How To Properly Gauge Your Fleet’s Insurance Needs

In starting your own transport service, you’ve learned that if your drivers aren’t protected, it can cost you far more than the annual fleet insurance premium. You want to make sure that as a business owner you take care of your business just as much as you do your employees. Read on for a list of tips about how to properly insure your fleet and keep your staff safe.

Crunching the Numbers

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), fleet-vehicle accidents cost business owners as much as $60 billion a year in property damage, medical costs and legal fees, not to mention business interruption. On average, an employee who is injured making a transport can cost the company $74,000. If the employee is killed in the accident, it can cost more half a million dollars.

Chances are that as a small business owner, you don’t have the funds to cover a work-related vehicle accident. There are ways to protect yourself, one of which includes getting fleet insurance.

How Do I Know If I Need Fleet Insurance?

If you run a catering, delivery or some other such service that demands your employees take a vehicle to separate locations, you need fleet insurance. To figure out what type of fleet policy your company needs, you will need to consider how often you and your employees use the vehicles, what they are used for and how many your company owns.

There are seven different types of fleet insurance, and as you’ll notice, they are the same offered to you by your private auto insurer. These include:


− Collision

− Property Damage

− Bodily Injury Liability

− Comprehensive

− Personal Injury Protection (PIP)

− Medical Payments

− Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Protection

Once more like your private auto insurance, state laws mandate that if your company owns/rents and operates a fleet of vehicles, you must carry their minimum insurance requirement. Thus if you or one of your employees are involved in an accident with another driver, there is enough insurance to cover the cost of the damages and medical bills.

Fleet Insurance Cost Factors

Auto insurance is auto insurance, whether you’re insuring your private vehicle or business’s. As such, in the same way your private auto insurer estimates your premium cost, so will your commercial auto insurance provider. Below is a list of factors that determine your premium rate:


− Vehicle Make, Model and Year

− Driving History of Employees Being Insured

− The Function of the Vehicle (e.g. is it a taxi or delivery service?)

To make sure all of your drivers are covered, they will each need to be listed on the policy. If they are not and there is an accident, your commercial business insurer can deny your claim. Not only that, but also because they can cancel your policy if it has been found you have been dishonest in who operates the vehicle.

Fleet insurance exists to support you and your staff. If you’re in an accident on the job, you know you’re covered. Visit CoverHound to learn more about what you can do to protect your business.