Advertiser Disclosure

💳 Save money on credit card processing with one of our top 5 picks for 2024

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.

    Matt Sherman
  • Last updated onUpdated

  • Shelbi Wescott
  • REVIEWED BY

    Shelbi Wescott

    Managing Editor

Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through referral partnerships, we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent rating and scoring system.

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

CompanyBest ForNext StepsBest For
The Hartford Small Business Insurance

Read More

  • Available in 47 states
  • 24/7 claims assistance
  • Pricing by personal quote only
  • Available in 47 states
  • 24/7 claims assistance
  • Pricing by personal quote only

Visit Site

Read More

Nationwide Commercial Insurance

Read More

  • Available in 40+ states
  • 24/7 claims
  • Pricing by personal quote only
  • Available in 40+ states
  • 24/7 claims
  • Pricing by personal quote only

Visit Site

Read More

Travelers Small Business Insurance

Read More

  • Available in 50 states
  • 24/7 claims
  • Pricing by personal quote only
  • Available in 50 states
  • 24/7 claims
  • Pricing by personal quote only

Visit Site

Read More

Progressive Commercial Insurance

Read More

  • Available in 50 states
  • 24/7 claims
  • Median cost of $175/month
  • Available in 50 states
  • 24/7 claims
  • Median cost of $175/month

Visit Site

Read More

Read more below to learn why we chose these options.

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.

How The Top Commercial Auto Insurance Companies Compare

Not Available InOnline QuotesLarge Vehicle Coverage
The Hartford Small Business InsuranceAlaska, Hawaii, La.
Nationwide Commercial InsuranceAlaska, Hawaii, La., Okla.
Travelers Small Business InsuranceAvailable Everywhere
Progressive Commercial InsuranceWashington, D.C.

The Hartford Small Business Insurance: Best Overall

The Hartford Small Business Insurance

Total Rating 4.3
Pricing4.5

Features5.0

Customer Service3.0

User Reviews3.0

Pricing

Varied. Average general liability is $88/month

Types of insurance offered

30+ policy types

Time to receive quote

Usually same-day

Pros

  • 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.

The Hartford Pricing

Like many insurance companies, The Hartford provides little information about its pricing. If you want to know what you’ll pay for The Hartford commercial auto insurance, you’ll need to contact the company for a free quote.

Your price quote will depend on numerous factors, including your driving record, your claims history, your business location, and the number of cars and drivers your business has.

The Hartford Coverage

The Hartford writes commercial auto insurance policies for cars, vans, pickup trucks, box trucks, and service utility vehicles. These policies can be written to include the following types of coverage:

  • Bodily injury liability
  • Property damage liability
  • Drive other cars (also called CA 99 10)
  • Collision
  • Comprehensive
  • Medical payments
  • Uninsured/underinsured motorist
  • Rental car
  • Personal injury protection (PIP)
  • Hired and non-hired auto

The Hartford’s commercial auto insurance specifically excludes the following:

  • Medical expenses unrelated to an accident that happens while an employee is driving a business vehicle
  • The contents of your business vehicle
  • Accidents in employees’ vehicles when driven for personal reasons
  • Rental car repairs

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

Read our in-depth review

Jump back to comparison chart

Nationwide Commercial Insurance: Best For Fleets

Nationwide Commercial Insurance

Total Rating 4.4
Pricing4.1

Features5.0

Customer Service4.1

User Reviews4.4

Pricing

By personalized quote only

Types Of Insurance Offered

BOP + specialized coverage

Time To Receive A Quote

Approximately 30 minutes

Pros

  • 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.

Nationwide Pricing

Like many insurance companies, especially large ones, Nationwide provides pricing information only through personalized quotes. Your quote will depend on a number of factors, including how many vehicles you’re insuring, how old they are, how much coverage you want, and what deductibles you’re comfortable with.

Nationwide requires a minimum of $100K commercial auto liability per vehicle and recommends $500K-$1 million per vehicle.

Nationwide Coverage

Nationwide’s commercial auto coverage starts with these basic types of coverage:

  • Physical damage
  • Liability
  • Medical payments
  • Towing and labor
  • Rental reimbursement
  • Auto loan or lease gap

You can add the following options if you’d like:

  • Roadside assistance
  • New vehicle replacement cost
  • Hired auto physical damage with loss of use
  • Auto loan or lease
  • Expanded towing
  • Rental reimbursement
  • Medical payments or PIP coverage

Choose Nationwide If...

