Your personal auto policy almost never pays for a work accident.

A lot of landscapers run a work truck and trailer on a personal auto policy and never find out there is a problem until a claim is denied. Personal auto commonly excludes business use, so a work accident can leave you paying out of pocket. Here is how commercial auto and trailer coverage works for a landscaping operation, and where it overlaps with your equipment coverage.

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Commercial auto covers the trucks and trailers you use for your landscaping business, including liability and physical damage, where a personal auto policy commonly denies business-use claims. It can include hired and non-owned auto for employees or 1099 drivers using their own vehicles, trailer and towing coverage, and it overlaps with inland marine for the equipment you haul.

Why personal auto is a trap for a work truck

Personal auto policies commonly exclude or limit business use. Run a truck and trailer for landscaping under a personal policy and a serious work accident can be denied, leaving you personally exposed for the vehicle, the liability, and the equipment on the trailer. This is one of the most common denied-claim scenarios for contractors, and it is entirely avoidable with the right commercial auto policy.

Trucks, trailers, and towing

Commercial auto covers your owned trucks and can schedule your trailers, including liability for what the trailer does and physical damage to the trailer itself. Towing and the way a trailer attaches to the truck matter for how a claim is handled, so the policy has to reflect how you actually haul crews and gear.

Employees and 1099 drivers

If employees or 1099 workers drive their own vehicles for your business, hired and non-owned auto coverage protects your business from liability arising out of that driving, which your commercial auto on owned trucks does not automatically cover. For a landscaping crew where several people drive to jobs, this is a common and important gap to close.

How we handle it

We place commercial auto for your trucks and trailers at the right limits, add hired and non-owned auto where your crew drives, and coordinate it with your tools and equipment coverage so the gear you haul is covered in transit. We also make sure any commercial or municipal contract auto requirements are met.

Reviewed for insurance accuracy by Richard Sweet, Vantage Point Risk. Last reviewed July 16, 2026. How we review this.

Frequently asked

Common questions.

Is my work truck covered on my personal auto policy?

Usually not for business use. Personal auto policies commonly exclude or limit business use, so a landscaping work accident can be denied, leaving you exposed for the truck, the liability, and the equipment. A commercial auto policy is what actually covers a work truck and trailer, and it is one of the most common gaps we fix for landscapers.

Does commercial auto cover my trailer?

It can. Commercial auto can schedule your trailers for both liability and physical damage, and it addresses towing. How the trailer and the equipment on it are covered depends on the policy and how it coordinates with your inland marine, so we set both up together so there is no gap when gear is in transit.

What is hired and non-owned auto and do landscapers need it?

It covers your business's liability when employees or 1099 workers drive rented or personal vehicles for work. If several people on your crew drive to jobs in their own vehicles, your commercial auto on owned trucks does not automatically cover that exposure, so hired and non-owned auto fills a common landscaping gap.

Does commercial auto cover the equipment on my trailer?

Auto covers the vehicles and trailers; the equipment you haul is generally covered by tools and equipment (inland marine), which follows the gear in transit and at the jobsite. The two coordinate, so a stolen or damaged mower on a trailer is handled by the equipment coverage while the trailer itself is on the auto policy.

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Is your truck and trailer actually covered for work?

Personal auto denies business-use claims. We confirm your vehicles are on the right policy before a claim tests it.

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We move your work truck off risky personal auto

We add hired and non-owned auto for crew drivers

We coordinate auto with your equipment coverage

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Coverage

Cover the trucks and trailers your business runs on.

Tell us about your vehicles and crew, and we will place commercial auto that actually pays on a work accident.