When the cargo is a person, almost every rule changes.

Commercial auto

Vehicles the business owns and the people who drive them for work.

Without it — Passenger carriers have their own federal minimums, set by seating capacity rather than by what is in the back.

Umbrella & excess liability

Extra limit stacked above general liability, auto and employers liability. Usually the cheapest million dollars on the policy.

Without it — One incident produces as many claimants as there are seats, which is how a primary limit disappears in a single event.

Sexual abuse & molestation

Covers allegations of abuse by staff or volunteers. General liability usually excludes it outright, and any organization working with children, patients or vulnerable adults will be asked to carry it by name.

Without it — Carrying passengers — particularly minors, elderly and disabled riders — is an allegation exposure that general liability excludes.

General liability

Third-party bodily injury and property damage. It is the line nearly every contract names by default.

Without it — Boarding, alighting and premises claims happen off the vehicle and outside the auto policy.

Workers compensation

Required in almost every state the moment you have employees. Priced on payroll and class code, which is why the class code is worth arguing about.

Without it — Drivers, and the physical assistance they give passengers, produce the injuries in this class.

Auto physical damage

Damage to your own tractor and trailer. Primary liability pays for what you do to everyone else and nothing for your equipment, so without this a rollover you caused leaves you paying off a truck you can no longer run.

Without it — Coaches, stretch vehicles and wheelchair-converted vans are expensive and slow to replace.

Hired & non-owned auto

Covers vehicles the business does not own but its people drive on the job: rentals, and employees running errands in their own cars. Their personal auto policy will not cover a business trip, and the claim lands on the business. Pricing depends entirely on HOW it is bought: as an endorsement on a general liability policy we write, HNOA often costs a few hundred dollars; as a stand-alone (monoline) policy it runs $2,500 to $5,000, and association practitioner programs (CPH, CM&F and similar) generally cannot take the endorsement, so "add HNOA to my existing policy for $300-$800" is usually not a real option. A package carrying GL, professional liability and HNOA together is typically cheaper than the monoline.

Without it — Owner-drivers and vehicles brought in to cover peaks sit outside the owned schedule.

Is there really a market for buses and limos, or just declinations?

There is a real market, and it is small enough to name. National Indemnity treats public auto as target business rather than an accommodation: buses, party buses, limousines, school buses and non-emergency medical transport — and will look at accounts carrying safety alerts. Lancer runs one of the strongest passenger transportation programs in the country, national for charter, school, transit and sightseeing work. Berkshire Hathaway Homestate writes taxi, limo, school bus and medical transport. What none of them writes is app-based rideshare, and intercity bus is excluded more often than not. Passenger work is underwritten as a specialty, so a decline from a general commercial auto carrier says very little about it.

National Indemnity, and why it prices the way it does

What is public auto, and why is it rated separately?

It covers vehicles that carry people for hire: taxi, limousine, bus, shuttle, paratransit and non-emergency medical transport. It is rated apart because the exposure differs in kind. Federal minimums follow seating capacity rather than commodity. One accident produces many claimants at once. And the passengers bring exposures freight never has. A different set of carriers writes it too, which is why an agency strong in freight often cannot quote it.

Why is this class so hard to place right now?

Severity is high and the carrier list is short. Passenger vehicles combine urban driving, constant stops and high occupancy, with drivers who are often new to the operator. The specialty markets that write it are selective. New ventures face the largest loading, which usually eases after twelve clean months and again at three years.

Do you write single vehicles as well as fleets?

Yes. A single limousine or wheelchair van is placeable, and so is a fleet. The difference is which markets look at it. What matters more than size is that the operation is described accurately: seating capacity, whether passengers are ambulatory, whether you hold contracts with a broker or an authority, and who your drivers are.

What does a public auto insurance application ask for?

The applications for public auto businesses ask about 4 things above all: what type of transportation services do you provide, and where do you operate; how far do your typical trips go, and what's the farthest distance you operate; how many full-time drivers, part-time drivers, and backup drivers do you have; do your vehicles have cameras installed? if so, are they one-way or two-way. Have your current insurance information and coverage details for the last three years, including any claims and your loss and claims history for the last five years from your current insurer (called loss runs) ready and a quote takes a day instead of a week.