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“Leaseback” of a Personally-Owned Auto Done Right

Personally-owned autos belong on a personal auto policy (PAP), but occasionally a commercial insured intentionally or unintentionally includes one or several personally-owned auto(s) on its business auto policy (BAP). Commercial clients may do this for one of many reasons; but when a commercial client intentionally or unintentionally includes a personally-owned auto on the BAP, the agent must ascertain the legitimacy of the vehicle’s inclusion on the BAP. The primary goal of this article is to allow agents to answer the question, “When is the inclusion of a personally-owned auto on the BAP legitimate and proper?”

Auto Statutes by State

State laws vary regarding auto policies, personal and commercial. Each state prescribes its own minimum limits and other required coverages. Some state require Uninsured Motorist (UM) and some states require Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM). Is it a Personal Injury Protection state (aka, No-Fault); or are you allowed to exclude a driver?

Church-Owned, Pastor Insured: Is This Correct?

An agent asks: A vehicle is registered to a church that provides the vehicle to the senior pastor and his wife for their personal use. The vehicle is insured on the pastor's PAP and the church is not listed as an additional insured. The pastor and his wife use the vehicle mostly for their personal use but regularly drive it when handling business affairs of the church. What is the correct way to properly insure this risk?

Food Truck Claim…BAP or CGL?

According to a recent news story, a dozen or more people were injured by exploding propane tanks used for cooking on a food truck parked at the curb of a public street. With lawsuits likely, where is the coverage…BAP or CGL? Or both? Or neither?

Insuring Food Trucks…Common Exposures in Uncommon Circumstances

What happens when you combine restaurant operations with an auto exposure beyond the mere delivery or catering operation? Join Mike Edwards as he combines his two favorite subjects – insurance and food – into one great article that will put you a step ahead of the competition in this rapidly growing market.

ISO Business Auto Form and Endorsement Revisions

ISO’s most recent BAP multistate filing includes 19 NEW endorsements. Effective 11/1/2020, many of these endorsements are the result of Big I’s Technical Affairs Committee and cover gaps that have existed for years. Get to know these endorsements, they can save the insured from major coverage gaps.

Pulling a Personally Owned Trailer with a Company Truck

We get a number of questions regarding insuring trailers. Here is yet another twist, along with links to other articles at the end. If you search the VU for “trailer”, you will undoubtedly find many more.

Recent Trucking Spills No Laughing Matter for Transportation Industry

Nuclear verdicts are hitting most insurance sectors, but nowhere is the threat more prevalent than in the trucking industry. From 2010 to 2018, average trucking verdicts over $1 million were up 1,000%. This Burns & Wilcox article details some of the challenges facing trucking companies and their brokers.

Running MVRs for Commercial Auto Clients

Agents often get pulled into spots they don’t need to be; one of those is pulling MVRs for commercial auto clients. If asked to run MVRs for your commercial auto client, what should you do?

The Era of Vehicle Hacking is Here. Are Insurers Ready?

Do you think your car can be “stolen” yet still be sitting in the parking lot or driveway with you in it? Well, evidently, it can – it’s called “Hacking.” Because of the technology found in new vehicles, hacker may be able to “steal” your car even though you are still in passion of it.

The Insurance Implications of the U.S. Supreme Court Same-Sex Marriage Ruling – Commercial Lines Edition

On June 26, 2015 in Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision ruled in favor of same-sex marriage. So what does this mean for you and your customers? Specifically, what are the P&C coverage implications? This article primarily examines some commercial lines issues and the companion article does the same for personal lines issues.

Trailer-Related Liability Chart

Here’s your one-stop-shop for Liability Coverage for Trailer-Related Liability: Primary and Excess Protection.

What Does Symbol 1 on the Business Auto Policy Cover?

