You send someone to collect a part. They take their own car, because that is what was in the parking lot. On the way back they run a red light and hurt somebody badly. Their personal policy has a limit, and the injuries are worth more than the limit. The next place the claim looks is the business that sent them.
It is liability coverage for vehicles your business uses but does not own. Two halves, and the names say it plainly. Non-owned is an employee's own car being driven on company business. Hired is a vehicle you rent, borrow or lease short term — the van you take for two weeks when the usual one is off the road.
If an employee is acting in the course of their employment, the employer can be held responsible for what they do. That is a general principle of liability, not an insurance technicality. The employee's own policy responds first and stops at its limit. Everything above that looks for someone else to pay, and you are the obvious candidate.
Worth being clear about, because the name misleads people. Hired and non-owned covers your liability. It does not repair the employee's car — that is their own collision coverage. For a rented vehicle, physical damage is usually a separate thing you either buy from the rental company or add to the policy, so ask before you sign the counter agreement.
Almost any business with employees who drive at all, even occasionally. The bank run, the supply collection, the courier drop, the drive to a customer site. It is also worth having if you rent vehicles more than once in a blue moon. Businesses that deliver — food especially — should treat it as essential rather than optional.
Because it is not obvious. A business with no vehicles of its own reasonably concludes it needs no auto coverage, and nobody raises it. The exposure is created by employees making ordinary decisions, not by anything on the balance sheet. It is usually a modest addition to a general liability or business owner's policy rather than a policy of its own.
If any of your people ever drive for work, tell us. This is one of the cheapest gaps to close and one of the more expensive ones to find out about. See our coverages page.
Even an occasional errand creates the exposure. Tell us who drives and how often, and we will price the endorsement.
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