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Coverage line

An oversized hand passes a car key above a modest personal car carrying a work briefcase, linking private wheels to business errands.

What Is Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance?

Hired and non-owned auto (HNOA) liability protects the business when rented cars or employees’ own cars are used for work. It does not pay for damage to those vehicles, and it is not a substitute for commercial auto on vehicles the business owns.

What Does Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance Cover?

A collision during a client visit or delivery can expose your business to a liability claim even when the employee owns or rents the car. 1,2

If your employees drive rented or personal cars for work, hired and non-owned auto liability can protect your business from covered accident claims. 1,2

Rented and Employee-Owned Vehicles

Separate vehicles rented for business from employees’ personal vehicles used for business errands. 3

Liability Versus Vehicle Damage

Liability for an accident and damage to the rented or employee-owned vehicle are separate questions; HNOA liability does not itself provide vehicle-damage coverage. 2,3

Who Needs Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance?

Consider HNOA if employees drive personal or rented cars for work, including errands, client visits and deliveries. 4 4

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance Coverage Examples

What happened

An Employee Has an Accident on an Errand

An employee collecting office supplies in their own car causes an accident. The other driver sues your company.

How coverage may help

HNOA may protect the company's liability. Its terms determine how it works with the employee's personal insurance and whether the employee is insured too. 1,2,3

Worked example

What happened

Your Team Damages a Rental Van

Your team rents a van for an event and damages both the van and another vehicle.

How coverage may help

HNOA liability may address the damage to the other vehicle. It doesn't itself pay to repair the rental van; that needs vehicle-damage protection. 1,2,3

Worked example

Whose Liability and Which Uses Are Covered?

The Business and the Driver

Confirm whose liability is insured: protection for the business does not automatically establish protection for the employee driving. 3

Rental Arrangements and Driving Use

Tell the broker who signs rental agreements and whether vehicles are rented in the business’s or an employee’s name. 3 Describe deliveries, regular driving and occasional errands separately when discussing eligible vehicle use. 4

How Do You Compare Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance Coverage and Costs?

Other Insurance and Limits

HNOA needs to work with the driver's personal insurance or the rental coverage. Ask which policy pays first, where the business's protection begins, and whose liability that answer actually covers — protection for the company doesn't automatically extend to the employee. 3 3

Compare the liability limit and defense terms, including how the limit applies to multiple claims from one accident. 3
Comparison pointWhat to ask
Other insuranceWhich policy responds first: the driver’s personal insurance, the rental coverage, or the business quote?
Liability limitHow does the limit apply to one accident, including claims from several people?
DefenseWho defends, and do defense expenses reduce the limit?
Who is insuredIs the business the insured, the driver, or both?
3 3 3

Property Carried and Owned Vehicles

Ask separately about property being transported and damage to property in your care. 3 When the business buys a vehicle, revisit commercial-auto coverage rather than treating it as a hired or non-owned vehicle. 3

What Do You Need for Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance Quotes?

Drivers and Rentals

Prepare the number of employees who drive for work, how often they drive, and the purposes of those trips. 4 Gather rental vehicle types, rental duration and spending, and information about existing liability insurance. 4

Driving and Insurance Controls

Be ready to describe driving-record checks and how the business confirms employees’ personal auto insurance. 4
PrepareAsk the broker
Employees who driveHow many drive for work, how often and for what purposes?
RentalsWhich vehicles do you rent, for how long and at what cost?
Existing insuranceWhich personal, rental or business policy may respond first?
Driver controlsWhat checks do you use for driving records and personal auto insurance?
4 4 4

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance: Key Terms in Plain English

Hired Auto

A vehicle rented for business; explain who signs the rental agreement. 3 3

Non-Owned Auto

An employee's personal vehicle used for business. Check the insured people and business uses. 3 3

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance: A Policy Example to Compare

See Corgi's guide for an example of one provider's coverage terms and optional extensions.

Frequently Asked Questions About Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance

Does HNOA Pay to Repair the Rental Car?

No. HNOA liability doesn't itself provide vehicle-damage coverage. Arrange protection for the rental vehicle separately. 2,3

What Changes When the Business Buys a Vehicle?

