Renting a car on a business trip?

Often the small business owner is required to travel. While on the trip they may wish to rent a car. Has thought been given to the exposures faced while driving the rental car? The following liabilities come into play- third party liability due to customer's use of rental car; liability to third parties rental company's negligence which is assumed by the customer when they rent the vehicle as part of the contract; liability for physical damage caused to rental car due to customer's negligence; and liability for loss of use due to physical damage to the rental car. As you can see, a lot of liability will rest on your shoulders when you take possession of the rental car and if you aren't properly covered then you are taking on a large risk. All car rental companies offer coverage, the problem is that most coverage only matches the minimum limits required by the state the vehicle is rented in. Many assume that their personal auto policy will provide coverage. While that is true, coverage can be rendered moot if the vehicle is being used for business purposes rather than for personal use. It's important that the business owner have coverage under their business owners commercial auto policy with the appropriate symbols providing necessary coverage. Before heading out on a trip next time make sure to contact your agent to review your commercial auto policy with you to ensure the proper coverage is in place.

Popular posts from this blog

Delaware Legislature Preparing To Revisit Dram Shop Liability

Here we go again. Representative Peterson is preparing to introduce limited dram shop liability for consideration. The legislation caps the liability at $250,000 but, as is usually the case, this creates a starting point where limits are eventually increased once it's decided by the powers that be that the current limit is too low. This also puts restaurants, bars, etc, at an increased risk due to the vague wording of the legislation, specifically "reckless" sale of alcohol by the business. Also, you can be sure that if this legislation is passed, that rates will go up commensurately for not only Liquor Liability coverage, but if actual damages begin to be paid out under this law, that insurance rates on the whole will see an increase.
Read more

Get employees back to work quickly to keep work comp costs down

Image
In the past I have spoken to clients regarding a particular workers compensation claim affecting them and have asked if they have brought the employee back to work yet. Too many times the answer is no, they have nothing for that employee to do since said employee is not 100% and unable to perform their specific job prior to their workers compensation injury/claim. The problem with this is that too often employers miss the point that even though an employee can't perform in the position they were in prior to their injury, it behooves the employer to create some type of alternative task/job the employee can do until such time they are able to resume their normal duties. Bringing that employee back to work means that work comp benefits /payments in that particular claim are being curtailed, thereby saving the employer potentially more being paid out, while adding to their experience mod and driving their overall work comp expenses up.
Read more

Important to notify insurance company of potential liability claims

Image
When trying to manage their insurance policies, many business owners make the decision not to turn in potential claims and decide to take care of them on their own. By paying for small claims, such as property damage, etc, they strive to keep claim frequency down and in turn keep renewal premiums down. One area of insurance they should not try to manage though is potential liability situations/claims. Most policy conditions require prompt notification of any potential liability claims to the insurance company and if a claim isn't turned in promptly, the policy language does note that the company can deny a claim due to late notification. It's important to do this early on since information/memories are still fresh and it gives the insurance company time to completely investigate the potential claim. The potential for a liability claim is most likely the small business owner's greatest area of risk, whether they operate a restaurant, cleaning service or any other busi
Read more