Hired and Non-Owned Auto vs. Commercial Auto: How Do They Differ?
Commercial auto can cover vehicles your business owns and may include hired or non-owned vehicles; HNOA focuses on your business’s liability when you use vehicles you do not own.
Check the policy’s schedule to see which applies. “Commercial auto” therefore can be a broad policy, while HNOA describes a particular exposure or coverage arrangement. The name on a quote alone does not show which vehicles or liability sections are included.
HNOA generally does not make an employee’s personal car a scheduled business vehicle and should not be assumed to pay for damage to that car. A hired-auto liability grant also may be separate from physical damage to a rental vehicle. The ISO form’s definitions and symbols illustrate how covered-auto status varies by coverage.
Compare the quote’s declarations and endorsements: owned-auto liability, hired-auto liability, non-owned auto liability, physical damage, and named insureds. Ask whether employees’ personal cars, borrowed vehicles, rentals, and personal use are treated differently.
