Using Your Car for Business or Personal

Among the two car insurances, business car insurance and personal car insurance, there are some acute differences among them. It is in fact, a coverage we need in our daily lives. Although they have some similarities, they also have many aspects that are different.

Liability is the first distinct difference. In a personal policy, you are liable for yourself and any other driver in your household. On a business policy, you are liable for yourself and every employee that is able to drive. The difference between the two in this case is the fact that most people trust their family more. Moreover, your family has you best interest in mind where employees do not. Most business choose to pull the persons driving record before hiring them in the case they will need to drive. Adding a person with a bad driving record will increase your rates significantly.

The way the business policy works is to allow the business owner to decide what is most plausible for their business practices. For instance, you would want to carry additional coverage if you were transporting expensive materials or delivering important items. In a personal policy, you will not have to worry about that. This is one distinction between personal vs. business car insurance.

Keeping track of gas and miles seems like a daunting task, however, it is a business necessity. It is very important that you distinguish which miles were used for personal use and which were used for business use. This helps on all fronts and is often tracked using a computer based model.

Some people feel their use for business reasons does not weigh in enough to matter. In these cases, a personal policy is appropriate and they need to work that out with the insurer. A personal policy is often times less expensive than a business policy; however, the personal car insurance policy will go up. This is because you have increased risk because it is being used more. In any case, it is extremely important that you inform them as soon as possible. Failure to do so will forfeit your chances at a claim if they find it was for business use.

People often do not see the difference between personal and business use because they are so accustomed to doing it. If you have received a promotion and are required to drive to location, etc.; you are using your vehicle for business use. The same could be said about realtors. Each time a realtor drives to a property to show it or do anything, they are using it for business use. Even if the employer is giving gas, toll and mileage reimbursement, you are still required to have business coverage.

Never be challenged later down the road with not having adequate coverage or being denied a claim because you did not inform the insurance company of your situation. Talk to an agent and get the best deal.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for Carinsurancesa.co.za. South Arica?s leading Car Insurance portal.