About $45 a month
General liability (HNOA base policy)
Insureon median for its small-business customers, updated March 30, 2026
Coverage guide
Hired and non-owned auto insurance
For businesses that rent vehicles or ask employees to run work errands in their own cars: what HNOA liability pays for, what it leaves out, what it costs and when contracts require it.
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What similar businesses pay
- General liability (HNOA base policy)
- About $45 a month
- Business owner’s policy (HNOA base)
- About $83 a month
- Commercial auto (owned vehicles)
- About $245 a month
Published benchmarks, not quotes. Your price depends on underwriting.
Cost
What hired and non-owned auto insurance costs
About $83 a month
Business owner’s policy (HNOA base)
Insureon median for its small-business customers, updated April 17, 2026
About $245 a month
Commercial auto (owned vehicles)
Insureon median for its small-business customers, updated March 4, 2026
Insureon says it has no exact figures for HNOA alone, because the coverage is usually an endorsement built into another policy’s premium. It is typically added to a general liability policy or business owner’s policy, which cost Insureon customers medians of about $45 and $83 a month, and adding HNOA may increase those premiums depending on your risk. Insureon also suggests using its $245 commercial auto median as a reference point and calls the endorsement a relatively inexpensive option. A consultant whose staff drive occasionally should expect a modest add-on; a business that rents trucks or has many employees driving should expect more.
What moves your price
- How often you rent vehicles: The Hartford says the annual amount you spend on rentals affects the price.
- Driving records of the employees who drive for work.
- The type and value of vehicles you rent or borrow.
- Your industry: TechInsurance notes delivery and construction businesses pay more than consulting firms.
- Location: TechInsurance notes that areas with higher population density bring greater accident risk.
- The liability limit, which Insureon says often matches your general liability or auto limit.
- Prior HNOA or auto claims.
Who it’s for
Who needs hired and non-owned auto insurance
An employee crashes while running a work errand
The Hartford’s example is an assistant who rear-ends another car while picking up the team’s lunch in her own vehicle. The injured driver can pursue the business, and non-owned coverage helps pay the other driver’s damage and medical costs once they exceed the employee’s personal auto limits.
You rent a truck or van for a job
Insureon’s example is an accident while making a delivery in a rental truck. Hired auto coverage pays your liability for injuries and property damage to others in vehicles you rent, lease or borrow for business.
You own no business vehicles at all
Commercial auto covers vehicles the business owns, so a company with no fleet often has no auto liability coverage. Progressive Commercial recommends HNOA for consultants, contractors, delivery services and nonprofits that need occasional transportation without company-owned vehicles.
A personal auto insurer denies a business-use claim
Insureon warns that personal auto coverage is often limited when a car is used for business, and an employee’s insurer might deny the claim. HNOA can act as excess coverage after the personal policy reaches its limits or declines the claim.
A client or landlord asks for it on a certificate
Vendor contracts often require auto liability that includes hired and non-owned vehicles even when you own none. Putnam County, Florida, for example, requires $1,000,000 combined single limit business auto coverage that includes hired and non-owned auto liability.
Coverage
What hired and non-owned auto insurance covers
Hired auto liability
Covers your liability when you or employees drive a rented, leased or borrowed car or truck for business. On the standard business auto form this is symbol 8, which excludes autos you rent or borrow from your own employees, partners, LLC members or their households.
Non-owned auto liability
Covers your business when employees use their own vehicles for work. Symbol 9 includes autos owned by employees, partners, LLC members or their households while used in your business. The Hartford describes it as extra coverage over the employee’s personal auto policy.
Bodily injury to others
Helps pay medical costs, lost income, funeral expenses and legal and settlement costs for people injured in the accident, up to your liability limit.
Damage to other people’s property
Pays for repairs or replacement of the other driver’s vehicle and other property you damage, plus legal and settlement expenses.
Legal defense
Progressive Commercial lists legal defense costs alongside third-party injury and damage, which matters when the injured party sues the business rather than the driver.
Temporary drivers and newly bought vehicles
Insureon notes you can extend HNOA to temporary workers through an endorsement, and that an any auto endorsement temporarily covers vehicles you have just bought for the business.
What it doesn’t cover
- Damage to the hired or non-owned vehicle itself; look to the rental agreement or the owner’s personal auto policy.
- Injuries to you or your employees, which belong to workers’ compensation.
- Vehicles your business owns, which need a commercial auto policy.
- Personal use, including commuting to and from work.
- Property stolen from the hired or non-owned vehicle.
- Normal wear and tear on a rented or borrowed vehicle.