While Symbol 1 of the Commercial Auto Policy should cover “any auto” your insured drives, there are no guarantees that 1) Your carrier will allow this coverage on all or any of your insured’s vehicles, and 2) that the carrier won’t add an additional audit charge at audit after an accident involving “any auto.” Often if an insured removes a commercial vehicle from service and asks to have that vehicle deleted from the policy while the vehicle is out of service, the carrier will not allow that change under Symbol 1. Read on for deeper understanding of Symbol 1 from our Ask an Expert panel.

BAP Coverage for Loaner Cars...Or Lack Thereof

The ISO Personal Auto Policy provides broad coverage for the use of nonowned autos...essentially, the broadest coverage on any owned vehicle (liability, medical payments, physical damage, etc.) will extend to most rented or borrowed cars. Unfortunately, it's not that simple when dealing with the Business Auto policy and, if an agent isn't careful, their insureds could find themselves with serious exposure gaps.

BAP Symbol 2 Coverage for Deleted Autos

An auto policy was written to provide liability and uninsured motorists (UM BI & PD) coverage on a Symbol 2 basis. The insured asked the agency to delete several autos during the policy term. Later there was an accident with an uninsured motorist involving $8,000 in damage to one of the deleted autos. The insured discovers that they asked the agency to delete the autos in error...they still own them. The insurer denied the claim because the auto was deleted, so Symbol 2 no longer applies. Is this correct?

Business Auto Coverage Games

A corporate owner or officer wants to insure his personally owned auto on the company's Business Auto Policy. Heck, he wants to insure all the family vehicles under the BAP! Or how about this one...a corporate owner wants to rent a car, loan it to his daugher's boyfriend for the summer, and insure under the corporate BAP. With apologies to Joe South, oh the games people play!

Do Businesses Need to Buy UM Coverage?

In today's market, everyone is looking for a way to reduce premiums. One method that is sometimes used is to not carry UM coverage under the BAP. After all, if an employee is injured, there's workers compensation coverage, right? Answer: maybe, maybe not, and definitely not.

Does a Trucker Need CGL Coverage?

Recently, we've had several 'Ask an Expert' questions about the need for CGL coverage for someone whose business involves almost exclusively the driving or operation of a motor vehicle, from long-haul truckers to cement truck drivers to parcel delivery services. Do such businesses really need CGL coverage?

Garage Policy vs. CGL+BAP+GKLL

Many companies insist on writing some auto service exposures under the CGL and BAP policies, with Garagekeepers Legal Liability attached. (In fact, ISO has removed nondealership risks from the Garage Program.) Other carriers use a Garage form. Is one approach better than another?

Garagekeepers vs. On-Hook Coverage

'On-hook' coverage is often provided for towing operations in case a vehicle being transported is damaged. Exactly what is 'on-hook' coverage and how does it compare to garagekeepers coverage? If garagekeepers coverage is provided, is on-hook coverage needed? Well, it depends on what insurer you ask.

Is It BAP or CGL?

A contractor is rolling an air compressor across a parking lot to load it into his truck. He slips and the compressor rolls into a Cadillac. Is it a Business Auto claim or a CGL claim? The answer may not be as simple as you think. In addition, this actual claim submitted to our 'Ask an Expert' service involves two other issues even more important than the coverage!

Overcoming a Symbol 7 Limitation with Symbol 8

Your insured's business auto policy includes Symbols 7 and 8. He acquires a new vehicle, but fails to report it until he has an accident three months later. Normally, there is no coverage under Symbol 7 for acquired vehicles beyond 30 days. However, rather than buy the vehicle, he leased it under a long-term lease agreement. Does that make a difference?

The BAP and Temporary Substitutes

Question: 'My customer has a Business Auto Policy (BAP) with Symbol 1 for liability and Symbol 7 for physical damage. One of their autos will be in the shop for two weeks for repairs and I want to make sure there are no gaps in coverage. Since they will rent a vehicle during this time, it will be a temporary substitute auto and the BAP responds for liability and physical damage claims, right?'