Hired and Non-Owned Auto Exposure: Are You Protected?

Temporary staffing agencies often have employees on assignment driving vehicles not owned by the agency but used for business purposes. Did you know your business could be held vicariously liable if there were a loss? Any one accident could cost you, as the staffing employer, thousands if not millions, if you are not properly insured. Are you covered with Hired and Non-Owned Auto Coverage?

What is Hired and Non-Owned Auto Coverage?

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Coverage provides liability insurance for property damage or bodily injury caused by you or your employees while operating vehicles that are not owned by you but operated on your company’s behalf. For example:

You supply ABC Trucking Company with truck drivers to drive their trucks
While at a staffing convention, your employee rents a vehicle
You place home healthcare nurses that are required to drive from one patient’s home to another
Your summer intern picks up lunch for the office
Your staff accountant runs to the bank
Your temps use your client’s owned vehicles for delivery

It’s intended for incidental accidents, such as sending an in-house employee on an errand that results in a loss. If that employee is involved in an auto accident and the limits of their own private policy are exhausted, this coverage would pick up the excess where the other policy ended. Even if you do not own any business vehicles (and thus do not have an auto insurance policy), you can still purchase Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability as it’s typically added to your General Liability or Commercial Package policy.

What Else Can I Do to Protect My Company?

It’s up to you to ensure that every possible safeguard is firmly in place. Aside from purchasing Hired and Non-Owned Auto coverage, you can further protect your company in the following ways:

Verify your inside sales personnel are equipped with adequate personal auto insurance
Run the Motor Vehicle Reports of your temp employees in driving positions to ensure acceptable driving records
Avoid placing youth drivers (under the age of 21)
Review your client contracts and see if you’re the party agreeing to assume all liability associated with your driver placements
Check that your clients have insurance coverage for the vehicles your employees are driving, and that the coverage will apply to the employees

To learn more about Hired and Non-Owned Auto Coverage and ways to further protect your organization, contact us today!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alexa Greer

Alexa is a Vice President at Assurance with over 10 years of experience working in insurance. Her expertise lies within the staffing industry, and she’s responsible for providing first line support in the daily servicing of existing and prospective clients and their policies. She takes a very hands-on approach and frequently communicates with clients to not only ensure a positive, trusting working relationship, but also maintain a 360 degree understanding of their insurance needs. Alexa received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Marketing and Insurance from Illinois State University. She currently holds an Associate in Insurance Services (AIS) designation, as well as a Property & Casualty insurance license.