The Best Commercial Auto Insurance

Get Started With The Hartford Small Business Insurance

Read our Review

Total Rating	4.3
Pricing4.5
Features5.0
Customer Service3.0
User Reviews3.0

Pricing

Varied. Average general liability is $88/month

Types of insurance offered

30+ policy types

Time to receive quote

Usually same-day

Pros

Complete auto coverage
Fast personal price quotes

Cons

Not available in Alaska, Hawaii, or Louisiana
Not meant for smaller businesses

Why We Chose The Hartford As The Best Overall Commercial Auto Insurance

The Hartford offers a full range of commercial auto insurance, including some relatively uncommon types of coverage such as drive other car coverage. If your fleet of business vehicles and your employee driver pool are large, you'll find the business car insurance you need with the Hartford.

The Hartford Pricing

Like many insurance companies, The Hartford provides little information about its pricing. If you want to know what you’ll pay for The Hartford commercial auto insurance, you’ll need to contact the company for a free quote.

Your price quote will depend on numerous factors, including your driving record, your claims history, your business location, and the number of cars and drivers your business has.

The Hartford Coverage

The Hartford writes commercial auto insurance policies for cars, vans, pickup trucks, box trucks, and service utility vehicles. These policies can be written to include the following types of coverage:

Bodily injury liability
Property damage liability
Drive other cars (also called CA 99 10)
Collision
Comprehensive
Medical payments
Uninsured/underinsured motorist
Rental car
Personal injury protection (PIP)
Hired and non-hired auto

The Hartford’s commercial auto insurance specifically excludes the following:

Medical expenses unrelated to an accident that happens while an employee is driving a business vehicle
The contents of your business vehicle
Accidents in employees’ vehicles when driven for personal reasons
Rental car repairs

Choose The Hartford If...

You have a large fleet of drivers and vehicles that need complete coverage at a reasonable rate.

Read our in-depth review

Nationwide Commercial Insurance: Best For Fleets

Nationwide Commercial Insurance

Get Started With Nationwide Commercial Insurance

Read our Review

Total Rating	4.4
Pricing4.1
Features5.0
Customer Service4.1
User Reviews4.4

Pricing

By personalized quote only

Types Of Insurance Offered

BOP + specialized coverage

Time To Receive A Quote

Approximately 30 minutes

Pros

Fast, free quotes
Specialty add-ons available

Cons

Not available in all states
High minimum requirements for liability

Why We Chose Nationwide For The Best Fleet Commercial Auto Insurance

Nationwide is one of the largest insurers in the US, and it's hardly surprising that its commercial auto policies are aimed at larger companies. (That's not to say small businesses can't work with Nationwide!) If your business owns and operates a fleet of vehicles, you may be an ideal Nationwide commercial auto insurance customer.

Nationwide Pricing

Like many insurance companies, especially large ones, Nationwide provides pricing information only through personalized quotes. Your quote will depend on a number of factors, including how many vehicles you’re insuring, how old they are, how much coverage you want, and what deductibles you’re comfortable with.

Nationwide requires a minimum of $100K commercial auto liability per vehicle and recommends $500K-$1 million per vehicle.

Nationwide Coverage

Nationwide’s commercial auto coverage starts with these basic types of coverage:

Physical damage
Liability
Medical payments
Towing and labor
Rental reimbursement
Auto loan or lease gap

You can add the following options if you’d like:

Roadside assistance
New vehicle replacement cost
Hired auto physical damage with loss of use
Auto loan or lease
Expanded towing
Rental reimbursement
Medical payments or PIP coverage

Choose Nationwide If...

You need specialty add-ons like roadside assistance or medical payments for your fleet.

Read our in-depth review

Travelers Small Business Insurance: Best Nationwide Coverage

Travelers Small Business Insurance

Get Started With Travelers Small Business Insurance

Read our Review

Total Rating	4.0
Pricing3.8
Features4.5
Customer Service4.5
User Reviews1.6

Pros

Local agents
Significant price discounts available

Cons

No online quotes
Not available in California or Florida

Why We Chose Travelers For The Best Nationwide Commercial Auto Insurance

No matter where your business is located, you need commercial car insurance for your business vehicles. Travelers is one of the few insurers that is licensed in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. So if you want an insurer that can work with you no matter where you are now or where you're headed, Travelers is a good pick.

