Business Automobile Coverages and Endorsements
The Business Auto domain tests how you read the declarations page of the Business Auto Coverage Form: which autos are covered, who is an insured, what each coverage part pays, and how the other insurance condition splits a loss between policies.
Covered auto designations (symbols 1–9)
1 = any auto; 2 = owned autos only; 3 = owned private passenger autos; 4 = owned autos other than private passenger; 5 = owned autos subject to no-fault; 6 = owned autos subject to a compulsory uninsured motorists law; 7 = specifically described autos; 8 = hired autos only; 9 = nonowned autos only. Symbol 1 covers liability for any auto, but no-fault and uninsured motorists benefits still depend on symbols 5 and 6. Symbol 9 covers autos the business does not own, lease, rent, or hire - typically employee-owned vehicles used in the business.
Coverage parts and who is insured
Liability pays bodily injury and property damage the insured is legally obligated to pay because of an accident involving a covered auto. The named insured is an insured for any covered auto; anyone using a covered auto with permission is also an insured, and for hired or nonowned autos the person or organization responsible for its use is an insured. Physical damage coverages - comprehensive, collision, specified causes of loss, towing and labor, glass - apply only if shown and are subject to deductibles. Medical payments and uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage are optional and state-specific.
Key exclusions
Expected or intended injury; liability assumed under contract; workers compensation and employee injury obligations; property owned by or being transported by the insured; property in the insured's care, custody, or control; racing; pollution; mobile equipment; and use of a vehicle without a reasonable belief of permission.
Other insurance
The form makes coverage for autos the named insured does not own excess over any other collectible insurance, so an employee's personal auto policy pays first on a nonowned-auto claim.
Worked example
A landscape crew member uses a personal pickup to collect mulch and strikes a parked car. The employer carries symbol 9. The employee's personal auto policy is primary; the employer's business auto policy responds excess. Had the employee rented a box truck instead, symbol 8 (hired autos) would be required, because hired and nonowned are not interchangeable.
Traps
Symbol 1 is not a substitute for symbols 5 and 6. A newly acquired owned vehicle is not covered if the policy lists only symbol 7. The MCS-90 endorsement on for-hire motor carrier policies assures payment of a judgment to the public; it is not a grant of coverage to the insured, who must reimburse the insurer.