The Best Commercial Auto Insurance
If you drive a business-owned vehicles for work purposes, you need commercial auto insurance. Our list of the best business vehicle insurance companies will help you find the right provider.
Commercial auto insurance is a crucial type of coverage and one of the few types of small business insurance that may be legally required. Commercial auto insurance typically includes liability, collision, comprehensive coverage, medical payments (personal injury protection or PIP), and protection against uninsured motorists.
To help you find the right commercial auto insurance for your business, we compared 20+ insurance providers. We evaluated each company on its pricing, reliability, variety of policies offered, and other factors to help you make the right choice.
Note that you may need a special type of commercial vehicle insurance if you use large work vehicles to transport cargo across multiple states. Commercial trucking insurance is designed for independent owner-operator and leasers who fall under the oversight of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). If that sounds like your business, you may want to jump to our post on the best commercial truck insurance instead.
Learn More About Our Top Picks
Read more below to learn why we chose these options.
Table of Contents [hide][show]
- The 5 Best Commercial Car Insurance For Your Small Business
- The Hartford Small Business Insurance: Best Overall
- Nationwide Commercial Insurance: Best For Fleets
- Travelers Small Business Insurance: Best Nationwide Coverage
- Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best For Mixed Vehicles
- What Types Of Commercial Car Insurance Do You Need?
- Do Gig Workers Need Commercial Car Insurance?
- How To Find Cheap Commercial Auto Insurance
Table of Contents
- The 5 Best Commercial Car Insurance For Your Small Business
- How The Top Commercial Auto Insurance Companies Compare
- The Hartford Small Business Insurance: Best Overall
- The Hartford Small Business Insurance
- The Hartford Pricing
- The Hartford Coverage
- Nationwide Commercial Insurance: Best For Fleets
- Nationwide Commercial Insurance
- Nationwide Pricing
- Nationwide Coverage
- Travelers Small Business Insurance: Best Nationwide Coverage
- Travelers Small Business Insurance
- Travelers Pricing
- Travelers Coverage
- Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best For Mixed Vehicles
- Progressive Pricing
- Progressive Coverage
- Business Insurance Review Methodology
- What Types Of Commercial Car Insurance Do You Need?
- Do Gig Workers Need Commercial Car Insurance?
- How To Find Cheap Commercial Auto Insurance
The 5 Best Commercial Car Insurance For Your Small Business
Commercial auto insurance is necessary for business-owned vehicles. Wondering how to find the best policy? Start with our list of the best commercial auto insurance providers.
- The Hartford Small Business Insurance: Best Overall
- Nationwide Commercial Insurance: Best For Fleets
- Travelers Small Business Insurance: Best Nationwide Coverage
- Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best For Mixed Vehicles
How The Top Commercial Auto Insurance Companies Compare
Not Available In | Online Quotes | Large Vehicle Coverage | |
---|---|---|---|
The Hartford Small Business Insurance | Alaska, Hawaii, La. | ||
Nationwide Commercial Insurance | Alaska, Hawaii, La., Okla. | ||
Travelers Small Business Insurance | Available Everywhere | ||
Progressive Commercial Insurance | Washington, D.C. |
The Hartford Small Business Insurance: Best Overall
Pricing
Varied. Average general liability is $88/monthTypes of insurance offered
30+ policy typesTime to receive quote
Usually same-dayPros
- Complete auto coverage
- Fast personal price quotes
Cons
- Not available in Alaska, Hawaii, or Louisiana
- Not meant for smaller businesses
Why We Chose The Hartford As The Best Overall Commercial Auto Insurance
The Hartford offers a full range of commercial auto insurance, including some relatively uncommon types of coverage such as drive other car coverage. If your fleet of business vehicles and your employee driver pool are large, you'll find the business car insurance you need with the Hartford.
Choose The Hartford If...
- You have a large fleet of drivers and vehicles that need complete coverage at a reasonable rate.
Get Started With The Hartford Small Business Insurance
Nationwide Commercial Insurance: Best For Fleets
Pricing
By personalized quote onlyTypes Of Insurance Offered
BOP + specialized coverageTime To Receive A Quote
Approximately 30 minutesPros
- Fast, free quotes
- Specialty add-ons available
Cons
- Not available in all states
- High minimum requirements for liability
Why We Chose Nationwide For The Best Fleet Commercial Auto Insurance
Nationwide is one of the largest insurers in the US, and it's hardly surprising that its commercial auto policies are aimed at larger companies. (That's not to say small businesses can't work with Nationwide!) If your business owns and operates a fleet of vehicles, you may be an ideal Nationwide commercial auto insurance customer.
