Car Insurance for Business Travel

If you travel a lot for business, you will need to make sure you have adequate car insurance to cover your risk factors as you travel.

Traveling for business may be done with your car or it may be with a company car loaned to you by your company. If you are using a company car, your first step you should take is to find out how much insurance the company has on the car.

This situation is similar to a lease situation. If you are driving someone else’s car, remember that the insurance follows the car, not the driver.

Therefore, you may want to look into getting some temporary insurance to cover the excess costs that may be incurred if you are driving another car and are involved in an accident.

Ask your CEO or supervisor for help in determining the amount of coverage that the company car has. They should be happy to help since you are trying to protect their investment and making sure that the coverage on the company vehicle is enough to cover all damages.

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Check on Minimums

No matter what the situation, you should always make sure that your insurance policy covers the minimums required for your state. This state map is handy to learn more about insurance and insurance requirements in your state of residence.

Insurance laws are regulated and enforced by the state level, not the national level, so it is important to make sure you first have the minimum required insurance.

Car insurance is required in every state except two: New Hampshire and Virginia, and even they have specific requirements that are in place to cover losses, including verifying the ability to pay for damages and financial stability and responsibility.

If You Drive Your Own Car

If you drive your car on business trips, you may want to look into what coverages you have and see if you need to increase your current coverages to be safer.

For example, if you drive into a high crime area such as a big city like Chicago, you may want to add on comprehensive coverage to cover vandalism or theft.

Full coverage is the only type of coverage that will cover theft or vandalism. Comprehensive also covers a wide variety of other incidents such as “acts of nature” like storms, tornadoes, and hail, floods, and fire.

This coverage is important to have because once your car is damaged by flood or fire, it is considered a total loss.

Below are some of the other coverage areas you will want to consider when shopping for car insurance.

• Uninsured/underinsured – Uninsured insurance means that your insurance will pay if the person who hit you is responsible but did not have insurance at the time of the accident. Underinsured insurance means that the other person was at fault and had insurance, but they did not have enough insurance to cover the accident.
• Collision – Collision insurance pays for damages to your vehicle if you are involved in a collision on the road. This kind of coverage requires that you designate a deductible, which is the amount you must pay before your insurance pays.
• Rental insurance – Car rental insurance coverage guarantees that you will have access to a rental car for the time that your car is in repair and you are without transportation. This is a great coverage to consider for business people who often use their car for business travel.
• Roadside assistance – Roadside assistance gives you immediate help 24/7 if you are stranded on the road. This is an extra bit of security that you may want to include, especially if you will be traveling to strange places at night or in locations that could be dangerous.
• Medical coverage – Medical coverage gives you help in making medical payments for anything related to an accident, including health conditions that arise later as a result of the accident. You should be sure to keep careful documentation so that you can show the treatments or illnesses are related to your accident.

Choosing the Best Insurance

Whether you are driving a company car or your car on business trips, your safety and security are the most important. So look into coverages such as roadside assistance and car rentals, as well as comprehensive coverage options.

This extra coverage will ensure that you are covered for those situations that have nothing to do with auto collisions.

You should also think about your personal risks and how much you drive. If you only drive once in awhile, you may be eligible for a low-mileage discount. But, in most cases, traveling for business will require traveling pretty often.

So your best bet on saving money on your premiums is to keep your driving record good and apply for other work-related discounts such as government employee discounts (if applicable) or safe driving discounts.

Everyone in the insurance industry is in agreement on one thing: Your driving record is the single most important factor in determining your premium rates. So, the better you do on the road, the more it will pay off for you.

Shop and compare at least three different companies to see which is best. When traveling for business, always use defensive driving tactics and be aware of the path ahead of you. When you do hit a bump in the road, your insurance will take care of you.

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