Home Page > Learning Center > Car Insurance

Which Autos Are Covered by my Policy?

Auto insurance is written to insure private passenger vehicles. Private passenger vehicles are defined as those used for personal transportation for activities such as commuting to and from work or school and other functions such as shopping and recreation. The personal auto policy will also provide coverage for business use. As a general rule, a personal auto policy will normally exclude exposures that are better covered under another policy such as a commercial policy or a recreational vehicle policy.

Your personal auto policy will cover and number of vehicle types, including private passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, and trailers.

These vehicle types are covered provided that they meet the following criteria:

• They are owned by an individual , or a married couple who reside in the same household
• they are leased for period of at least six months. This qualifies the vehicle as an owned auto.
• They weigh no more than 10,000 pounds if it is a pickup truck or a van.

Here are couple of examples

Example 1: Joe and his wife decide to lease a vehicle for period of 24 months. Since they live in the same house, and the vehicle is leased for more than six months it would qualify as an owned vehicle and be eligible for insurance under a personal auto policy.

Example 2: Jim has a small business delivering furniture on the weekends. He purchased a pickup truck for this purpose. Even if the truck meets the weight requirements is being used for a business purpose. To be covered properly Jim will need to purchase a specialty product such as a commercial auto policy. This isn't the type of exposure that would fit on a personal auto policy.

Begin an Auto Insurance Quote