Commercial auto for plumbers.

A work van usually cannot stay on a personal auto policy. Personal policies typically exclude business use beyond commuting, and a van titled to the business often cannot be written on one at all. A tech driving the company van to a service call and rear-ending someone is a business claim, and a personal carrier may deny it after the fact. What changes the answer is who holds the title and how the vehicle is used, so a sole proprietor’s pickup used mostly for personal errands is the gray area worth a conversation.

Hired and non-owned coverage is the part of a commercial auto policy that responds when the business is blamed for a crash in a vehicle it does not own. Hired means rented or borrowed, like the box truck for a repipe. Non-owned means a helper’s own pickup used for work. When the helper hits someone on the way to the job, his personal policy is first in line and the business can still be sued, and this coverage answers for the business. It does not repair his truck. What changes the answer is whether the endorsement is on your policy at all, because it is not automatic.

The jetter trailer itself may be scheduled on the commercial auto policy, and the jetter riding on it usually sits on a tools and equipment policy, sometimes called inland marine. When the trailer disappears from the lot overnight, the auto policy may respond for the trailer and the tools policy for the machine, and we make one call for both. What changes the answer is whether each piece is listed with a value, so we list the trailer on the schedule and the jetter on the tools policy before the first theft.

Adding a van mid-year means the vehicle goes onto the schedule and the premium adjusts for the rest of the term. Most carriers give a short window for newly acquired vehicles, but a van that is on the road for weeks before anyone tells the carrier is the gap that shows up after a crash. Tell us before it goes on the road, not after, and we add it the day it is bought. What changes the answer is your policy’s newly acquired vehicle wording and whether physical damage is carried on the rest of the fleet.

A driver’s record changes the price, because carriers rate the listed drivers and pull their motor vehicle records. A new hire with a poor record can move the premium for the whole fleet, and we tell you before you list them rather than after the renewal comes in. What changes the answer is the carrier’s form and your state, since some policies cover any permitted driver and others only the names on the schedule, and how many drivers share how many vans.

General contractors usually name an auto limit in the subcontract as a combined single limit, next to the general liability and workers’ comp requirements, and the certificate then has to show that limit. Larger projects sometimes ask to see an umbrella above it. Read the insurance page of the bid package before you buy so the policy matches the contract on day one. What changes the answer is the size of the job and who is above you, because public work and national general contractors tend to ask for more.