- Customer property in your care, custody or control.
Rules
Requirements and filings
No state law requires a business to buy HNOA, but vendor, contractor and rental agreements regularly require auto liability that reaches hired and non-owned vehicles, even for businesses that own none. These are examples you will see on certificates of insurance.
| Requirement | Applies to | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Putnam County, Florida general vendor insurance requirements | Vendors doing work for the county | Business auto liability of at least $1,000,000 combined single limit, and coverage shall include hired and non-owned auto liability. |
| University of San Diego vendor insurance requirements (February 2026) | Corporate consultants, trade contractors and general contractors | Automobile liability of $1,000,000 combined single limit including owned, hired and non-owned vehicles; at least $5 million for chartered buses, boats and vans. |
| Herc Rentals supplemental rental terms (Sourcewell contract file) | Business customers renting equipment | Commercial auto insurance of at least $1 million per occurrence that includes owned and non-owned motor vehicles, with Herc named as an additional insured. |
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Pay less
How to lower the cost
- Add HNOA as an endorsement to your general liability or business owner’s policy instead of buying a separate auto policy.
- Check employees’ driving records before letting them drive for work, since driving history moves the price.
- Require employees who drive for work to carry their own personal auto liability, because HNOA sits over that policy.
- Keep rental spending predictable and documented; Progressive Commercial’s hired auto is limited to businesses spending under $5,000 a year on rentals.
- Set the limit to what your contracts actually require, often $1,000,000 combined single limit.
- Move to a commercial auto policy once the business owns vehicles, rather than relying on HNOA.
Before you start
What underwriters ask for
- Whether the business owns, leases or finances any vehicles
- How many employees drive their own cars for work, and how often
- Names and license details of regular drivers
- What you spend on rental cars or trucks each year
- The types of vehicles you rent, such as cars, vans or box trucks
- Your current general liability, BOP or auto policy and limits
- Contract or certificate requirements you need to meet
- Auto and liability claims from the past three to five years
Common questions
Hired and non-owned auto insurance: questions
Can I buy HNOA without a commercial auto policy?
Usually, yes. Insureon and Progressive Commercial say HNOA is commonly added as an endorsement to a general liability policy or business owner’s policy, and some carriers sell it as a separate policy.
Does HNOA cover damage to a rental car?
No. HNOA is liability coverage for harm to others. The Hartford lists damage to the hired or non-owned vehicle as excluded, and Insureon points you to your personal auto policy or the rental agreement for that damage.
Does HNOA cover employees commuting to work?
No. Insureon says HNOA applies only while the car is being used for work, not for personal errands or the commute to and from work.
Whose insurance pays first when an employee crashes in their own car?
Generally the employee’s personal auto policy. The Hartford describes non-owned auto coverage as extra coverage over the employee’s policy that helps when damages exceed its limits, and Insureon notes it can respond if the personal insurer denies a business-use claim.
Do self-employed people need HNOA?
Insureon notes that a self-employed person’s personal auto policy may not cover work-related accidents, and it lists independent contractors among the businesses that use HNOA when driving their own vehicle for work.
Are there size limits on who can buy it?
Some insurers set them. Progressive Commercial offers hired auto only to businesses spending less than $5,000 a year on rental cars, and non-owned coverage only when fewer than 10 employees use their own vehicles for work.
What limit should I carry?
Insureon reports an average auto limit of $1 million among its policyholders, and vendor contracts such as Putnam County’s commonly ask for $1,000,000 combined single limit. An independent broker that compares options from several insurers can match the limit to your contracts.
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Sources (12)
- Insureon: hired and non-owned auto insurance (updated April 21, 2026)
- Insureon: hired and non-owned auto insurance cost (updated August 21, 2025)
- Insureon: general liability insurance cost (updated March 30, 2026)
- Insureon: business owner’s policy cost (updated April 17, 2026)
- Insureon: commercial auto insurance cost (updated March 4, 2026)
- The Hartford: non-owned vehicle insurance (updated August 27, 2026)
- Progressive Commercial: what is hired and non-owned auto insurance?
- TechInsurance: hired and non-owned auto insurance cost
- Independent Agent magazine: symbols 1, 8 and 9 and non-owned and hired auto coverage (March 2023)
- Putnam County, Florida: general vendor insurance requirements
- University of San Diego: vendor insurance requirements by type (February 2026)
- Herc Rentals: supplemental terms and conditions for rental of equipment (Sourcewell, December 2025)
Figures are published third-party estimates, not quotes. Coverage depends on policy terms and underwriting, and rules vary by state. Updated October 2026.