Are Your Assets Driving Down the Road At 60 Miles an Hour?

I am only going to say this once. Every time you let someone drive anything for your business you are (regardless who is driving or what they are driving) you are risking a law suit that can cost you your house, savings, business and kid's college fund, everything. Your risk comes from autos you own and autos you DO NOT OWN. As your insurance insider I will give you the basics of protecting yourself from financial disaster. One of the top reason’s you set up a business entity such as a corporation is so you keep your business assets separate from your personal assets. That's why you buy business auto insurance to protect your business. Put that truck on a personal auto policy and you've just told everyone, that your personal assests are fair game. Even if the truck is titled to the business. By the way if its titiled to the business and it's on your personal auto coverage you may have no coverage at all. If you read your personal auto policy you will note autos used for business are excluded from coverage.

Autos You Own

In Oregon the insurance follows the car not the driver. If you own the car you are now responsible for anything that happens to this car, no matter who is driving it for what purpose. Give it to your worker to run an errand-you are responsible. Give it to your brother to move a refrigerator on the weekend- you are responsible.

The fist step in protecting your financial future is to avoid problems when ever possible. Just don’t own a vehicle. Not real practical if you need to get goods, materials or people to different places. But having your employees leave your vehicle at the shop and taking their own autos to and from work avoids some problems.

The Second Step is to have an Active Safety program in Place. Make sure your Vehicles are in good repair; make sure you hire good drivers with good driving records. Have strict rules as to who can drive and when. 

Tip: As a service to our customers we provide free department of motor vehicle reports for any driver you request ( this can take up to 48 hours to obtain)

Hired Autos are autos that you rent or lease (short term). These autos are rented by the business for use by the business. Make sure the business name is on the lease or rental agreement. Your personal auto policy does not cover business auto exposures. Business autos are excluded from your personal auto policy.

Borrowed Autos are autos you borrow such as specific equipment for a job or just the truck of a fellow contractor who lets you use it for the day. If the owner of the auto you borrow has little or no insurance then you are responsible. An auto you "borrow" from your employee or family member is usually not a borrowed auto from the perspective of your insurance company. These autos are non-owned autos. A borrowed auto is not owned by you a family member or employee. 

Tip: Coverage for Non-Owned and Hired Auto is a must for any business that has employees or has any exposure to autos at all. Yes even the card shop at the mall needs this coverage. Just in case employees use their own car to pick something up at the post office.

Tip: Make sure your personal auto policy meshes with your business auto policy! Sit down with your agent and discuss how each auto is used. Do not assume you have coverage just because the auto is listed on the policy. If the company owns the truck, the truck is registered in the company name it will not be covered under your personal auto policy. Like wise if, the family station wagon is owned by you and your wife and it is registered in your and her names than it will not be covered under the business auto policy.

Who Drives Your Autos?

One of the easiest ways to protect yourself when letting someone else drive your autos is to manage who drives your autos. Let your employees know you will not tolerate irresponsible driving of any auto. If you are going to hire an employee check their driving record. Bancorp Insurance Agency will be happy to run the driving record of a prospective employee for you even if you are not an auto customer. Make sure you let him/her know that a good driving record is important to you. Reward employees for good driving records. It will pay for it's self in the long run.

Be up front

This seems simple. But, you would be surprised how many people think it's okay to not tell to the insurance company everything. Insurance companies will review your entire file-back to the original application-if there is a serious claim. If they can find a Material item that would have lead them to not have offered you a policy, they will try to deny the claim. What does the company consider a Material item? That depends on the company, and what type of claim it is. In my opinion full disclosure about where your car is garaged, who drives it, and how the it is used, the weight, size of the auto etc is the best policy.

Personal Auto Insurance
Do not put your personal autos on your business policy. If your kids and the wife drive a car for their use 60% of the time than these autos should be on a personal lines auto policy. If you need a quote or want, more information about personal auto insurance than call our office and ask for Steve.

Business Auto Insurance Can Costs Less Than You Think

Protection is meaningless after the accident. And think of it. We are all one mishap away from devastating personal and financial loss.

At Bancorp Insurance we have protected the business of Oregon since 1978.

Avoiding accidents is not promised to you or anyone else. So, don’t delay. Be prepared for life’s misfortunes. Complete the Protection Savings Form now and let the professionals at Bancorp forge a shield of protection over you or call us at 800-452-6826