Coverage to protect your business cars, trucks, and other vehicles
Business driving needs more than personal auto minimums.
Commercial auto liability pays when a company vehicle hurts someone or damages property. Contracts, landlords, and shippers often require $1 million combined single limit — far above a personal auto. The cab in this scene is where that exposure starts.
Tap a point on the scene to learn more
The base commercial auto policy is the printed form. An endorsement is a taped-on change — adding coverage, taking it away, or renaming who is insured. Optional coverages ride along with the policy. Separate policies sit beside it.
Form names and availability vary by carrier. This is a map of add-ons we commonly shop in Illinois — not a promise that every company offers every item.
Base policy
Commercial auto policy
Hover an add-on to read it, then click to pin it here — a review list for your next conversation with an advisor.
Send this list to an advisor →We’ll open the contact form for this coverage so an advisor can help you decide which add-ons belong on the policy.
Whether you have one vehicle or a whole fleet, we can help you implement custom coverage that will protect your business and personal assets from the additional exposure that commercial vehicles bring with them.
Illinois requires liability coverage at a minimum. We also compare collision coverage, comprehensive coverage, deductibles, and uninsured motorist limits against your vehicles and assets.
A vehicle collision is never good news, but when it is one of your business' cars or trucks, the consequences are more complicated. Business auto insurance, also called commercial auto insurance, takes all the elements of normal auto coverage and adds on extra protection.
For example, when obtaining commercial car insurance you can usually get much higher liability coverage to reflect the fact that a business typically has more assets at risk than an individual would. Additionally, with commercial auto insurance, you can get collision insurance. This type of coverage pays out for damage to your commercial car or truck no matter who caused the collision–a protection that is often a must if you lease or finance commercial vehicles.
It is also worth considering employers non-owned car liability coverage. Employers non-owned car liability coverage is an add-on or a separate policy covering those instances when your employees drive their own personal cars or trucks as part of their work for your business. This type of protection can help reduce the risk of messy legal complications if they are injured or their vehicle is damaged during this time.
Commercial car insurance is essential for those that run a business, but obtaining the proper coverages can get confusing. We can help!
Request a business auto quote to get started.
The same commercial auto policy add-ons from the explorer above, listed out. Form names and availability vary by carrier.
Endorsement
Adds a person or organization to liability when a contract demands it.
Job sites and landlords ask to be additional insured on commercial auto, not just general liability. The certificate of insurance is not the coverage. Blanket additional-insured endorsements are easier than naming every GC — if the carrier files one that matches the contract.
Endorsement
One liability limit instead of split bodily injury / property damage.
Contracts and certificates often specify CSL rather than split limits. An endorsement or a different declarations setup can put the auto liability on a combined single limit. We match the number to the contract, not just to a personal-auto habit.
Endorsement
Covers a business owner who has a company car but no personal auto.
Drive-other-car coverage can protect someone furnished a company vehicle who does not keep a personal auto policy, when they drive a car they do not own. Borrowing a friend’s car without DOC is a classic gap. It is not a substitute for listing household drivers on a personal auto.
Endorsement
Customers’ vehicles in your care — if you park or service them.
If you valet, service, or store customers’ autos, garagekeepers is the bailee coverage. It is often a commercial auto or garage endorsement, not CGL. Dealers and shops need a dedicated conversation; a plain business auto form may not be enough.
Endorsement
Liability — and sometimes physical damage — on vehicles you rent.
Hired auto covers autos you lease, hire, or borrow (not employee-owned). Illinois contractors and sales teams who grab a Hertz van for a job need this symbol set correctly. Physical damage on rented units is a separate yes/no from liability.
Endorsement
A federal endorsement for certain motor carriers — public liability.
MCS-90 is not optional window dressing. Qualifying interstate (and some intrastate) motor carriers must have it. It is a surety-like public liability endorsement, not extra physical damage. Filings and BMC-91X go with it. Radius and commodity change whether you need it.
Endorsement
Liability when employees use their own cars on company business.
Non-owned auto is for the business’s liability if an employee runs an errand in a personal vehicle. It does not repair the employee’s car. Pizza shops, real-estate teams, and service companies trip this one. Personal auto still needs to be in force for the driver.
Optional coverage
A substitute commercial vehicle while yours is repaired.
A downed work van is lost jobs, not just inconvenience. Rental reimbursement on commercial auto helps pay for a substitute unit after a covered comprehensive or collision loss. Limits are daily and total caps. Downtime beyond the rental is a different coverage conversation.
Optional coverage
Tow limits for a disabled scheduled auto.
Commercial towing bills on a box truck are not sedan prices. Optional towing coverage sets a per-disablement cap. It does not replace hired auto if you rent a replacement, and it does not cover cargo.
Endorsement
Physical damage for trailers you hook that you do not own.
If you pull someone else’s trailer under an interchange agreement, trailer interchange covers that trailer for collision and comprehensive-type losses while in your care. Motor carriers and some local haulers need it. It is not motor truck cargo.
Endorsement
Stops your insurer from chasing another party after a claim.
Construction and vendor contracts often require a waiver of subrogation on auto as well as GL. Without the endorsement, the carrier may still pursue the other party. Primary and noncontributory wording is a related, separate request.
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