Reader’s Question:

My mom and I are thinking of going into a small restaurant business here in Ohio. If we use my car for delivery, will I need to inform my insurance agent about it or purchase commercial vehicle insurance?

Shane

Columbus, OH

Yes, you will need to keep your insurance agent posted about this matter. Since you will be using the car for business reasons other than your private use, then you may be required to obtain commercial vehicle insurance. This is because your personal passenger insurance policy will not appropriately cover your car because of its livery use.

Livery use is defined as using the car to deliver packages such as food or newspapers for a certain fee or tip. Since the car will be used to assist in your restaurant operations, it is best to obtain commercial vehicle insurance. This is one business decision you will definitely have to make. You would not want yourself or any of your restaurant employees to end up in an accident and be denied of benefits later just because of this oversight. Aside from possible accusations of misrepresentation from your vehicle insurance company, there is the possibility that you might end up losing the business because of enormous amounts you will have to personally shoulder if the car gets in a car crash.

The best thing is to do some research on the Internet on vehicle insurance companies in Ohio. There are a lot of companies out there that offer reasonable commercial vehicle insurance.

Tags: auto insurance policy, car insurance agent, Commercial car insurance