If you get into an accident when you drive for work, you will discover that your personal auto insurance policy won’t cover it. For that, you need commercial auto insurance. Commercial auto insurance is required in New Jersey if you use a vehicle for work. Here are our recommendations of the 5 best commercial auto insurance companies in New Jersey.
- The 5 best commercial auto insurance companies in New Jersey
- What is New Jersey commercial auto insurance?
- What does commercial auto insurance cover in New Jersey?
- Commercial auto insurance coverage requirements in New Jersey
- How much does commercial auto insurance cost in New Jersey?
- How to find cheap commercial auto insurance in New Jersey?
- Who needs commercial auto insurance in New Jersey?
- Should delivery drivers carry commercial auto insurance in New Jersey?
The 5 best commercial auto insurance companies in New Jersey
We research several commercial auto insurance providers in New Jersey and here are our recommendations of the top 5.
- Progressive: Best Overall commercial auto insurance provider in New Jersey
- Simply Business: Best for comparing online quotes
- Liberty Mutual: Best for companies that need help to set up a risk control program to reduce insurance premiums over time
- Old Republic International Corp: Best for affordable premiums
- Commercinsurance.net: Best for knowledgeable agents
Progressive: Best Overall commercial auto insurance provider in New Jersey
Progressive serves all fifty states, so you won’t have to worry about whether you’re covered or not. They are also the largest commercial auto insurance provider in the country, having 12.1% market share in 2020.
As you can see, you can get a quote online for Progressive, but to actually buy a policy you’ll need to call and speak to an agent. They do have a lot of discounts, though, so you should qualify for at least a few.
Simply Business: Best for comparing online quotes
If finding the cheapest quote by comparing several quotes in one place conveniently is important to you, you may want to start with Simply Business. They are a digital broker specializing in all types of small business insurance. They work with several leading insurance companies and are able to pull quotes from their partner companies for you to compare in one place.
In some cases, when they are not able to pull several quotes for your comparison, you might want to give them a call, they will be able to give you several quotes on the phone so that you can compare and select the cheapest one for you.
Simply Business also offers many other great digital features such as downloading the certificate online, renewing a policy, or filing a claim.
Simply Business also earns an excellent consumer rating on BBB (A) and 4.1 rating out of 5 on Trustpilot, which is higher than their insurance peers.
Liberty Mutual: Best for companies that need help to set up a risk control program to reduce insurance premiums over time
Liberty Mutual is one of the market leaders in business insurance industry. offers many different business polices, so you can get all your business insurance in one place. In commercial auto insurance, they are the 4th biggest provider with 3.7% market share in 2020.
If you buy commercial auto insurance from Liberty Mutual, they’ll offer you risk control professionals to help you identify how to limit risks and set up a risk control program for your company with a goal to reduce accidents over time. This will help you reduce commercial auto insurance premiums over time.
They also have a dedicated auto liability claims team so you don’t have to wait longer than necessary for your claim to be processed.
To get a quote, you’ll need to work with an agent. They service 46 states, so you can find one pretty easily. Once you have an agent and a policy, you can pay your bill online or access your account online 24/7.
Old Republic International Corp: Best for affordable premiums
You may not have heard of Old Republic International Corporation, but they’ve been in business since 1923. They are actually the 3rd biggest commercial auto insurance provider with 4.1% market share in 2020, only after Progressive and Travelers.
They serve many different industries and offer many types of business insurance, including:
- General Liability
- Commercial auto
- Inland marine
- Commercial property
- Commercial Umbrella
- Workers compensation
- Directors and officers
- Professional liability
It seems that they offer affordable commercial auto insurance, so you might want to give them a try if you want to pay the lowest premium possible. However, they don’t seem to have good consumer rating, so be mindful of that.
They have 19 reviews on google, almost all of which are one star. It should be noted that this company also sells extended warranties for non-commercial autos, so some customers are referring to that arm of the business. However, some do mention the commercial auto insurance as well.
If you want a quote from Old Republic, they have over 400 agents that would be happy to assist you.
Commercialinsurance.net: Best for knowledgeable agents
If you prefer working with agents who specialize in your business niche and very experienced in providing commercial auto insurance to a variety of businesses in different industries, you may want to work with commercialinsurance.net. They are a national broker specializing in small business insurance. They partner with an intensive network of hundreds agents across the country who are very knowledgeable and experienced in providing commercial auto insurance to small businesses in all industries.
However unique and niche your industry is, you can count on commercialinsurance.net connecting you with an agent who is the most knowledgeable about the specifics of your business so that they can find you the best coverages at the most affordable prices.
>>MORE: Top 10 Commercial Auto Insurance Companies
What is New Jersey commercial auto insurance?
There are roughly 908,000 small businesses in New Jersey. Any business that uses a vehicle for work needs commercial auto insurance. Your personal insurance policy will not cover your claim if you use your vehicle for work purposes (except for commuting back and forth to work: your personal auto insurance policy will cover that).
