Commercial auto insurance is a little different than personal auto insurance. If you use your car or truck for business purposes, you’ll need commercial auto insurance because your personal insurance won’t cover you. Here’s everything you need to know about commercial auto insurance in Oklahoma and our recommendations of the top 6 commercial auto insurance companies in the Sooner state.
- The 6 best commercial auto insurance companies in Oklahoma
- What does commercial auto insurance cover?
- How much commercial auto insurance is required in Oklahoma?
- How much does commercial auto insurance cost in Oklahoma?
- What factors affect the cost of commercial auto insurance in Oklahoma
- How can I find cheap commercial auto insurance in Oklahoma?
The 6 best commercial auto insurance companies in Oklahoma
Hundreds of companies offer commercial auto insurance in the Sooner state, which can make it difficult for you to find the good ones. We have done the homework, researching more than 30+ top companies. Here are our recommendations for the top 6 companies.
- Progressive: Best Overall
- biBERK: Best for low-cost coverage
- Tivly: Best for multiple policies
- Geico: Best for rideshare insurance
- The Hartford: Best for fleets
- Simply Business: Best for comparing quotes
Progressive: Best Overall
Progressive is our top choice for commercial auto insurance in Oklahoma because it offers a full range of commercial auto policies, with flexible limits and coverages. Also, they offer online quotes for commercial auto insurance, which is rare for commercial auto insurance.
Also, if you bundle your policies with other types of business insurance, you can get a discount. And if you are an Uber, Lyft, or DoorDash driver, Progressive has ride share insurance that will fit your needs. Progressive also allows seasonal coverage, so if you have a seasonal business, you won’t have to pay for coverage during the months you’re not using your car.
This quote is for a cleaning business in Oklahoma, with one Ford Transit Van and no loan.
biBERK: Best for low-cost coverage
biBerk provides affordable insurance to small businesses to help them save money. biBERK offers an easy-to-use enrollment process, but its experts can help you figure out policies and coverage. biBERK offers competitive rates for its commercial truck insurance policies. In fact, they claim that they save trucking businesses at least 20% on truck insurance. They also offer other business policies.
biBERK is one of a few companies offer trucking insurance quotes online. Within less than 10 minutes, you can get a quote on their website and if you are happy with the quote, you can buy the policy online as well.
The following is a sample quote from biBerk for a box truck in Chicago.
Pros
- You can get quotes and buy insurance online
- You can file claims online
- Most of their policies are low-cost
- They have a strong financial backing. It is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaways, ie. the same owner of Geico.
Cons
- The policy’s coverage limits may be lower than usual, but they can adjust the coverage limits that work best for you.
Tivly: Best for multiple policies
Commercialinsurance.net is an online insurance broker. You can get multiple quotes by filling out one form, which can save you a good bit of time.
Commercialinsurance.net doesn’t offer any discounts since they don’t underwrite any insurance. If you get a quote from Commercialinsurance.net, you can always ask about discounts directly from the insurance company.
Commercialinsurance.net has an online form for you to fill out, so it seems like they offer online quotes. However, after you fill out the form and its approved, you will get this message:
Since they are a broker, they can help businesses find several policies that a business might need. If you need more than just commercial auto insurance, working with commercialinsurance.net is a good idea since they will be able to help you find the right coverages at the most affordable prices.
Geico: Best for rideshare insurance
Geico has coverage for commercial and personal autos. If you need any other type of business insurance, you can get it, but Geico will refer you to a third-party, usually Hiscox. They do offer discounts if you bundle your personal and commercial auto policies. If you need insurance for your tractor-trailer, however, you’ll have to look elsewhere because Geico doesn’t offer that. They do offer a hybrid rideshare policy, which means one policy will cover your car for personal use and when you drive for Uber or Lyft.
They often have competitive rates, as this quote for a Ford Transit van in Oklahoma suggests.
The Hartford: Best for fleets
The Hartford has specific programs to help you both manage your fleet of trucks and to save money while doing it. FleetAhead® uses telematics to get real-time driver information and performance data. Then The Hartford’s Risk Engineering Consultants will help you interpret the data and develop strategies to help improve driver safety.
You can’t get a quote for commercial auto insurance online: you’ll have to call and speak to an agent. And if you want to add other types of business insurance, The Hartford can help you with that as well.
Simply Business: Best for comparing quotes
Simply Business is an online insurance broker that partners with various insurance companies to bring you multiple quotes online. However, once you settle on a policy, Simply Business’s role is over: your policy will be underwritten and managed by the partner insurance company.
Simply Business will give you a quote for general liability insurance (most business insurance companies will) but you can’t get a quote for commercial auto insurance online. This is not unusual, as most insurance companies prefer you to call to discuss commercial auto, except for Progressive. Once you call Simply Business, they will refer you to an agent who will get you several quotes from their partnered companies. You will be able to compare and select the best and the cheapest one for your business.
What is commercial auto insurance?
Commercial auto insurance is a type of business insurance. It applies to cars or trucks used in the day-to-day operation of a business. Things like towing, hauling, delivering goods, and driving clients around are all examples of business use of a vehicle. Even if you only use your vehicle for business use sometimes, you still need a commercial auto policy.
Learn more why businesses must get commercial auto insurance, personal auto insurance will not protect you.
What does commercial auto insurance cover?
Commercial auto insurance covers the same basic things that your personal auto insurance policy does: if you get into an at-fault accident, commercial auto insurance will pay for any injured party’s losses.
Bodily injury liability
This covers you in case you or one of your employees cause an accident that results in injuries. It will cover medical costs, pain and suffering, funeral costs, and any costs resulting from a lawsuit.
