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Commercial Auto Insurance Coverage Alberta
Commercial auto insurance isn’t strictly for large corporations. Small business owners with up to four vehicles, independent self-employed contractors driving a pickup truck, an employee of a florist who uses their personal sedan for business purposes – all of these professionals require a commercial auto policy.
Get the protection your wheels need from a Canadian small business insurance brokerage you can count on, whether you’re a construction contractor in Red Deer, a retail store owner in Lethbridge, or the owner of a hardware store in Calgary.
Frequently Asked Questions About Commercial Auto Insurance
Also called business car or auto insurance, commercial auto insurance covers the cost of your company’s vehicle or any vehicle used for business purposes from damage and loss, including cars, pickup trucks, vans, and trailers. It also includes coverage for driver injuries.
A standard or basic commercial auto insurance policy consists of four mandatory coverages. They are:
- Third-Party Liability
Third-party liability coverage covers you if you injure another driver or damage their property with your vehicle. The minimum mandatory coverage limit is $200,000 for any one accident, but choosing a higher coverage amount is recommended.
- Direct Compensation-Property Damage
Protection for damages to and loss of use of your vehicle and its contents if another motorist is at fault for an accident or collision that you collect directly from your insurance provider.
- Accident Benefits
Accident benefits cover you and your passengers’ medical and rehabilitation bills if injured in an accident. It also includes funeral expenses, loss of income benefits, and death benefits if you or your driver are killed in an accident.
- Uninsured Auto
If you’re injured and your vehicle is damaged by an uninsured motorist or because of a hit-and-run accident, this coverage pays for damages to your vehicle and covers the cost of your physical injuries.
Optional coverages:
- Collision or upset
Collision coverage pays for damages to your vehicle when you are at fault for an accident with another vehicle or if you hit a stationary object.
- Comprehensive
Covers the cost of a broad range of damage and loss to your vehicle, including theft, vandalism, fire, hail and severe weather, and flying or falling objects.
- All perils
All perils insurance is a combination of collision and comprehensive coverages.
- Employers’ Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability
Coverage for vehicles your business does not own but rents or leases or vehicles owned by your employees used for business purposes.
If your business regularly stores customer vehicles, you may require a garage liability insurance policy.
What your commercial auto policy costs depends on a variety of factors insurance providers consider, including:
- The make, model, and year of the vehicle you drive
- The location of your business
- Your driving record and years of experience as a motorist
- The number of kilometres the vehicle travels annually
- Where the vehicle is regularly parked or stored
- What the vehicle is used for (transporting goods, people, or both)
- Your business’s auto insurance claims history
- What your policy’s coverages are, their limits, and the deductibles
Commercial auto insurance is designed to protect one vehicle. A commercial fleet insurance policy covers five or more vehicles. Both types of coverage apply to vehicles owned by businesses or self-employed contractors.
Coverage Requirements in Alberta
According to Alberta’s Traffic Safety Act, among the requirements business owners of commercial vehicles operating in the province must uphold include:
- All business vehicles and trailers must be registered in the province and undergo an annual safety inspection.
- All business vehicles must have a valid commercial auto insurance policy containing the mandatory coverages and limits set by the province.
- Your business’s commercial vehicle must have a valid motor vehicle permit and licence plates.
Commercial Auto Claims Examples
Problem: While stopped at a busy intersection in downtown Edmonton, another motorist accidentally rear-ends your company vehicle, damaging the bumper.
Outcome: Your commercial auto insurance policy’s direct compensation-property damage coverage may pay for the repairs to your vehicle.
Problem: You park your SUV outside your fabric and textiles shop in Canmore. Overnight, the vehicle is stolen.
Outcome: Your commercial auto insurance policy’s optional comprehensive insurance may pay to replace your stolen SUV.
Problem: An employee of an oil and gas equipment supplier in Fort McMurray runs a red light at an intersection, smashing into another vehicle, and damaging the other driver’s car. Your employee is deemed to be at fault for the collision.
Outcome: Your commercial auto policy’s optional collision or upset coverage may pay to repair the other motorist’s vehicle and your business’s vehicle.
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