If you run a business in Arizona, there is a good chance your team drives for work more often than you realize. An employee runs to the bank, picks up supplies in a personal truck, or takes a rented van to a job site. In each of those moments, your business can be held liable for an accident, even though the company does not own the vehicle.
That is the gap hired and non-owned auto insurance is built to close. It is one of the most overlooked commercial coverages in the state, and for many Arizona small businesses it costs very little to add. Here is what it does, who needs it, and how we help you fit it into a policy that actually matches how your business operates.
What hired and non-owned auto insurance actually covers
Hired and non-owned auto insurance, often shortened to HNOA, is liability coverage that protects your business when someone drives a vehicle your company does not own for work purposes. It has two parts that work together.
The hired auto side covers vehicles your business rents, leases, or borrows. If you reserve a van for a delivery push or rent a truck for a project, that is hired use. The non-owned side covers employees who use their own cars for business tasks, such as running errands, visiting clients, or making deliveries. According to
The Hartford, this coverage pays for bodily injury and property damage the driver causes to others, plus the legal defense costs if your business gets sued over the accident.
Why your personal and commercial policies leave a gap
Most business owners assume they are covered, and that assumption is where the trouble starts. A personal auto policy is written for personal use. When an employee drives their own car for your business and causes a serious accident, their personal insurer can limit or deny the claim, and the injured party often looks to your business next.
A standard commercial auto policy does not automatically fill the hole either. As
Insurance.com explains, commercial auto policies cover the vehicles your business owns and lists, not the ones you rent or your employees own. Without hired and non-owned coverage, your business absorbs that liability directly. As an independent Arizona broker, this is exactly the kind of coverage gap we look for, because it is easy to miss and expensive to ignore.
What it costs and how it is added to your policy
The good news is that this is usually inexpensive protection.
Insureon reports that most small businesses pay roughly 200 to 600 dollars per year for hired and non-owned auto coverage.
In many cases it is not even a separate policy. HNOA is often added as an
endorsement to your general liability policy, your business owners policy, or your existing commercial auto policy. That makes it simple to layer in without overhauling your program. We compare how different carriers bundle it, because the price and the fine print vary more than most owners expect.
Arizona rules and local risk context
Arizona is an at-fault state, which means the driver who causes a crash is responsible for the resulting damages. For businesses, that responsibility can extend up the chain to the company the driver was working for. The state sets minimum commercial auto liability limits of 25/50/15, meaning 25,000 dollars for injury to one person, 50,000 dollars per accident, and 15,000 dollars for property damage, per the
Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions.
Those minimums are low relative to what a real accident costs.
Phoenix and Tucson traffic density, long I-10 commutes, and monsoon-season conditions from July through September all raise the odds of a serious claim. If an employee causes an injury accident while driving for you, a 25,000 dollar limit disappears fast, and your business can be on the hook for the rest.
What hired and non-owned auto does not cover
It helps to know the edges of this coverage so there are no surprises at claim time. HNOA is liability coverage, so it pays for harm the driver causes to other people and their property. It does not pay to repair the rented or borrowed vehicle itself, which needs separate physical damage coverage.
It also does not cover injuries to your own employee behind the wheel, since those fall under workers compensation, and it does not respond to intentional or illegal acts. Knowing these limits up front is part of why working with a broker matters. We map your real exposures and make sure the right coverage sits behind each one instead of leaving you to find out during a lawsuit.
Frequently asked questions
Does my Arizona business need hired and non-owned auto insurance if we do not own any vehicles? Often yes. The whole point of this coverage is protection when your team drives vehicles the business does not own. If employees ever run errands, make deliveries, or visit clients in their own or rented cars, the exposure exists even with zero company vehicles.
How much does hired and non-owned auto insurance cost in Arizona? Most small businesses pay about 200 to 600 dollars per year, according to Insureon. Because it is frequently added as an endorsement to a general liability or business owners policy, it is one of the more affordable commercial coverages you can carry.
Is hired and non-owned auto the same as commercial auto insurance? No. Commercial auto covers vehicles your business owns and schedules on the policy. Hired and non-owned auto fills the gap for rented, borrowed, and employee-owned vehicles used for business, which a standard commercial auto policy does not automatically include.
Will my employee's personal insurance cover a business accident? Not reliably. Personal auto policies are written for personal use and can restrict coverage when a vehicle is used for business. That is why the liability tends to land on the company, and why non-owned auto coverage matters.
Get your hired auto insurance quote today
If your Arizona business has employees who ever drive for work, hired and non-owned auto coverage is worth a serious look, and it usually costs less than owners assume. Riseson Insurance is an independent Arizona broker, which means we work for you, not for one carrier. We will review how your team actually uses vehicles, pull quotes from multiple top-rated companies, and apply the same
smart shopping approach we use on every auto policy to show you where an endorsement can close this gap for a few hundred dollars a year. Reach out for a free hired and non-owned auto insurance quote and see your options side by side.