Property damage liability
This covers you if you damage someone else’s property in an at-fault accident. Oklahoma requires $25,000 in property damage liability coverage. Property damage liability doesn’t cover damage to your own vehicle: you’ll need collision insurance for that. What happens if you hit someone who has their pricey collection of Lalique crystal in the trunk? Property damage liability will pay, but only up to the limits of the policy. If this happens, the other driver will probably sue you for the damages not covered.
Collision
This covers damages/repairs to your own car or truck. If you have a loan on it, the company holding the title will require you to have collision insurance.
Comprehensive
This covers damage to your vehicle that results from something other than a crash, such as weather, fire, vandalism, or theft. You need this insurance if you have a loan on the car/truck.
Uninsured/underinsured motorists
If you get hit by someone with either no insurance or not enough insurance to cover all the costs, this will help pay for those damages, up to the limits of the policy. This is not required in Oklahoma, but it’s a good idea to have it, since about one out of every eight drivers does not have auto insurance. In Oklahoma, 13.4% of motorists had no insurance in 2019.
In addition, commercial truck insurance covers some specialized things:
On-hook towing: pays for damages to a customer’s vehicle if it gets damaged while you’re towing it. Learn more at the best tow truck insurance companies.
Trailer-interchange coverage: Covers the trailer if you don’t own it. Learn more at the trailer interchange coverage insurance: everything you need to know
Motor truck cargo: Covers damages or loss of a cargo. Learn more at the best motor truck cargo insurance companies.
Non-owned vehicle: Covers you when your employees use their own cars to carry out business tasks.
How much commercial auto insurance is required in Oklahoma?
Oklahoma state law requires commercial and personal vehicles be insured for at least $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage. It’s written as 25/50/25. However, this is the bare minimum of insurance. Even one minor accident can tap out a minimum policy, which would leave you having to pay out-of-pocket for any other damages. If an at-fault accident is severe, with multiple injuries, it can easily bankrupt you. Furthermore, $25,000 in property damage is not enough to pay for a car if an at-fault accident results in the other person’s car being totaled.
Oklahoma is a fault state: if you cause an accident, you are responsible for damages.
If you are caught driving with no liability insurance in Oklahoma, there are penalties:
- Fines of up to $250
- 30 days in prison
- License suspension
On the plus side, commercial auto insurance policies are tax-deductible.
How much does commercial auto insurance cost in Oklahoma?
The average cost of commercial auto insurance in Oklahoma is $125 a month.
The cost of commercial auto insurance varies widely because there are so many different types of commercial vehicles, and they do many different types of jobs. If you use your car to drive clients around to job sites, you’ll pay less than someone who drives a tractor-trailer across the country.
As a guide, you can expect to pay the following rates, but keep in mind they vary significantly:
- Commercial truck: $1,400 to $3,200 a year
- Commercial car: $1,200 to $2,400 a year
- Commercial bus: $35,000 and up
- Delivery vans/box trucks: $3,300 to $6,200
- Taxi/Limousine: $4,000 to $10,000
- Semi or tractor-trailer: $8,000 to 12,000 and up
These are just the averages. You will have a different quotes. Be sure to shop around with a few companies. Working with a broker like Simply Business or commercialinsuance.net or CoverWallet or Smart Financial is a good way to get and compare several quotes easily.
Learn more about the average cost of commercial auto insurance per month.
What factors affect the cost of commercial auto insurance in Oklahoma
These factors will affect how much you pay for commercial insurance.
Vehicle type: usually, large heavy vehicles cost more to insure because they cause more damage in an accident.
Value: More expensive trucks cost more to insure.
Number of vehicles: Insuring just one or two cars will cost less than insuring a whole fleet of trucks.
Distance traveled: The farther you drive, the more expensive your insurance is. Limits are often set at less than 100 miles, 100 to 250 miles, 250 to 500 miles, and more than 500 miles. The more time you’re on the road, the more likely you are to cause an accident (at least from the insurance company’s perspective).
Coverage limits: There are minimum requirements, but most business owners should strongly consider higher limits of coverage. Otherwise, you will pay out of pocket for any damages your insurance doesn’t cover.
Deductibles: A higher deductible results in lower costs. Just be sure you can cover the amount of the deductible.
Cargo: What you haul has a significant effect on how much you pay for insurance. There’s a whole range of cargo insurance you can buy:
- Pollution liability: if you spill something like oil or gas
- Debris removal: covers the cost to remove cargo from the highway
- Theft
- Hijackings
- Earned freight coverage: cargo is damaged en route and cannot be delivered
- Infidelity/dishonesty: covers you if your driver steals your cargo
- Loading and unloading: covers damages and loss that occur during loading and unloading
- Reefer breakdown: covers losses from malfunction of a refrigerated truck
Credit history: People with excellent to good credit will pay less for insurance than those with average to poor credit.
Claims history: if you have had claims in the past, you’ll pay more for insurance.
How can I find cheap commercial auto insurance in Oklahoma?
Commercial auto/truck insurance is expensive, but there’s no reason to pay more than you have to. Some things you can do to save money include:
- Shop around. Get at least three quotes. You might be surprised how much the price of the same policy can vary from company to company.
- Hire responsible drivers with clean records.
- Ask about discounts
- Get a higher deductible
- Pay in full
- Pay with EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer). Some companies will give you a discount for setting this up.
- Inspect vehicles before every trip
Last thoughts
Commercial auto insurance is a necessary expense for anyone who uses a vehicle for business. Shop around, and be sure to focus on driver safety.