Travelers Pricing

Like most insurance companies, Travelers provides pricing information by custom quote only. Your price depends on many factors, such as the type and number of vehicles you wish to insure, your business claims history and location, and so on.

Travelers stands out from its competitors by offering not only a multi-policy discount but also three additional discounts that can add up to a 16% reduction in your bill.

These deductions include discounts for paying on time, paying in full, and setting up recurring billing through a credit card or EFT payment.

Travelers Coverage

Travelers commercial auto insurance coverage starts with the basics:

Liability
Physical damage
Collision
Comprehensive
Underinsured motorists

You can add your choice of 13 coverage enhancements or endorsements. These include hired auto coverage, gap coverage for leased vehicles, and blanket additional insured coverage.

Travelers commercial auto insurance is available for passenger vehicles, vans, trucks (light, heavy, and extra heavy-duty), truck trailers, vehicle fleets, and specialty vehicles.

Choose Travelers If...

You need coverage in multiple states and want discounts on multiple policies.

Read our in-depth review

Get Started With Progressive Commercial Insurance

Progressive Commercial Insurance: Best For Mixed Vehicles

Progressive Commercial Insurance	Visit Site

Pros

Adjustments available for seasonal coverage
Discounts available

Cons

Must speak with an agent to purchase coverage
Not available in Washington, D.C.

Why We Chose Progressive As The Best Option For Mixed Vehicle Commercial Auto Insurance

Commercial auto insurance applies mainly to passenger vehicles and light trucks. If you want to insure heavier equipment such as a dump truck, you probably need to consider truck insurance. Or, depending on your vehicle types and usage, you may be able to list them on a commercial auto policy from Progressive.

Progressive Pricing

Progressive stands out from its competitors not only by writing commercial auto policies for trucks and tractor-trailers but also by providing some information about its commercial auto policy pricing.

You’ll still need a personalized price quote, of course, that considers your vehicle types, vintage, and more. For reference, Progressive’s website says the median cost for commercial auto coverage is around $175/month.

Progressive Coverage

Progressive’s commercial auto coverage starts with the following:

Liability
Physical damage
Medical payments
Uninsured motorist
Hired auto
Non-owned

You can customize your Progressive coverage with add-ons. Progressive also offers truck insurance, including motor cargo and trailer interchange policies. That makes Progressive a good choice for any small business with commercial insurance needs that include autos as well as trucks.

One of our other favorite small business insurance providers, NEXT Insurance, now offers commercial auto coverage through a partnership with Progressive.

Choose Progressive If...

You need to insure standard vehicles and light trucks at the same time but still want access to add-ons like truck or motor cargo insurance.

Business Insurance Review Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing business insurance since 2020. Our writers have tested over twenty different major insurance companies. In each review, we evaluate pricing, features, customer service, and user reviews.

Weighted Rating Breakdown

Pricing 45%

Features 30%

Customer Service 20%

User Reviews 5%

When comparing different business insurance companies, we consider many data points, including relative pricing, the number of standard insurance policies available, and the ability to create custom policies. Our lists of the best business insurance providers include only those we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points and often share qualities such as low cost, a variety of niche business insurance policies, multiple ways to file claims, and excellent customer support.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, ensuring that the business insurance companies included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.

What Types Of Commercial Car Insurance Do You Need?

Most insurance companies offer basic auto liability insurance coverage as required by law in most places. From there, you can customize your commercial auto policy by adding different types of coverage, as needed.

