Whose Protection Is the Company Car?

If you drive a vehicle your employer owns, there is a policy on that vehicle. The reasonable assumption is that you are covered by it. The more accurate statement is that your employer is covered by it, and you may be as well, and the difference occasionally matters a great deal.

What the company policy usually does

A commercial auto policy on a company vehicle generally covers the business and employees driving within the scope of their work. For ordinary work driving, that is normally the answer and there is nothing to worry about.

Where the edges are

• Personal use. If you take the vehicle home, run errands in it, or use it at weekends, whether that is covered depends on the employer's policy and their written rules. Ask, and ask for it in writing.
• Limits. The employer's limits protect the employer's exposure. A serious claim can exceed them, and you can be named personally in it.
• Family members. Your spouse driving the company car is a common and frequently uncovered scenario.
• Your own injuries. Workers' compensation may be the relevant system when you are injured at work, and it works very differently from an auto claim. Know which system applies to you.

The gap for people with no car of their own

If the company vehicle is the only car you drive and you carry no personal policy, you have two exposures. First, when you drive anything else — a rental, a friend's car — you have no coverage of your own standing behind you. Second, you have no continuous insurance history, and when you eventually buy your own car, that gap can affect how you are treated.

A non-owner policy addresses both. It provides liability coverage for you when driving vehicles you do not own, and it keeps your coverage history continuous. It is generally an inexpensive policy, and it is the standard answer for company-car drivers with no personal vehicle.

If you drive your own car for work instead

Different situation entirely, and it belongs on your personal policy with the business use disclosed. Employer coverage may respond for the employer while leaving you exposed personally, so do not let your own policy be the one that was never told.

Three things to ask your employer

1. Am I covered for personal use of this vehicle, and in writing?
2. What are the liability limits on the policy?
3. May other members of my household drive it?

Ask us about a non-owner policy if the company car is the only one you drive. It is usually a small line item for a real gap.