What You Need to Know about Car Insurance When You Use Your Car for Business
If you travel a lot for work and use your own personal car there are a few things you need to know when it comes to your individual car insurance policy as well as purchasing business car insurance.
Here are some things you need to know about driving a personal vehicle to your job and using it for business activities:
What is business car insurance?
When you contact insurance companies to get quotes on car insurance rates, they will ask you the intended use of the vehicle. If you answer is that the primary use is business instead of pleasure, you'll need some very specific car insurance.
Using your vehicle to commute to your unique workplace is usually covered under your standard personal car insurance policy. However, all other use for business purposes requires additional coverage.
If you're self-employed or working for a company and using a vehicle to meet clients, transport other staff to meetings, as well as run errands for the company you need additional insurance to cover theft, damage or loss of life in case of an unfortunate event.
Make sure other drivers are insured
It's never a good idea to assume what is covered under your business car insurance policy and what isn't. When it comes to anything financial, especially insurance, it's always better to understand all the details.
If you're travelling around with other employees as passengers make sure they are also included under your business car insurance policy.
Premiums will be higher
According to Confused.com, if your job requires you to drive your own car for the purposes of work then you need to pay for business car insurance as an individual. It's different than your personal car insurance policy and you should expect to pay higher premiums. Using your car for business, even if it’s not your own business, can mean a different set of rules:
"Business car insurance can cover a wide range of uses, such as travelling between different work locations, visiting customers or driving around other employees. Anything, in fact, that's on behalf of the company. Although you'll likely pay higher premiums for business car insurance, don’t be tempted to run the risk of sticking with domestic-only cover. This could lead to your cover being invalidated."
You don't need to insure your company car
If you travel for work and your company provides the car (it's registered in the company name), then you don't need to purchase additional business car insurance. That cost should be covered by your company. However, before getting behind the wheel double check that the car insurance paperwork is in the glove compartment, just in case.
Check with your employer about refunding expenses
When using your personal car for business purposes, having business car insurance coverage is a requirement. Did you know that this, as well as some other expenses, may be refunded by your employer?
Check the corporate travel policy or ask your manager to see if you will be reimbursed for kilometers and gas. These are usually covered by your employer on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis when using your personal car for your job.