Hired and Non-Owned Auto

Hired and non-owned auto coverage is an extension of commercial auto insurance that covers vehicles your business uses but does not own. It splits into two parts: hired auto (vehicles the business rents, leases, hires, or borrows for business use) and non-owned auto (vehicles owned by employees or contractors that are used for business purposes).

The classic example: an employee runs an errand for the business in their personal car, has an accident, and is sued. The employee's personal auto policy responds first, but if the damages exceed their limits, the business can be sued as the employer. Hired and non-owned auto coverage protects the business in that scenario.

Hired and non-owned is not the same as commercial auto for owned vehicles. If your business owns vehicles, those need their own commercial auto policy. Hired and non-owned is specifically for vehicles you do NOT own but use in the business.

Who needs it: any business where employees ever drive their personal vehicles for business purposes (running errands, going to client sites, picking up supplies, traveling between offices). Service businesses, professional services with off-site visits, real-estate-adjacent operations (excluding real estate sales, which is off-scope for Olive Cover), construction subcontractors using personal trucks, and home-based businesses where the owner drives anywhere business-related all benefit.

How it is sold: typically as an endorsement on a commercial general liability policy or a business owners policy, with a small premium increase (often 100 to 300 dollars per year). It is also available as a standalone policy for businesses without commercial auto exposure beyond hired and non-owned.

The shortened industry shorthand is HNOA. Olive uses the plain-language term in customer conversations.