one who works outside the office and conducts accident scene investigations, damage inspections and face-to-face meetings with policyholders.

Financial Responsibility Law

This law requires owners and drivers of vehicles to have enough money on hand to compensate people who they injure. Liability insurance is the most common way to satisfy the financial responsibility requirement.

Hazard

This is anything that increases the chances of a collision, or another form of damage to occur.

Indemnification

This provides financial compensation for a loss with the intent to restore a person or entity to the financial position enjoyed before the loss.

Indemnity

When an accident occurs, the insured should be indemnified - restored to the approximate financial condition occupied before the loss occurred.

Inspection

Consists of visual verification of a car or truck’s physical condition.

Insurable Interest

Exists when an individual would suffer an economic loss as the result of damage to property or bodily injury.

Insurance Fraud

Falsifying the facts of an accident to an insurance company to obtain a settlement. It can also occur when facts are omitted or misrepresented when completing the application for insurance. Common types of insurance fraud are staged accidents, faked injuries, and untrue statements about prior accidents, losses, drivers or vehicles.

Insurance ID Card

This is a card issued by your insurance company that contains basic information about your insurance policy.

Insurance Score

A person’s insurance score is often determined by their credit history, and is used in some states to determine if a policy is written or if a billing plan is offered.

Legal Liability

This is liability (or responsibility) imposed by a law, rather than liability coming from a contract or other agreement.

Leased Vehicle

A car or truck rented under a long-term contract, or lease. The company leasing the vehicle retains ownership of the vehicle and is listed on the insurance policy as an insured party.

Liability

A legal obligation or responsibility for the injury or damage suffered by another person, and enforced by law.

Limit

Refers to the maximum amount of coverage purchased by the policyholder and is shown in the contract.

Loss

Any measurable loss, in dollars, of damage to a vehicle or other property, and/or injury suffered by a person. In the insurance world, this term is used interchangeably with the word, claim.

Medical Payments Coverage

This insurance reimburses the driver or passenger of an auto for medical or funeral expenses incurred as the result of an automobile accident. This is regardless of whether the accident was their fault. It also covers medical costs of pedestrians that you may have injured.

Misrepresentation

Making written or verbal statements that are false or misleading.

Motor Vehicle Report

This refers to a report from the division of motor vehicles indicating accidents and violations on your driving record, and to verify information provided by the potential policyholder.

Negligence

The failure to exercise reasonable care that is typically expected in similar instances.

No-fault Insurance

This coverage, if you are in a no-fault state as determined by law, pays for medical expenses, lost wages, or other accident-related expenses regardless of who is responsible for the accident.

Non-Renewal

When an insurance company decides to not renew a policy at the end of its policy period.

Payment Recovery

If your car is damaged in an accident due to another driver’s fault, your insurer can recover the amount of your deductible and any insurance payments from the other party; also known as subrogation.

Personal Injury Protection

This coverage is part of a no-fault policy if you live in a no-fault state. It pays for medical treatment, lost wages, or other medical expenses related to the accident regardless of who caused the accident.

Premium

The premium is the cost of the insurance policy that is paid in monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual installments.

Rate

This term refers to the base rating units used to determine the final premium.

Re-inspection

Consists of the review of an estimate or appraisal done by an adjuster to guarantee that the work required in the estimate or appraisal is being completed by the body shop.

Release

This is a legal document indicating that all financial obligations from the past, present or future resulting from an accident or occurrence have been fulfilled.

Renewal policy

Coverage for a policy ends on the expiration date. A replacement policy will be issued on the same date (the renewal date) unless notification was sent advising that the policy would not be renewed.

Risk

Refers to the probability of a particular loss occurring.

Salvage

Damaged property, such a vehicle declared a total loss from an accident, which is taken over by the insurance company after the claim is paid.

Third Party

This refers to an individual or other entity not party to an agreement but who may become involved in an indirect way or be affected by it.

Third Party Claim

Medical claims for injury, or damage to the property of a third party, which allegedly have been caused by the policyholder, constitute a third party claim.

Total Loss

This refers to condition of a vehicle or other property when the damage sustained is so great that repair costs would surpass the value of the vehicle or property.
For more information related to the commercial auto insurance terms in this business auto insurance glossary, check out the business resource center.

Contact Us

Call
1-888-490-1549*
Monday - Friday
9 a.m. - 9 p.m. ET

*Products may be provided by Allied Insurance, a Nationwide company.
 


©2012 Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Affiliated Companies, Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA. In MI only: Nationwide Investment Svcs. Corporation. Home Office: One Nationwide Plaza, Columbus, OH 43215-2220.

Lewis Insurance
2525 S. Lamar Ste 11
Austin, TX
78704

www.nationwide.com/joshlewis
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