Commercial auto insurance in the Capital Region
Personal auto policies typically exclude or limit business use — deliveries, hauling tools every day, rideshare — even where an occasional client visit is fine. If you or your staff drive for work, this is the cover that responds. I place it for business vehicles garaged in Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties.
What commercial auto covers
- Liability — injuries and property damage you cause to others while driving for the business. The most important part, and the one contracts specify.
- Physical damage — collision and comprehensive on your own vehicles.
- No-fault / PIP and uninsured motorist — required in New York on every vehicle.
- Hired and non-owned auto — vehicles you rent or your employees' own cars used for work.
- Add-ons — rental reimbursement, towing, loan/lease gap, and for some businesses cargo or non-trucking liability.
When you need it
| Situation | What you need |
|---|---|
| Vehicle titled to the business | Commercial auto policy |
| Your own pickup, used daily for a trade | Almost always commercial — personal policies exclude business use |
| Employees drive their own cars for errands or deliveries | Hired & non-owned auto on your business policy |
| Occasional client visits in a personal car | Often fine on a personal policy; check with me — carriers differ |
| Food truck or food trailer | Commercial auto for the vehicle plus general liability for the kitchen and the food — see food truck insurance |
| Trucks over 10,000 lb, trailers, box trucks | Commercial auto with appropriate class; possibly DOT filings — see trucking |
Delivery drivers are the gap nobody sees
If a staff member delivers in their own car and hurts someone, the customer's lawyer sues the restaurant, not the 19-year-old driver. Hired and non-owned auto costs little and is the difference between a covered claim and an existential one. More on restaurant coverage.
How it's priced
By vehicle type and weight, how it's used and how far, the radius you operate in, where it's garaged, the drivers' records, limits, and claims history. Driver records matter a lot — a clean MVR for every listed driver is the cheapest thing you can bring to a quote.
What I need to quote
- Year, make, model and VIN of each vehicle, and whether it's owned, financed or leased.
- How each vehicle is used and the typical radius.
- Names, dates of birth and license numbers of all drivers.
- Where the vehicles are kept overnight.
- Current policy declarations, if you have one.
Request a quote — I'll compare several commercial carriers and pair it with your general liability so nothing falls between the two.
- Minimum auto insurance requirements (NY DFS) — 25/50/10, $50,000 no-fault, uninsured motorist
- Insurance requirements (NY DMV)
Common questions
Short answers to what people ask before they call.
Still have a question? Call (518) 902-8822 or book a call.
My van is registered in my name. Can't I just use my personal policy?
If it's used for business — carrying tools, making deliveries, driving to job sites — most personal policies exclude the business use and can deny a claim. Vehicles titled to a business almost always need a commercial policy. Tell me how it's used and I'll tell you honestly which policy fits.
What is hired and non-owned auto coverage?
Liability cover for vehicles your business doesn't own but uses: employees running errands in their own cars, rented vans, a delivery driver's personal car. If an employee causes an accident on a work errand, the injured party can sue the business — this is what responds. Any business with staff who ever drive for work should have it.
What are New York's minimum limits?
New York requires at least $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, $10,000 property damage, plus $50,000 in no-fault (PIP) and uninsured motorist cover. Those are minimums; most business contracts and any sensible risk assessment call for $1 million combined single limit.
Does commercial auto cover the tools or goods in the vehicle?
No — the policy covers the vehicle and liability from driving it. Tools need an inland marine (tools and equipment) floater; goods in transit need cargo cover. See trucking & delivery.
Get a quote for your business
Tell me what you do, where, and roughly what payroll looks like. Quotes come from the private carriers I represent, usually within days.
Where I work
I'm based in Clifton Park and work in person across six counties, the four on the map plus Warren and Washington, or by phone.
Close to the Clifton Park office: Clifton Knolls, Country Knolls, Rexford, Vischer Ferry, Jonesville, Groom's Corners and Halfmoon across Route 9 — I'll come to you at home.
Auto, home and business insurance by town
Medicare has its own county and town pages.