  • You need specialty add-ons like roadside assistance or medical payments for your fleet.

Get Started With Nationwide Commercial Insurance

Read our in-depth review

Jump back to comparison chart

Travelers Small Business Insurance: Best Nationwide Coverage

Travelers Small Business Insurance

Total Rating 4.0
Pricing3.8

Features4.5

Customer Service4.5

User Reviews1.6



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.

Travelers Pricing

Like most insurance companies, Travelers provides pricing information by custom quote only. Your price depends on many factors, such as the type and number of vehicles you wish to insure, your business claims history and location, and so on.

Travelers stands out from its competitors by offering not only a multi-policy discount but also three additional discounts that can add up to a 16% reduction in your bill.

These deductions include discounts for paying on time, paying in full, and setting up recurring billing through a credit card or EFT payment.

Travelers Coverage

Travelers commercial auto insurance coverage starts with the basics:

  • Liability
  • Physical damage
  • Collision
  • Comprehensive
  • Underinsured motorists

You can add your choice of 13 coverage enhancements or endorsements. These include hired auto coverage, gap coverage for leased vehicles, and blanket additional insured coverage.

Travelers commercial auto insurance is available for passenger vehicles, vans, trucks (light, heavy, and extra heavy-duty), truck trailers, vehicle fleets, and specialty vehicles.

Choose Travelers If...

  • You need coverage in multiple states and want discounts on multiple policies.

Get Started With Travelers Small Business Insurance

Read our in-depth review

Jump back to comparison chart

Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best For Mixed Vehicles

Progressive Commercial Insurance


Visit Site


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.

Progressive Pricing

Progressive stands out from its competitors not only by writing commercial auto policies for trucks and tractor-trailers but also by providing some information about its commercial auto policy pricing.

You’ll still need a personalized price quote, of course, that considers your vehicle types, vintage, and more. For reference, Progressive’s website says the median cost for commercial auto coverage is around $175/month.

Progressive Coverage

Progressive’s commercial auto coverage starts with the following:

  • Liability
  • Physical damage
  • Medical payments
  • Uninsured motorist
  • Hired auto
  • Non-owned

You can customize your Progressive coverage with add-ons. Progressive also offers truck insurance, including motor cargo and trailer interchange policies. That makes Progressive a good choice for any small business with commercial insurance needs that include autos as well as trucks.

One of our other favorite small business insurance providers, NEXT Insurance, now offers commercial auto coverage through a partnership with 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

Jump back to comparison chart

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.

Weighted Rating Breakdown

Pricing 45%
Features 30%
Customer Service 20%
User Reviews 5%

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:

Common Types Of Commercial Auto Coverage

  • Bodily Injury Liability: This will help pay for the other driver’s medical expenses if your driver causes an accident.
  • Property Damage Liability: This will cover damage your driver does to someone else’s property.
  • Drive Other Car: This endorsement covers executives and their spouses when they drive vehicles that aren’t on your policy, such as borrowed cars, test drives, and rented or leased vehicles used for work purposes.
  • Collision: This helps pay to repair or replace your business vehicle after you hit something.
  • Comprehensive: This helps pay for damages to vehicles from theft, fires, or some natural disasters.
  • Medical Payments: Your employees and their passengers can receive medical or dental treatment, rehabilitation services, or funerals.
  • Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist: If the other driver involved in an accident doesn’t have adequate liability coverage, this coverage helps pay for medical expenses and repairs.
  • Expanded Towing: In addition to towing, jumpstarts, and minor roadside repairs, this type of coverage increases your towing allowance from what’s typically allowed under a basic auto policy.
  • Rental Reimbursement: This adds liability coverage while your drivers are using a rental car for business reasons.
  • Roadside Assistance: This offers protections for common mishaps like dead batteries, flat tires, and lockouts.
  • Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This coverage helps pay for medical expenses, lost wages, or funeral expenses after an accident.
  • Hired & Non-Owned Auto: If your driver has an accident in a personal, rented, or leased vehicle used for business reasons, you’ll want this type of coverage.
  • Auto Loan Or Lease Gap: If your work vehicle is declared a total loss following an accident, this type of coverage covers the difference between the vehicle’s cash value and the unpaid loan or lease amount.

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.

Jump back to comparison chart

Matt Sherman

Matt Sherman

Lead Staff Writer at Merchant Maverick
Matt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.
Matt Sherman
View Matt Sherman's professional experience on LinkedIn.
Matt Sherman

Latest posts by Matt Sherman (see all)