Business Automobile Liability Insurance

Hospital or home visits, Church picnics, preschool trips, conferences, retreats, and choir competitions all are legitimate work-related activities covered by business automobile liability insurance, which is designed to protect against liability arising from the ownership, maintenance, and use of motor vehicles.

Auto insurance covers both the organization and the authorized user of a covered vehicle, which includes owned vehicles and those on long-term leases; rented autos that are for official business and not personal use; and autos that aren’t owned by the organization, but are being used on its behalf, such as those belonging to sales employees.

Policies also typically cover trailers, mobile equipment being carried on trailers, and temporary substitute vehicles (for instance, when a covered car is being repaired).

There are some exceptions. For example, a volunteer using their own car to run errands for the Church would have to rely on their personal coverage if they were involved in an accident, as would an employee driving a car other than one owned by the church for business.

The policy covers risks including liability, which insures against civil liability for property damage and bodily injury; personal injury, which covers things like medical expenses and lost earnings for anyone injured in a collision; protection for uninsured or underinsured drivers; and physical damage to a vehicle.

For some of the excursions mentioned above, you might need to rent a vehicle such as a minivan. In such instances it usually makes sense to purchase the rental company’s liability and physical damage insurance, which is about $10-$15 a day. When you purchase the rental agency insurance, that coverage becomes primary and your organization’s auto plan provides coverage in excess of the rental agency’s.

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