What Constitutes Business Car Insurance
March 20, 2010 by Clare Leith
Filed under Car Insurance
Among the two car insurances, business car insurance and personal car insurance, there are some acute differences among them. It is in fact, a coverage we need in our daily lives. Although they have some similarities, they also have many aspects that are different.
If you are not looking to increase your rates, you will first need to get the driving record of any applicant that applies to your business. This protects you as the owner. You do not want to hire someone for the position only to find out their driving record is less than perfect. In fact, you might not be able to add them on to your policy at all. Then, this employee you hired only becomes a drain on production. Unlike personal car insurance policies where you are only responsible for your household; business policies are more risk and the employees do not always have your best interest in their thoughts.
The way the business policy works is to allow the business owner to decide what is most plausible for their business practices. For instance, you would want to carry additional coverage if you were transporting expensive materials or delivering important items. In a personal policy, you will not have to worry about that. This is one distinction between personal vs. business car insurance.
The use for business and the use for personal can sometimes get confusing. This is why it is imperative that you use some kind of tracker. In more recent times, many people turn to a computerized log do keep track of miles and gas. This helps keep the lines between personal and business clear.
Some people feel their use for business reasons does not weigh in enough to matter. In these cases, a personal policy is appropriate and they need to work that out with the insurer. A personal policy is often times less expensive than a business policy; however, the personal car insurance policy will go up. This is because you have increased risk because it is being used more. In any case, it is extremely important that you inform them as soon as possible. Failure to do so will forfeit your chances at a claim if they find it was for business use.
As stated above, you rate will increase because your usage has increased. Understand the usage for business is anything that is defined out of your daily use. In other words, driving to a conference is business use. This even applies if they reimburse you for miles and gas. If you transport goods or deliver items, you are using your personal vehicle for business use and it has to be documented. Sometimes we do not view things as business use because we consistently do them without even thinking. . Always keep everything in check because there are certain ramifications for not complying.
Whichever road you find yourself on, do not be caught without appropriate coverage. There are many different ways you can get the best deal for your situation so it is advised to talk with a car insurance agent.
Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for Carinsurancesa.co.za. South Arica?s leading car and vechile portal, which helps people save on their car and vechile.