That means that if you’re a real estate agent who drives people around in your car while you look at houses, you need commercial auto insurance. Contractors, plumbers, delivery drivers, etc. all of these need commercial auto insurance.
What does commercial auto insurance cover in New Jersey?
Commercial auto insurance provides insurance in case you’re in an accident. It covers:
Liability: if you cause an accident, this will protect you from bodily injury to other people in the accident. It pays for medical costs and lost wages of anyone injured.
Collision/Comprehensive: Much like in a personal auto insurance policy, this covers damages to a third party and your own vehicle if you’re in an accident. It also covers theft, vandalism, weather damage, and damages from animals.
Uninsured motorist coverage: Pays for your injuries and/or property damage if you’re hit by an uninsured motorist.
Underinsured motorist: the person who hits you has coverage, just not enough. If you live in a no-fault state, your auto insurance policy will cover your losses.
>>MORE: Why do We Need Commercial Auto Insurance?
Commercial auto insurance coverage requirements in New Jersey
Basic commercial auto coverage requirements in New Jersey:
In New Jersey, all commercial auto policies are required to have the same minimum coverage amounts. These include:
- $15,000 Per Person
- $30,000 Per Accident for Bodily Injury
- $5,000 for Property Damage
Insurance coverage requirements for rideshare drivers in New Jersey:
As with most states, New Jersey has different requirements for rideshare drivers. They are as follows below:
When drivers are in their cars with the rideshare app turned on but haven’t picked up a passenger, they need this level of coverage:
- $50,000 Death or Bodily Injuryper Person
- $100,000 for Death or Bodily Injury per Incident
- $25,000 for Property Damage
You’ll also be expected to carry additional personal protection insurance per N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4 of their legal code, and underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage per N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1. The requirements laid out in these sections of the New Jersey Code are a little complex, so make sure to go over them with your insurance agent.
Once you have picked up a rider, the insurance coverage requirements increase to:
- $1,500,000 for Death, Bodily Injury and Property Damage
- $10,000 for Medical Payments of at Least Per Person per Incident
- $1,500,000 for Underinsured/Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Your rideshare company may provide for part or all of your insurance coverage at this level.
Household Goods Carrier Coverage Requirements:
Movers operating within the state of New Jersey without crossing state lines are required to carry the following commercial truck insurance coverage:
- $25,000 for Bodily Injuries to or Death Per Person
- $100,000 Total Bodily Injuries or Death Per Accident
- $10,000 for Property Damage
Property transport carrier coverage requirements:
There are also specific requirements for commercial auto insurance when transporting different materials/products in New Jersey:
- General Freight: $750,000 Liability Insurance
- Oil Transport: $1,000,000 Liability Insurance
- Hazardous Materials: $5,000,000 Liability Insurance
- Household Goods: $300,000 Liability Insurance
Household goods transporters should also carry $5,000 per vehicle and $10,000 per event in cargo insurance.
How much does commercial auto insurance cost in New Jersey?
Commercial auto insurance tends to cost more than personal auto insurance. The average cost that small business owners in New Jersey pay for commercial auto insurance is about $1,704 a year. But it’s highly dependent on what you do, how many vehicles you insure and what kind of driving record you have.
Different insurance companies will have different quotes. Make sure you shop with a few companies or a digital broker such as Simply Business, commercialinsurance.net, CoverWallet, or Smart Financial to compare several quotes to select the cheapest quote for you.
>>MORE: How Much does Commercial Auto Insurance Cost?
How to find cheap commercial auto insurance in New Jersey?
To save yourself money, here are some things you can do to reduce the cost of commercial auto insurance:
- Maintain a clean driving record.
- Hire drivers with clean driving records
- Increase your deductible (just make sure you can cover it if you get into an accident)
- Find discounts
Many insurance companies have discounts for commercial auto insurance policies. Some include:
- Continuous coverage
- Commercial driver’s license discount
- Pay-in-full discount
- Business insurance discount
- Paperless discount
- Homeowner
- Multiple vehicles
You probably qualify for at least a few discounts. If you don’t, shop for a different insurance company.
>>MORE: How to Find Cheap Commercial Auto Insurance?
Who needs commercial auto insurance in New Jersey?
Anyone who uses their vehicle for work, other than commuting, needs commercial auto insurance in New Jersey. If you transport goods, services, or people for a fee, you probably need commercial auto insurance. Business use for personal vehicles is not covered. If you lie and your insurance company finds out, they may drop you as a customer.
Should delivery drivers carry commercial auto insurance in New Jersey?
If you drive for Uber or Lyft, there is some insurance coverage while you’re driving with a customer in the car. However, the time when you have the app turned on but are not yet driving a customer or picking up a food order is a gray area. You could find yourself in a situation where your personal auto insurance refused your claim because you were driving for Uber and Uber may refuse to cover you because you didn’t have a customer yet. However, there is rideshare insurance in most states, New Jersey included.
Last Thoughts
There are many aspects to running a business. Getting your goods or services to your clients on time is absolutely necessary if you want to stay in business. Commercial auto insurance is also necessary.
