Commercial Auto Insurance for Myrtle Beach Businesses

What Is Commercial Auto Insurance?

Commercial auto insurance covers vehicles used for business purposes. If your company owns cars, trucks, vans, or specialty vehicles—or if employees drive for work—commercial auto protection is essential. Personal auto policies exclude business use, which means an accident during work activities could leave you without coverage when you need it most.

For Myrtle Beach businesses, commercial auto insurance protects against the liability exposure that comes with putting vehicles on the road. Whether you operate a single service van or manage a fleet of delivery trucks, this coverage pays for damages you cause to others and repairs to your own vehicles after accidents, theft, or weather damage.

Why Myrtle Beach Businesses Need Commercial Auto Insurance

Any business that uses vehicles faces auto-related liability. Commercial auto insurance addresses these exposures:

• Personal auto policies won't cover business use. If you're in an accident while making a delivery, meeting a client, or transporting equipment, your personal auto insurer can deny the claim. Commercial auto coverage eliminates this gap.


• Your business is liable for employee accidents. When employees cause accidents while driving for work, your company faces liability claims—not just the individual driver. Commercial auto insurance defends your business and pays damages.


• Accident costs add up fast. A serious collision can result in six-figure medical bills, vehicle replacement costs, and legal fees. Commercial auto coverage protects your business assets from these claims.


• Vehicle damage disrupts operations. When a work truck is in the shop, jobs don't get done. Physical damage coverage gets your vehicles repaired and back on the road quickly.


• Contracts often require it. Many commercial clients, property managers, and general contractors in South Carolina require proof of commercial auto insurance before allowing vendors on their properties.

What Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cover?

Commercial auto policies include several coverage components that work together to protect your business:

Liability Coverage

Commercial auto liability pays when your driver causes an accident that injures someone or damages their property. This coverage is split into two parts:

Bodily injury liability. Covers medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering for people injured in accidents your driver causes. It also pays your legal defense costs if you're sued.

Property damage liability. Pays to repair or replace other people's vehicles, buildings, fences, or other property damaged in accidents involving your business vehicles.

South Carolina requires minimum liability limits for all registered vehicles, but most Myrtle Beach businesses carry higher limits—typically $500,000 or $1 million combined single limit—to adequately protect against serious claims.

Physical Damage Coverage

Physical damage coverage protects your own vehicles. It includes two components:

Collision coverage. Pays to repair your vehicle after an accident, regardless of who's at fault. This applies whether you hit another car, strike a pole, or roll the vehicle.

Comprehensive coverage. Covers damage from events other than collisions—theft, vandalism, fire, hail, flooding, falling objects, and animal strikes. For Myrtle Beach businesses, comprehensive coverage is particularly important given our exposure to hurricanes and tropical storms.

Medical Payments Coverage

Med pay covers medical expenses for the driver and passengers in your vehicle after an accident, regardless of fault. This coverage pays immediately without waiting for liability determinations, getting injured employees to treatment quickly.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

When another driver causes an accident but lacks adequate insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage protects you. This pays for injuries and damages that the at-fault driver's policy can't cover—an unfortunately common situation on South Carolina roads.

Hired and Non-Owned Auto Coverage

Not every business owns vehicles, but that doesn't eliminate auto exposure. Hired and non-owned auto coverage addresses two common situations:

Hired auto coverage. Protects your business when employees rent vehicles for work purposes. If a sales rep rents a car for a client visit in Conway and causes an accident, hired auto coverage responds.

Non-owned auto coverage. Covers liability when employees use their personal vehicles for business errands—delivering documents, picking up supplies, visiting job sites. The employee's personal policy is primary, but if their limits aren't sufficient, non-owned auto coverage fills the gap.

Many Myrtle Beach businesses add hired and non-owned auto coverage to their commercial general liability policy or business owner's policy rather than purchasing a separate commercial auto policy. This works well for businesses without owned vehicles but with employees who occasionally drive for work.

Who Needs Commercial Auto Insurance?

If your business involves any of the following, commercial auto coverage is essential:

• Owned business vehicles. Any vehicle titled in your company's name requires commercial auto insurance. Personal policies won't cover corporate-owned vehicles.


• Service and delivery operations. Plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, landscapers, caterers, and other service businesses that travel to customer locations need commercial auto protection.


• Transporting goods or equipment. If you haul materials, products, tools, or equipment in vehicles, commercial coverage protects both the vehicle and its contents.


• Employee drivers. Businesses with employees who drive company vehicles—or their own vehicles for work—face vicarious liability for accidents those drivers cause.


• For-hire transportation. Taxi services, delivery services, and other for-hire operations require commercial auto insurance, often with specific coverage requirements.

Commercial Auto Insurance for Fleets

Businesses with multiple vehicles benefit from fleet commercial auto policies. Fleet coverage insures all your vehicles under one policy, simplifying administration and often reducing per-vehicle costs. Most carriers define a fleet as five or more vehicles, though some offer fleet pricing starting at three units.

Fleet policies in South Carolina can include automatic coverage for newly acquired vehicles, giving you protection from the moment you add a truck or van without waiting to contact your agent. This matters for growing Myrtle Beach businesses that regularly add vehicles to their operations.

How Much Does Commercial Auto Insurance Cost in South Carolina?

Commercial auto premiums depend on multiple factors specific to your business:

• Vehicle types. A sedan costs less to insure than a heavy truck. Specialty vehicles like dump trucks, tow trucks, or refrigerated vans carry higher premiums due to increased exposure.


• How vehicles are used. Service vehicles traveling locally cost less than long-haul delivery trucks covering thousands of miles monthly.


• Driver records. Employees with clean driving histories reduce your premium. Drivers with accidents, violations, or DUIs significantly increase costs.


• Coverage limits. Higher liability limits and lower deductibles increase premium but provide better protection.


• Industry classification. Contractors, delivery services, and transportation companies face different rate structures based on industry loss experience.


• Claims history. Past accidents and claims on your commercial auto policy affect renewal pricing.

A small Myrtle Beach business with one or two vehicles might pay $1,200 to $2,500 annually for commercial auto coverage. Larger fleets, specialized vehicles, and higher-risk operations pay considerably more. The only way to know your cost is to get quotes based on your specific vehicles, drivers, and operations.

Why Work with Moore & Associates for Commercial Auto Insurance

Moore & Associates has insured Myrtle Beach businesses since 1979. As an independent insurance agency, we work with multiple commercial auto carriers to find coverage that fits your operations and budget. We're not locked into one company's rates or appetite—if one carrier doesn't fit, we have other options.

Our local agents understand commercial auto needs along the Grand Strand. We help businesses from North Myrtle Beach to Georgetown structure coverage that protects their vehicles, their drivers, and their company assets. Whether you need a single-vehicle policy or fleet coverage for dozens of trucks, Moore & Associates can help.

Get a Commercial Auto Insurance Quote in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Our commercial auto insurance agents serve Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and surrounding areas including North Myrtle Beach, Atlantic Beach, Conway, Surfside Beach, Murrells Inlet, Litchfield, Pawleys Island, and Georgetown. Contact Moore & Associates today for a free quote.