Growing up, we dream of the first car. It's the first step towards real independence. No more relying on parents or waiting for unreliable friends. With a car parked nearby, you can go when and where you want. In the dim recesses of your mind, the word "insurance" probably makes a token appearance, but that's a mere technicality - a detail that can be worked out later. For those of a more entrepreneurial inclination, there's the dream of a small business. You think of starting up in your parent's garage and, if you need transport for yourself or goods, well you already have a car. Not everyone pauses at this point to read the insurance policy. In all but the most expensive all-risks policy, the one thing likely to be excluded is the use of the vehicle in your own business. That needs separate commercial insurance. Once you get over that piece of bad news, the second piece coming close behind is that commercial insurance rates are higher than domestic rates.

Why are commercial rates so high? It's a combination of factors but the most important are that the scope of the coverage is wider and the amount available to meet claims is significantly greater. For these purposes, it does not matter whether you rent or buy a vehicle for use in the business, the moment you or an employee put wheels on the road, the scale of potential liability is automatically higher because you are not just looking at third party liabilities, but also at the loss of the vehicle within the business and possible injury to an employee. So, the sooner you make a complete disclosure to the insurance companies the better. They have policies based on the number of employees you have and the type of business you are in. This is no longer one careful driver. This is employees driving at all hours of the day and night in both seasonal and unseasonal weather. This can make major differences in the premium rates. Sales and marketing personnel may drive thousands of miles in search of business, or delivery trucks may be inching through city traffic with less than careful people loading and unloading big items, or the only use may be driving to and from work at off-peak hours. Then you may have installed every safety feature available from antilock brakes to GPS transponders to recover the vehicle if stolen. You may even have sent your drivers on courses to upgrade their skills.

There's no factor too insignificant to bring into the calculation to ensure your auto insurance quotes come back at an affordable price. This is no different from the approach to buying a domestic policy except fewer insurance companies write commercial auto insurance policies. The mileages are higher, the drivers take less care when not driving their own vehicles. There are always more accidents and claims. Once third parties realize they have been injured by a "company" vehicle, the claims are always bigger. Always get proper advice to ensure you are covered against all liabilities otherwise your business will not survive more than two or three crashes.