Guide to Insuring Your Business Vehicles

Understand the basics

Insuring a work vehicle is like insuring a personal one – you need liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage to others, plus protection that provides payments for medical costs and personal injury for the driver and passengers. Several online resources can help you learn the terminology, compare different types of insurances, and save money.

I recommend: The Insurance Information Institute, a trade group, offers a primer on everything from finding the right agent to saving money on policies. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners provides an overview of types of insurances that small businesses need. Check out Safeco's list of questions that business owners should ask themselves when considering coverage (of all types of business insurance, including auto coverage).

Go through a broker or get bids online

Buying commercial auto insurance can be complicated and expensive. It is always a good idea to speak with a professional when determining your needs. A good starting point is with the agent who currently handles your business insurance; you can often get discounts of up to 20% by purchasing multiple insurance lines from the same agent. But plenty of insurance companies also vie for your business online.

I recommend: Insurance Noodle specializes in policies for small business. Or try these sites for online quotes: NetQuote, InsuranceQuoteOnline, MostChoice and USInsuranceOnline.

Take steps to lower your costs

Some cars cost less than others to insure. Also, employing workers who have clean driving records can help to reduce costs.

I recommend: Check the driving records of employees using vehicles for your business. Federal law allows screening of drivers' records for business purposes; it's a good idea to get employees' consent before checking them. Records are typically available from state motor vehicle departments. Several companies, including 4SafeDrivers.com and DrivingRecordsSearch, will do the searches for a fee. Some companies are going so far as to administer drug tests to assure their employees are fit for the road. Insure.com provides safety information and repair costs on a wide variety of vehicles, helping you to gauge how expensive a car will be to insure.