Here are some to look for:

Common Types Of Commercial Auto Coverage

Bodily Injury Liability: This will help pay for the other driver’s medical expenses if your driver causes an accident.
Property Damage Liability: This will cover damage your driver does to someone else’s property.
Drive Other Car: This endorsement covers executives and their spouses when they drive vehicles that aren’t on your policy, such as borrowed cars, test drives, and rented or leased vehicles used for work purposes.
Collision: This helps pay to repair or replace your business vehicle after you hit something.
Comprehensive: This helps pay for damages to vehicles from theft, fires, or some natural disasters.
Medical Payments: Your employees and their passengers can receive medical or dental treatment, rehabilitation services, or funerals.
Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist: If the other driver involved in an accident doesn’t have adequate liability coverage, this coverage helps pay for medical expenses and repairs.
Expanded Towing: In addition to towing, jumpstarts, and minor roadside repairs, this type of coverage increases your towing allowance from what’s typically allowed under a basic auto policy.
Rental Reimbursement: This adds liability coverage while your drivers are using a rental car for business reasons.
Roadside Assistance: This offers protections for common mishaps like dead batteries, flat tires, and lockouts.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP): This coverage helps pay for medical expenses, lost wages, or funeral expenses after an accident.
Hired & Non-Owned Auto: If your driver has an accident in a personal, rented, or leased vehicle used for business reasons, you’ll want this type of coverage.
Auto Loan Or Lease Gap: If your work vehicle is declared a total loss following an accident, this type of coverage covers the difference between the vehicle’s cash value and the unpaid loan or lease amount.

Understanding the range of available coverage will help you when you speak with an insurance agent to customize your commercial auto policy. That’s the secret to getting the coverage you need without paying for anything extra that you don’t need.

Do Gig Workers Need Commercial Car Insurance?

If you’re a self-employed worker driving your personal car for business reasons, you may wonder if you need or are eligible for commercial auto insurance.

The answer can be a bit complicated, so it’s definitely a good idea to talk to your insurance agent if you drive for Lyft, Uber Eats, DoorDash, or any other type of gig work.

Most often, when you use your personal vehicle for work purposes, you will not be able to get commercial auto coverage. Instead, you’ll need to look into something called hired and non-owned auto coverage. You may also be able to take out a hybrid policy or add an endorsement that covers you while you’re driving for work.

However, if you have two vehicles and use one exclusively for personal transportation and the other exclusively for work, the second vehicle may be eligible for commercial auto insurance.

Either way, you must let your insurance company know that you’re driving a vehicle as a gig worker. Many personal auto policies specifically exclude accidents that occur while you’re using your vehicle for work purposes.

How To Find Cheap Commercial Auto Insurance

Is insurance one of those products where you get what you pay for? In other words, is cheap insurance coverage worth it?

A recent study by Insureon found that customers pay an average of $147/month or $1,762/year for commercial auto insurance. However, about 37% of Insureon customers pay less than $100/month for their commercial auto coverage.

If cost is your top concern, you’ll be glad to hear that there are several things you can do to lower the cost of insurance. First, make sure that you’re adding to your commercial auto coverage only employees with good driving records. The more drivers you add to your policy, the more you could pay, so make sure you’re giving the company car keys only to the employees who need them.

The types of vehicles you’re covering, and their age and value, will also affect your commercial auto insurance cost. Older, less expensive vehicles generally cost slightly less to insure.

Make sure you’re paying only for the coverage you need, too. If your employees rarely travel far from your workplace, you might not need towing or roadside assistance add-ons, for example. Ultimately, the coverage you choose will be up to you. Working with an experienced insurance agent can help you ensure you’re making the right choices regarding coverage, limits, and deductibles.

Bio
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Matt Sherman

Lead Staff Writer at Merchant Maverick

Matt has been helping small businesses make decisions since 2017. He has written reviews and articles across many different channels but specializes in the point of sale, payroll, and small business insurance categories and has been quoted in articles for Fox Business, Forbes, and other publications. Prior to joining Merchant Maverick, Matt was a journalist and editor for 14 years for a pair of weekly newspapers. He is a graduate of the University of Oregon and currently resides in Gladstone, Oregon.

View Matt Sherman's professional experience on LinkedIn.

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1. The Hartford Small Business Insurance

❮ ❯

Available in 47 states
24/7 claims assistance
Pricing by personal quote only

2. Nationwide Commercial Insurance

❮ ❯

Available in 40+ states
24/7 claims
Pricing by personal quote only

3. Travelers Small Business Insurance

❮ ❯

Available in 50 states
24/7 claims
Pricing by personal quote only

4. Progressive Commercial Insurance

❮ ❯

Available in 50 states
24/7 claims
Median cost of $175/month