Insurance Corner
Do your employees use their own vehicles for your business?
Martha Marton

If an accident occurred while your employee or volunteer were operating their vehicle while on company business, your company would be liable. Even if an employee just runs a small errand, like making a bank deposit, and has an accident, your company could suffer damages as a result.

While you cannot insure a vehicle you do not own, there are some things that you can do to protect yourself before a loss occurs.

A written policy is always a good idea. The vehicle use policy should outline:

The minimum amount and type of liability insurance your employees and/or volunteers must carry.

It should also state what type of documentation is to be provided to your company to demonstrate that proper insurance coverage is in effect. For example, they could provide a certificate of insurance annually that shows the amount of insurance on their policy.

How employees/volunteers will be using their vehicles for your business

If employees/volunteers will be compensated for using their vehicles and how that compensation will be implemented.

Insurance can play a role in helping to protecting your business from this type of exposure.

Non-owned Automobile Insurance Liability Coverage can be purchased to protect your business. It may be provided in conjunction with your coverage for general liability and coverage for hired vehicles may be offered, as well.

Insurance premiums for nonowned automobile liability depend on the frequency of employee/ volunteer personal vehicle use and what they are using the vehicles to do for your business.

Generally speaking the premiums are fairly reasonable.

Another way to reduce risk is to eliminate the exposure to that risk. If no employees or volunteers use their own vehicles for your business, it does eliminate the possibility that they will have an accident that will affect your company.

Depending on your business, it may or may not make sense to implement that strategy. Call us at Tupling and we can discuss your particular situation. In the meantime, maybe you should just make that bank deposit yourself…

To discuss your employees or volunteers use of their personal vehicles on company business and how to protect your company, contact Martha Marton at Tupling Insurance Brokers Limited. (705) 458-8111 marthamarton @tupling insurance.com

Tupling Insurance Brokers, 1070 Innisfil Beach Road, Innisfil, ON L9S 4T9 705.431.5585