Do you need a commercial auto insurance policy?

 As an owner of a business, you need the same kinds of insurance coverage for the car you use in your business as you do for a car used for personal use -- liability, collision and comprehensive, medical payments (known as Personal Injury Protection) and coverage for uninsured motorists. In fact, many business people use the same vehicle for both business and pleasure.

If the vehicle is owned by the business, you will usually be required to carry a commercial auto policy, rather than a personal one. If the vehicle is over 10,000 lbs and has your business name anywhere on the vehicle, you will also be required to register the vehicle commercially and have commercial plates.

Whether you need to buy a business auto insurance policy will depend on the kind of driving you do, and what type of business you are in. A good insurance agent will ask you many details about how you use vehicles in your business, who will be driving the vehicles and whether employees, if you have them, are likely to be driving their own cars for your business.

If you have a personal umbrella liability policy, there's generally an exclusion for business-related liability. Make sure you have sufficient auto liability coverage.