COVERAGE THAT MATCHES HOW YOUR VEHICLES ARE USED
Commercial Auto Insurance in Michigan
Vehicles, Drivers, Ownership, and Use Must Line Up
Commercial auto insurance should reflect who owns each vehicle, who drives it, where it travels, what it carries, and how it supports the business. We help identify gaps involving personal versus commercial use, hired and non-owned autos, attached equipment, driver eligibility, liability limits, and physical-damage deductibles.
Owned Business Vehicles
Hired and Non-Owned Autos
Drivers and Fleet Controls
Liability and Physical Damage
Commercial Auto Coverage Built Around Real Operations
A pickup used for service calls, a delivery van, a dump truck, a salesperson’s personal vehicle, and a rented replacement vehicle create different exposures. The named insured, vehicle title, covered-auto symbols, radius, garaging, driver list, business use, and attached equipment should agree with reality.
We review the entire vehicle picture—not just the units already on a schedule. That may include employees using personal vehicles, short-term rentals, trailers, newly acquired autos, mobile equipment, permanently installed tools, and personal use of company vehicles.
Liability Limits and Severe Accidents
Commercial vehicles can create significant injury and property-damage claims. We discuss limits in relation to vehicle size, travel radius, contracts, assets, cargo, passengers, and whether a commercial umbrella should sit above the policy.
Physical Damage and Attached Equipment
Comprehensive and collision deductibles affect damage to covered vehicles. Toolboxes, lift gates, refrigeration units, permanently attached equipment, cargo, and property in transit may need separate limits or inland-marine coverage.
Hired and Non-Owned Auto
Hired-auto coverage can address certain rented or borrowed vehicles. Non-owned-auto liability can address certain business use of employee-owned vehicles. Neither automatically replaces physical-damage coverage or the employee’s personal insurance.
Drivers, Motor Vehicle Records, and Fleet Changes
Carrier eligibility can depend on driver age, experience, licensing, violations, accidents, vehicle type, and territory. New drivers, vehicles, locations, routes, or business activities should be reported promptly.
Local Commercial Auto Guidance for Michigan Businesses
Customers First Insurance Group works from Clear Creek Plaza in Chesterfield and serves New Baltimore, Macomb County, Metro Detroit, and businesses throughout Michigan. Owner Michael Vereecke has worked in insurance since 2009 and holds the Commercial Lines Coverage Specialist (CLCS) designation.
We help contractors, delivery operations, retailers, professional firms, service companies, landlords, restaurants, and other businesses connect their commercial auto coverage with general liability, workers’ compensation, commercial property, inland marine, and umbrella policies. The goal is a coordinated program, not a collection of disconnected policies.
Commercial Auto Insurance Questions
Can a personal auto policy cover business use?
Sometimes limited business use may be permitted, but many personal policies restrict or exclude certain deliveries, transporting customers, vehicles titled to a business, or regular commercial activity. The actual ownership and use should be reviewed before relying on a personal policy.
What is hired and non-owned auto coverage?
Hired auto can address certain autos the business rents or borrows. Non-owned auto can address certain liability arising when employees use personal vehicles for company business. Coverage depends on the policy terms and covered-auto symbols.
Are tools, cargo, or equipment covered by commercial auto insurance?
Not necessarily. A business-auto policy primarily addresses auto liability and covered vehicle damage. Tools, cargo, customer property, and mobile equipment may require inland marine, cargo, installation, or other specialized coverage.
What changes should be reported during the policy term?
Report new or sold vehicles, new drivers, changes in garaging or territory, new routes, different vehicle uses, attached equipment, ownership changes, and operations that increase travel or hauling.