What happens if I get hurt in an accident while driving for work?
Are you an outside salesperson?
Do you have a company vehicle?
Do you use your vehicle to run errands or other things for your employer?
If any of those are the case you might be wondering what happens if I get hurt in an auto accident while “working”.
Who is responsible to pay for my injuries? Is it my employer, is it my auto insurance?
The answer is both, technically.
Personal Injury Protection
New York State no-fault coverage otherwise known as Personal Injury Protection is what pays for any injuries that arise out of your vehicle for you or your passengers in the event there is an accident, no matter if you’re at fault or if the other person’s at fault, New York State no-fault/personal injury protection coverage pays initially.
This is true for both your personally owned vehicle or the businesses owned vehicle.
This coverage will be primary if you are hurt in an accident while you are working before Worker’s Compensation kicks in.
Between the two coverage’s they will pay for all medical expenses along with lost wages while you are out of work and recovering.
How can business owners protect themselves?
If you are a business owner whose employees are using company-owned vehicles or using their personally owned vehicle to do business-related activities, it is important to make sure you have the appropriate coverage in place to protect the business.
Outside of having adequate coverage on your business auto policy, if the company owns vehicles, you should also make sure you have a coverage called Hired & Non-owned Liability Coverage.
Hired and non-owned auto liability coverage is the coverage to protect you in the event of bodily injury or property damage caused by vehicles that you hire like a rental vehicle and also non-owned vehicles like your employee’s vehicles.
This coverage can be added to a business auto policy or also your business owners or general liability policy as an endorsement.
Reach out to your insurance agent to make sure you have this coverage as part of your insurance protection.
If you don’t have a relationship with an agent or want a review of your insurance then click the button below to schedule a review with one of our trusted insurance advisors.
