Business Lines · Commercial Auto
Commercial auto insurance in Texas: what actually decides your policy.
The gap usually isn't the limit. It's a vehicle or a driver the policy never knew about.
The short version
A Texas business needs commercial auto when a vehicle is titled to the company, driven by employees, or used for more than getting to work — a contractor's pickup, a service van, a company car, a small fleet. A personal auto policy is priced and written for personal use, and it can limit or deny a claim once the use is clearly commercial.
Three things decide whether the policy works when it's needed: which vehicles count as covered (the “symbols” on the declarations page), who is allowed to drive them, and the liability limit, which most contracts set at $1,000,000. If employees ever drive their own cars or a rental on company business, you also need hired and non-owned auto — even if the business owns no vehicles at all.
Personal vs. Commercial
When a personal auto policy stops covering a work vehicle.
There's no single line in Texas law. It comes down to four questions, and personal policies answer them differently from one company to the next.
Who owns it?
If the title is in the name of an LLC or corporation, it generally belongs on a commercial policy. Personal policies are written for vehicles owned by people, not companies.
What is it used for?
Driving to a job or an office is ordinary use. Making deliveries, hauling materials to job after job, or carrying people or goods for a fee is not, and that's where personal policies restrict or exclude coverage.
Who drives it?
A personal policy is built around a household. Once employees are behind the wheel, you need a policy that expects them and has checked their driving records.
What does the contract say?
If a general contractor, landlord or customer requires “commercial auto liability,” a personal policy won't satisfy it at any limit. Contractors run into this on the first commercial job.
Covered Autos
The symbols, in plain words.
A commercial auto policy doesn't just list vehicles. Next to each coverage is a number that says which vehicles that coverage applies to. That number matters more than most of the pages behind it.
- Symbol 1, any auto — everything: owned, rented, borrowed, employee-owned. The broadest, and not offered to every business
- Symbol 2, owned autos only — every vehicle the business owns, including ones bought mid-term
- Symbol 7, scheduled autos — only the vehicles listed on the policy, by VIN
- Symbol 8, hired autos — vehicles you rent, lease short-term or borrow
- Symbol 9, non-owned autos — employees' own vehicles while used for your business
- Each coverage has its own symbol — liability can be broad while physical damage applies to listed vehicles only
Most small businesses end up with 7, 8 and 9 together. The weak point is symbol 7: a truck you bought last week and never reported may not be on the policy. Tell your agent the day you buy, sell or swap a vehicle, not at renewal.
Hired & Non-Owned Auto
The coverage a business usually discovers it's missing.
An employee runs to the supply house, the bank or a client's office in their own car and causes a wreck. The injured person can sue the business, because the employee was working. That is what non-owned auto is for.
Non-owned protects the business
It covers the company's liability when an employee drives their own vehicle on company business. It does not protect the employee personally, and it does not fix their car.
It sits above the employee's policy
The employee's own insurance generally responds first. Non-owned auto picks up what's left for the business — which matters, because a personal limit can be used up fast in a serious injury claim.
Hired covers rentals and borrowed vehicles
A rented box truck for a weekend job, a rental car on a business trip. Liability comes with hired auto; damage to the rented vehicle itself needs hired physical damage added.
You can buy it with no vehicles
A business that owns nothing can still carry hired and non-owned, often added to a general liability policy or a Business Owners Policy rather than bought as a full auto policy.
Limits
The state minimum and the number your contract asks for are far apart.
The Texas minimum is 30/60/25
$30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. That's the legal floor on an ordinary vehicle. Heavier trucks and for-hire hauling have higher requirements — see trucking insurance.
Contracts ask for $1,000,000
Usually written as a combined single limit: one amount for injuries and property damage together. The party hiring you can be named in a claim your driver causes, and the state minimum wouldn't come close in a serious injury.
The limit isn't the whole requirement
Many contracts also want to be an additional insured on the auto policy, plus a waiver of subrogation. Those take endorsements, the same as on general liability. Words typed on a certificate with nothing behind them don't count.
Uninsured motorist and PIP
Texas insurers have to offer both on an auto policy, and you can only turn them down in writing. Decide on purpose. Uninsured motorist is what pays when the driver who hits your van has no insurance.
When a contract asks for more than $1M, the usual answer is an umbrella or excess policy over the auto policy, not a bigger auto limit.
Drivers & Vehicles
What actually moves the price.
Underwriters look at who is driving before they look at what is being driven.
Every driver's record gets pulled
The carrier runs a motor vehicle record on each listed driver. Recent serious violations, at-fault accidents and very young or newly licensed drivers move the price most. One driver can change the quote for the whole policy.
