Personal vs commercial vehicle insurance for businesses

Personal car insurance that offers cover for business use is intended to cover your vehicle for private use, with occasional and limited business use. It’s more likely to suit your needs if you use the same vehicle for both personal and business purposes. But you should bear in mind that if you choose this type of insurance, your cover may be restricted to certain situations.

The cover will vary depending on the insurer, but typically (but not invariably) covers are limited to:

• Using your personal vehicle for social, domestic, and leisure purposes, with occasional business use.
• Occasional business use that isn’t an essential part of how you earn income.
• Passenger vehicles, utes, sedans, and wagons.

It usually excludes or can apply restrictions, including but not limited, to:

• Carrying passengers for hire or reward, such as taxi or rideshare services like Uber or DiDi.
• Using your car to deliver goods.
• Renting your car to others for payment.
• Damage to tools used in connection with your business while they’re stored or carried in your vehicle.

If you need cover for multiple vehicles, it’s a good idea to check this with your insurer. This is because the number of vehicles that can be covered under one personal insurance policy can vary depending on the insurer.

Commercial vehicle insurance is specifically designed to provide cover for vehicles used for business purposes. It generally provides broader coverage that may not be typically included in a personal car insurance policy. You may prefer a separate commercial vehicle insurance policy if your business carries out the following activities:

• Delivering your products or materials or transporting business equipment. For example, a florist delivering flowers to customers, or if you have a retail business and need to transport your stock to a shop. But you may not be covered for rapid delivery, such as delivering pizzas or providing courier services.
• Visiting customers or clients. For example, if you run a mobile business and need to drive to a place of work to earn income, such as a gardener, cleaner, dog groomer, tradie, mobile makeup artist or hairdresser.
• Carrying expensive tools, products, or equipment that also need insurance.
• Insuring multiple vehicles used by your employees and yourself under one policy.
• Using passenger vehicles, including utes, sedans and 4WDs, as well as larger commercial vehicles such as trucks, trailers, and earth moving equipment.

Commercial vehicle insurance is typically available in three types of cover: Comprehensive cover, Third Party Property Damage cover, and Fire and Theft cover.

Along with covering your vehicle from accidental damage, Comprehensive cover with Allianz Commercial Vehicle Insurance also provides a range of other benefits.

If you’re involved in an incident while driving an insured vehicle and you’re at fault, legal liability covers you for damage you cause to other people’s property. The amount of legal liability cover available can differ depending on the type of insurance and cover you take out. It’s important to check the amount of liability cover available with your insurer.

How you use your vehicle can have an impact on your insurance premium. If you’re using your personal car for business use, you could be more likely to make a claim. Your insurer will consider this when you take out commercial vehicle insurance or personal car insurance that provides cover for business use.

Many factors can contribute towards the cost of your vehicle insurance. These may include but are not limited to the following:

• Your occupation or how you use your vehicle
• Where you park your vehicle
• Your driving history
• Your claims history
• Your vehicle’s modifications
• The type of vehicle you’re insuring
• The type of cover you’re after

If you’re considering coverage options for your commercial vehicles, such as cars, trucks, forklifts, diggers, and trailers, we offer Commercial Vehicle Insurance. Choose from three levels of cover to suit your needs: Comprehensive cover, Third Party Property Damage cover, or Third Party Property Damage Fire and Theft cover. You can cover up to 20 commercial vehicles under one policy for your convenience.

If a personal car insurance product that provides cover for limited and occasional business use is more suitable, you may want to consider Allianz Comprehensive Car Insurance. Note that we don’t offer cover for cars used for ride share.