Choose Nationwide If...
- You need specialty add-ons like roadside assistance or medical payments for your fleet.
Get Started With Nationwide Commercial Insurance
Travelers Small Business Insurance: Best Nationwide Coverage
Pros
- Local agents
- Significant price discounts available
Cons
- No online quotes
- Not available in California or Florida
Why We Chose Travelers For The Best Nationwide Commercial Auto Insurance
No matter where your business is located, you need commercial car insurance for your business vehicles. Travelers is one of the few insurers that is licensed in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. So if you want an insurer that can work with you no matter where you are now or where you're headed, Travelers is a good pick.
Choose Travelers If...
- You need coverage in multiple states and want discounts on multiple policies.
Get Started With Travelers Small Business Insurance
Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best For Mixed Vehicles
Progressive Commercial Insurance |
---|
Pros
- Adjustments available for seasonal coverage
- Discounts available
Cons
- Must speak with an agent to purchase coverage
- Not available in Washington, D.C.
Why We Chose Progressive As The Best Option For Mixed Vehicle Commercial Auto Insurance
Commercial auto insurance applies mainly to passenger vehicles and light trucks. If you want to insure heavier equipment such as a dump truck, you probably need to consider truck insurance. Or, depending on your vehicle types and usage, you may be able to list them on a commercial auto policy from Progressive.
Choose Progressive If...
- You need to insure standard vehicles and light trucks at the same time but still want access to add-ons like truck or motor cargo insurance.
Get Started With Progressive Commercial Insurance
Business Insurance Review Methodology
Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing business insurance since 2020. Our writers have tested over twenty different major insurance companies. In each review, we evaluate pricing, features, customer service, and user reviews.
Read more about how we rate business insurance providers.
When comparing different business insurance companies, we consider many data points, including relative pricing, the number of standard insurance policies available, and the ability to create custom policies. Our lists of the best business insurance providers include only those we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points and often share qualities such as low cost, a variety of niche business insurance policies, multiple ways to file claims, and excellent customer support.
We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, ensuring that the business insurance companies included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.
What Types Of Commercial Car Insurance Do You Need?
Most insurance companies offer basic auto liability insurance coverage as required by law in most places. From there, you can customize your commercial auto policy by adding different types of coverage, as needed.
Here are some to look for:
Understanding the range of available coverage will help you when you speak with an insurance agent to customize your commercial auto policy. That’s the secret to getting the coverage you need without paying for anything extra that you don’t need.
Do Gig Workers Need Commercial Car Insurance?
If you’re a self-employed worker driving your personal car for business reasons, you may wonder if you need or are eligible for commercial auto insurance.
The answer can be a bit complicated, so it’s definitely a good idea to talk to your insurance agent if you drive for Lyft, Uber Eats, DoorDash, or any other type of gig work.
Most often, when you use your personal vehicle for work purposes, you will not be able to get commercial auto coverage. Instead, you’ll need to look into something called hired and non-owned auto coverage. You may also be able to take out a hybrid policy or add an endorsement that covers you while you’re driving for work.
However, if you have two vehicles and use one exclusively for personal transportation and the other exclusively for work, the second vehicle may be eligible for commercial auto insurance.
Either way, you must let your insurance company know that you’re driving a vehicle as a gig worker. Many personal auto policies specifically exclude accidents that occur while you’re using your vehicle for work purposes.
How To Find Cheap Commercial Auto Insurance
Is insurance one of those products where you get what you pay for? In other words, is cheap insurance coverage worth it?
A recent study by Insureon found that customers pay an average of $147/month or $1,762/year for commercial auto insurance. However, about 37% of Insureon customers pay less than $100/month for their commercial auto coverage.
If cost is your top concern, you’ll be glad to hear that there are several things you can do to lower the cost of insurance. First, make sure that you’re adding to your commercial auto coverage only employees with good driving records. The more drivers you add to your policy, the more you could pay, so make sure you’re giving the company car keys only to the employees who need them.
The types of vehicles you’re covering, and their age and value, will also affect your commercial auto insurance cost. Older, less expensive vehicles generally cost slightly less to insure.
Make sure you’re paying only for the coverage you need, too. If your employees rarely travel far from your workplace, you might not need towing or roadside assistance add-ons, for example. Ultimately, the coverage you choose will be up to you. Working with an experienced insurance agent can help you ensure you’re making the right choices regarding coverage, limits, and deductibles.