888-900-0205Funeral Vehicle Insurance
Owning your own hearse gives your company an edge. Whether you own a funeral home or an entertainment company, having a hearse allows you to offer services to your clients that competitors may not be able to. A funeral home is able to transport deceased people to their final resting place for example, so that the family and loved ones do not have to acquire that service themselves. An entertainment company can offer specialty drives, rides and events – particularly around popular holidays such as Halloween.
A hearse is an expensive investment for your company. It will give you a return many times over if you take care of it and keep it protected from harm. The last thing your company needs is to have the hearse unavailable to your customers because it was damaged in an auto accident. Protect it from loss – and your company from lost business – by carrying the right kinds and levels of commercial auto insurance. Here are the types of insurance you need to carry for your hearse:
- Liability Insurance – Liability insurance is required by law. This coverage pays the damages inflicted on other people when your hearse causes or is at fault for an auto accident. Liability pays for other people’s injuries and other people’s car damages.
- Bodily Injury – If your hearse causes an auto accident or is found to be at fault for one, the bodily injury portion of your liability coverage pays for the physical harm that was inflicted on the people in the other vehicles. If your hearse rear-ends another car in traffic for example, and a passenger in that vehicle suffers from whiplash, your bodily injury coverage will pay for her medical care. Bodily injury pays for all medical expenses that are a result of the accident, as long as the treating physician feels they are necessary. This includes ambulatory transport, emergency medical care, rehabilitation and physical therapy. Bodily injury coverage will also pay for a person’s lost wages if they are unable to work for a time while recuperating from the accident. It can pay for pain and suffering, and even funeral expenses when fatalities occur.
- Property Damage – When your hearse causes an accident that results in damage to other property, such as dents and other damages to the other vehicle in the accident, the property damages portion of your liability coverage pays for the repairs.
The minimum amount of liability insurance you are required to carry is set by state law. Liability is available in two variations however: Combined single limit policies or Split limit policies.
A combined single limit liability policy will provide pays and coverage for up to a set maximum amount per auto accident. This type of liability coverage does not distinguish between bodily injury and property damage costs.
A split limit policy sets specific limits for each area of coverage within the liability policy. With this type of coverage, your policy will pay up to a specified maximum amount per person involved in the accident for bodily injuries. It limits the total amount paid for bodily injuries amongst all people involved, and it sets a separate limit for the total amount that it will pay for property damages. For example, a split limit policy of $50,000/$100,000/$50,000 will pay $50,000 maximum on an individual person for bodily injuries but no more than $100,000 for all bodily injuries combined. It also pays no more than $50,000 for property damages per accident.
Medical Payments – Medical payments insurance protects your hearse driver an any passengers when the vehicle is involved in an accident. This is a no-fault coverage, which means benefits are paid no matter who caused the accident. Medical payments will pay for the medical bills that arise for your driver and passengers due to the accident. This coverage is limited in availability. Contact one of our licensed representatives and we will help determine if it’s available to and appropriate coverage for your company.
Physical Damage Insurance – Physical damages insurance protects your hearse from damages and loss. If the vehicle is damaged in any way that is covered by your policy, the damage protection insurance will pay for the cost of repairs or replacement. This prevents your company from having to pay those bills, and is particularly important when you have an outstanding auto loan or lease on the hearse.
- Comprehensive Physical Damage Protection – Comprehensive damage insurance protects you from losses caused by just about anything other than a collision or a roll-over. If your hearse gets tagged with graffiti while parked in a public parking lot for example, comprehensive damage protection will pay to have it repaired. If the vehicle is damaged from hair or falling debris in a storm, comprehensive coverage takes care of those repairs as well. Comprehensive also protects you from vehicle theft and break ins.
- Collision Protection – This coverage is specifically designed to help protect you from losses caused by roll over events or collisions. If your hearse overturns on the highway for example, collision damage protection will pay to have it replaced or repaired. If the vehicle hits another object such as a gravestone, building, mailbox or fire hydrant, collision damage will take care of the repairs for those events as well.
- Specified Peril (CAC) – Fire and Theft with Combined Additional Coverage (CAC), is a more limited form of non-collision insurance coverage. It is also known as Specified Peril insurance because it protects you from only those perils, hazards and events that are listed on your policy.
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist – When another driver causes an auto accident, their insurance is supposed to pay for the medical bills and property damages your hearse suffers in the accident. If the other driver does not carry insurance however, you can prevent yourself from having to pay the repair and medical bills out of your own pocket with an uninsured motorist policy. Some drivers carry insurance but it is not enough coverage to pay for all of the damages and injuries they inflict in an accident. When this happens, the underinsured portion of your policy can make up the differences. Protection from these types of events is accomplished by carrying uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage on your hearse.
- Bodily Injury – As covered with Liability Insurance.
- Property Damage – As covered with Liability Insurance.
- Collision Deductible Waiver (CDW) – A collision deductible waiver, or CDW, is available when you carry uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury coverage. This waiver makes it so that your company does not have to pay an insurance deductible when making an uninsured or underinsured accident claim.
Other Important Commercial Auto Insurance For FUNERAL VEHICLE Includes:
- Rental – When your hearse is damaged extensively in an accident you may have to rent a temporary replacement. Rental insurance covers the cost of the replacement.
- Towing – If your hearse needs to be towed to a repair shop after an accident, towing insurance will cover that expense.
- Accessories (Ex: mileage meters, navigation units, radios) – If your business uses specialized equipment in your hearse, such as a mileage meter for taxi services, you can protect yourself from the loss of that expensive equipment by adding accessories coverage to your commercial auto insurance policy.