Your company and personal vehicles are all adequatelyinsured–why worry about additional coverage for vehicles youdon’t own? Because if you ever rent a car or truck for businessor if employees ever use their own vehicles for companybusiness–even if they’re just making a quick trip to the storefor supplies–and there’s an accident, you could face seriousfinancial liability, says Chip Curley, a property and casualtyagent with Sehnert, Lumbra, Robinson & Associates in Maitland,Florida.

Protect your company with hired and nonowned auto liability,which covers bodily injury and property damage caused by the hiredor non-owned vehicle. It does not pay for physical damage to thevehicle itself; that’s covered by the owner’sinsurance.

Hired auto coverage kicks in if you or one of your employeesrents a vehicle in the company name that is then involved in acrash. Nonowned auto coverage applies if an employee has a wreckwhile driving his or her own vehicle in the course of performingduties for the company. Curley says they’re typically bundledtogether and fairly inexpensive; expect to pay less than $100 ayear for $500,000 worth of coverage, which can be added to yourregular auto policy. If you haven’t purchased a commercial autopolicy because your company doesn’t own vehicles, you can addthe coverage to your general liability policy.

A bonus: If you rent cars occasionally, having hired andnonowned auto liability insurance may save you money because youcan avoid buying the liability coverage from the rentalcompany.

Jacquelyn Lynn is a freelance business writer in Orlando,Florida.