Keep the driver list honest
List everyone who drives regularly, including family members who use a company vehicle. Report new hires before they drive. An undisclosed driver is one of the most common ways a claim turns into an argument.
Physical damage is separate
Collision and comprehensive cover your own vehicle: wrecks, theft, hail, fire. A lender will require both. Claims are usually paid at actual cash value, meaning what the vehicle was worth that day, not what you owe or what a new one costs.
Upfits yes, loose tools no
Tell the carrier about ladder racks, service bodies, lift gates and wraps so the value is right. Tools and materials riding in the truck aren't part of the vehicle. Those need an equipment floater.
Straight Talk
When you need less than you think, or something else.
No company vehicles? Skip the full policy
If the business owns nothing and staff only occasionally drive their own cars, hired and non-owned coverage alone is usually the right purchase.
A one-person shop may be fine on a personal policy
If the truck is in your own name, only you drive it and no contract demands commercial auto, some personal carriers will rate it for business use. Get that confirmed in writing rather than assumed.
Old, paid-off trucks may not need physical damage
If the vehicle is worth little and you could replace it out of pocket, carrying liability only is a reasonable choice. Run the numbers on each vehicle instead of covering all of them the same way.
Hauling for hire is a different policy
If you haul other people's freight for pay, run heavy trucks, or operate under your own authority, you need trucking insurance with filings and cargo coverage. A standard commercial auto policy isn't built for it.
Commercial auto is one piece. Injuries to your own employees in a wreck fall under workers' compensation, not the auto policy, and the rest of the picture is on our business insurance page.
Get Started
Request a commercial auto quote.
Here's what a carrier will ask for. Send what you have and we'll tell you what's still missing. If you'd rather talk it through first, contact us.
- Vehicle list — year, make, model and VIN for each, and where it's parked overnight
- Driver list — name, date of birth and driver's license number for everyone who drives
- How the vehicles are used — the work they do and how far they typically travel
- Current declarations pages — so we can see the symbols and limits you have now
- Loss runs — your claims history from the current carrier, if you've had commercial coverage
- Contract requirements — the insurance exhibit from any contract or lease you need to satisfy
Reach us directly
You'll hear back from a real person on our team, not a call center.
Plano, TX 75074
Commercial Auto FAQ
Questions we hear often.
Does my personal auto policy cover a vehicle I use for work?
Sometimes, and only up to a point. Driving to a job or an office is normally fine. The trouble starts when the vehicle is titled to the business, driven by employees, used for deliveries, or used to carry people or goods for a fee. Personal policies differ by company, so read the business-use wording in yours or ask the carrier in writing before you rely on it.
Is commercial auto insurance required in Texas?
Texas requires liability insurance on a vehicle of at least $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. The law sets that floor; it does not care what the policy is called. In practice a vehicle owned by a business or driven by its employees needs a commercial policy, because a personal policy is not written for that use. Heavier trucks and for-hire work have higher requirements of their own.
What is hired and non-owned auto coverage?
It is liability coverage for vehicles the business uses but does not own. Hired auto covers vehicles you rent, lease short-term or borrow. Non-owned auto covers the business when an employee drives their own car on company business. Neither one covers damage to the vehicle itself unless hired physical damage is added.
My employees drive their own cars for work. Doesn't their insurance cover the business?
Their policy generally responds first, but the business can still be sued, and a personal limit can run out quickly in a serious injury claim. Non-owned auto coverage protects the business above the employee's own policy. It does not protect the employee personally and it does not pay to repair their car.
Why does my contract require $1 million in auto liability?
Because the party hiring you can be pulled into a claim your driver causes, and the state minimum would not come close to paying for a serious injury. $1,000,000 combined single limit has become the standard figure in commercial contracts and leases. Many contracts also ask to be added as an additional insured on the auto policy, which takes an endorsement, not just a line on the certificate.
What do “any auto” and “scheduled autos” mean on a certificate?
They describe which vehicles the liability coverage applies to. Any auto is the broadest: owned, hired and non-owned vehicles alike. Scheduled autos means only the vehicles listed on the policy. A contract that asks for any auto can often be satisfied with scheduled, hired and non-owned together, but that depends on the contract wording, so check before you assume.
Will one driver with a bad record affect my commercial auto quote?
Yes. Carriers pull a motor vehicle record on every listed driver, and one driver with a recent serious violation can raise the price for the whole policy or lead a carrier to decline. Some carriers will offer terms if that driver is excluded, which only works if that person truly never drives a company vehicle.
Does commercial auto cover the tools and equipment in my truck?
Generally no. Physical damage coverage is for the vehicle and equipment permanently attached to it. Loose tools, materials and portable equipment need a separate equipment or inland marine policy.