Do you use a van to transport food for your catering business? Are you thinking about opening up a food truck business? If so, make sure you have the proper insurance coverage. Many people believe that their personal car insurance policy will cover their catering van for work use. However, this can be a costly mistake.
It is a common assumption that if you don’t operate a fleet of vehicles, then you don’t need commercial vehicle insurance. However, this is untrue. Vehicles used for business purposes, especially catering vans and food trucks, need special insurance to properly cover the food and equipment that they carry as well as the insurance to cover the vehicle. Not properly insuring your catering van can lead to costly consequences when it’s time to file a claim. So, here are some of the reasons why personal auto insurance won’t cut it when insuring your catering van.
Who Needs Catering Van Insurance?
If you use your personal vehicle to conduct tasks related to your job or business, then you need specialized catering van insurance. If any of the following are true, then you need insurance that’s specifically for a catering van or food truck.
- You use your van to pick up or deliver food, supplies, or materials.
- You operate your van as a food truck at special events.
- Your van is equipped with catering, cooking or other specialized equipment.
- Employees regularly or occasionally drive your catering van.
- Your catering van exceeds 10,000 pounds or more.
Why A Personal Policy Won’t Cover A Catering Van
There are many reasons why your personal insurance policy won’t cover business use. Mainly, it’s because personal auto insurance policies are not designed to cover the ways that catering vans are used. Here are just a few of the reasons why your personal policy isn’t designed for business use:
- The risks are greater – If you regularly bring along catering equipment, it might make your van more of a target if thieves know the equipment is worth a lot. Therefore, you need insurance that accounts for the greater risk.
- The limits are not high enough – If you operate a catering van, you need higher than normal liability limits. A single serious medical injury claim can result in a lawsuit totaling millions of dollars, which can put your company out of business without the right insurance.
- Commercial use exclusion – Most personal policies have exclusions that exclude the business use of the covered vehicle. So, even if you have an accident while off the clock, your insurer could deny your claim if they find out that you use your van in your catering business.
- It may not have coverages that you need – Commercial and business van insurance have different types of coverage than personal auto policies. For instance, a commercial van insurance policy may cover your food should you have an accident and it gets spoiled. Your typical auto insurance policy wouldn’t offer this kind of coverage.
Talk to Us.
Finding the right insurance takes some work. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when choosing insurance. If you only drive your van occasionally for catering jobs, you might be able to modify your personal policy. If you regularly use it for business, you might need commercial van insurance. To find out exactly what kind of insurance you need, simply fill out our online form. We’ll give you multiple quotes, which is the best way to get affordable catering van insurance.