Commercial car insurance requirements in California
If you’re using a vehicle for business purposes in California, you likely need commercial car insurance. Whether you’re a small-business owner with a taco truck in Los Angeles, a florist with a delivery vehicle in San Francisco, a real estate agent in San Diego, a rideshare driver in Sacramento, or a fleet manager, you’ll need commercial auto insurance.
Even if you’re driving your own car, if you’re doing business-related activities at the time of an accident, your personal auto insurance may not cover you.
Drivers must get liability coverage with specific liability limits set by the state. These include:1
$30,000 in bodily injury liability per person
$60,000 in bodily injury liability per accident
$15,000 in property damage liability
You may have additional insurance needs for commercial or fleet vehicles, based on local, state, or federal agency requirements. For example, commercial passenger carriers, such as for-hire limousines, have much higher liability limits, depending on the number of passengers. The minimum coverage required for seven or fewer passengers is $750,000.2
Drivers operating vehicles with a commercial driver’s license or transporting items may have minimum limits between $300,000 and $5 million.3
Optional commercial auto insurance coverages
While your business auto insurance policy must have specific liability coverage limits, you can consider other coverage options as well. Getting only liability insurance offers limited protection and puts you in a vulnerable spot.
Here are common optional commercial auto insurance coverages to review when shopping around:4
Do you need commercial car insurance in California?
If you engage in business activities while using your vehicle in California, you’ll need commercial car insurance. Some examples of when you probably need it include:
Running an organic green juice business in LA, which delivers products to other stores
Transporting goods via a freight truck on the 5 freeway from a major city to somewhere more inland
Operating a catering business in Fresno and having employees drive company vans to gigs
Working as a rideshare driver in Paso Robles or a shuttle driver for wine tours
Doing work as a plumber or electrician in Chatsworth and using a company van exclusively for work
So, if you use your personal vehicle or company vehicle primarily for business operations, you’ll need a commercial car insurance policy.
Here are times you likely won’t need commercial car insurance in California:
Commuting from Oakland to a workplace in San Francisco, simply going from point A to B
Driving from your home in Monterey to attend a work event in Big Sur
On a rare occasion, you take business mail to drop off while doing personal errands or bring a handful of flyers to a conference
If you’re only commuting to and from the business or a work event, or once in a blue moon doing a minor work task, you probably don’t need commercial car insurance.
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