Important Reasons To Let Your Insurance Company Know Your Vehicle Is Commercial
Maybe you've signed up to drive for Uber or Lyft. Perhaps your vehicle doubles as a rapid delivery automobile for your delivery service. Or, maybe you plan to operate a small-scale food truck business from your minivan. Whatever type of business it is that you are doing with your vehicle, this is something that the insurance company should know. When you have an automobile that is part of a commercial operation, there must be changes to your auto insurance policy, but many in this position fail to update their coverage. Here's a look at the important reasons to inform your auto insurance carrier if your vehicle is used for a business operation.
Your coverage liabilities will change as a business traveler.
There is a huge difference in how a regular vehicle functions and how a business vehicle functions in most cases. For example, if you use your car for a self-built taxi service, you will be on the roadway a lot more often, traveling far more miles. Therefore, it will be more likely that you get into a fender bender at some point. Your insurance company needs to know this so they can effectively update your policy.
Likewise, when you are carrying people in your vehicle, whether it is paying passengers or employees, you need to be protected if something happens to one of these people in an accident. This is why it is best to invest in some form of commercial business liability insurance in addition to your current auto policy. If something happens to a random person in your vehicle, you need to ensure you are covered.
Your insurance provider could refuse to cover business-related incidents.
If you fail to update your policy and inform your auto insurance provider when you start using your vehicle for business purposes, situations could arise that would not be covered by your ordinary policy. But beyond that, if the insurer discovers that an accident took place as part of your normal business operations with your vehicle, they could refuse to cover you simply because you failed to inform them of the changes.
With your vehicle being used outside of normal use, your auto insurance company has the right to feel slighted. More importantly, legally, they may not be required to cover certain incidents. As a small business owner, a situation not covered by your insurance can be costly and disruptive to your whole business operation.
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