A company-owned vehicle isn't hired or non-owned. Revisit commercial auto coverage when the business buys it. 3

Does HNOA Protect the Employee Who Is Driving?

Protection for your business does not automatically insure the employee’s own liability. Confirm whose liability the HNOA policy covers when an employee uses a personal or rented vehicle for work. 3

More Commercial Auto and Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance Questions

What Is Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance?

Hired and non-owned auto (HNOA) insurance protects a business’s liability when employees use personal cars for work or the company rents vehicles.

Read the full answer

Can I Use Personal Auto Insurance for Business?

Sometimes—a personal auto policy may allow limited work driving, but regular deliveries, paid passenger transport, or business-owned vehicles may need commercial auto.

Read the full answer

Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover Borrowed Vehicles?

Sometimes—a commercial auto policy may cover your business’s liability when you borrow a vehicle if non-owned auto coverage applies; damage to the borrowed vehicle is a separate question.

Read the full answer

Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover Commuting?

Commercial auto may cover commuting in a company vehicle if the policy allows that use and driver; personal errands may be treated differently.

Read the full answer

Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover Employee Vehicles?

Sometimes—commercial auto may cover employees driving company vehicles, while hired and non-owned coverage may protect the business’s liability when staff use personal cars for work.

Read the full answer

Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover Employees?

Sometimes—commercial auto may cover employees who permissively drive a covered business vehicle; staff driving personal cars for work may need hired and non-owned auto coverage instead.

Read the full answer

Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover Personal Vehicles?

Sometimes—commercial auto may cover business liability when employees use personal cars for work if non-owned auto coverage applies.

Read the full answer

Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover Rented or Rental Cars?

Sometimes—commercial auto may cover liability for a rented vehicle when hired-auto coverage applies; damage to the rental itself requires separate physical-damage protection or other coverage.

Read the full answer

View all 21 questions

What Coverage Is Related to Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance?

  • What Is Commercial Auto Insurance?

    Commercial auto suits businesses that use vehicles for work and need liability protection; damage to your own vehicles is a separate coverage choice. If employees drive personal or rented cars, check how those trips are handled.

  • What Is General Liability Insurance?

    General liability can protect your business when a customer or visitor claims you caused injury or damaged their property. It suits businesses serving customers or working on their premises; your own building, tools and stock need property coverage.

  • What Is Umbrella and Excess Liability Insurance?

    Umbrella or excess insurance adds liability limits above the policies named in the quote after a covered claim exhausts their limits. It may fit if a contract sets higher limits; check which primary policies are listed and any gaps between them.

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance Guides by State

Which Insurance Providers Offer Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance?

  • AIG

    AIG Manufactured Housing Program lists hired and non-owned auto for that program; this does not establish a standalone broad HNOA product.

  • Amelia Risk

    Amelia Risk arranges hired and non-owned auto liability for startups and consumer-product businesses.

  • Beazley

    Beazley offers hired and non-owned auto coverage within its environmental-services package.

  • CNA

    coverage within Commercial Auto

  • Corgi

    Corgi lists hired and non-owned auto liability for employees using rented or personal vehicles for company business.

  • Founder Shield

    Founder Shield lists hired and non-owned auto among its specialized coverage offerings.

  • Foxquilt

    Advertised as a Hired & non-owned feature beneath Foxquilt’s Commercial Auto card; no distinct HNOA policy or terms established.

  • Heffernan Insurance Brokers

    Heffernan arranges hired and non-owned auto liability.

  • HUB International

    HUB International arranges hired and non-owned auto coverage through its commercial auto brokerage.

  • Kinro

    Kinro lists hired and non-owned auto for liability questions involving personal or rented vehicles used for business.

  • Markel Insurance

    Hired/non-owned auto option in small-business casualty; not commercial auto

  • The Hartford

    The Hartford offers hired and non-owned auto coverage.

Sources

4 documents, numbered as cited.

Updated .

Spot, a product of Tools for Enlightenment, publishes this research and works in the commercial insurance market. Editorial policy. To suggest a correction, email The General Average with the page URL and supporting source.

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