Commercial Auto Physical Damage Coverage

Physical damage coverage is a combined selection of protection that protects your vehicle. It is a general term three specific levels of protection: Collision insurance, Comprehensive insurance or CAC insurance.

  • Collision Insurance – This coverage pays for damages if your car is damaged in an accident. Collision pays for repairs or replacements caused when your car has a collision with another object or when it overturns or rolls.
  • Comprehensive Insurance – This coverage pays for damages that are caused by something other than collisions and roll-overs. It pays damages for example, if a tree branch falls on your car. It can also pay if the car is stolen or subjected to vandalism.
  • CAC Insurance – Fire and Theft with Combined Additional Coverage also pays for non-collision events, but the coverage is limited to specific things. It does not pay for windshield damages. This is a commercial auto insurance option that is particularly useful for certain types of heavy duty trucks.

Who Needs Physical Damage Coverage?

Physical damage insurance coverage is useful for anyone who wants or needs to provide the most protection to their vehicle. If your car is still under a lien for example because the loan is not fully paid, you should protect it with physical damage insurance just in case anything happens.

The collision portion of the insurance coverage pays for repairs and replacement if the car is ever in a collision event. Add comprehensive coverage for autos that have outstanding loans so that you can protect the vehicle against any other damages or destruction that might arise.

Vehicles with an outstanding auto loan and those that are leased may be required to carry physical damage insurance as part of their contract.

Physical Damage Coverage Deductibles And Other Details

When you set up your physical damage auto insurance, you must choose a deductible. The policy deductible is how much you must personally pay when an insurance claim is made. A $500 deductible for example, means that you will pay the first $500 out of your personal funds and the insurance policy will pay damages above that amount.

By default, the higher the deductible you choose the lower your commercial auto insurance policy payments will be. When selecting a deductible, balance the reduced policy costs with how much you are comfortably able to pay out of your own funds.

In addition to selecting a deductible, you must also declare how much your vehicle is worth when you set up your physical damage coverage. This is accomplished by submitting a “Stated Amount” form that gives what you believe is the best estimate of your vehicles current value. When filling out the Stated Amount section of your policy, remember to consider your vehicles age, running condition, appearance and any additional equipment or upgrades you have performed.