I have an eclectic range of items on my bucket list. One of them is to insure the Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles. Why? Because they're neat, and I have a love for the strange and complex that often makes it way into my work.

Naturally, that led me down a rabbit hole of learning all the varied coverages one might need to cover a work vehicle that's even slightly complicated and large enough to require a CDL to drive. Regardless of how hotdog-shaped it is. So let's get down to brass tacks.

Here are the basic coverages you might need for your business auto policy:

1. Liability. This one is a given, and the basis of a commercial auto policy. It covers what you owe to others for the damages that you or your employees cause in an accident. If you hit someone, your insurance carrier pays that person so you don't have to. It comes with a split or combined limit for Bodily Injury and for Property Damage. Bodily Injury is for the other party's injuries, and Property Damage is for their vehicles or property (like if you accidentally back into a customer's garage and now have to pay for the cost of their broken garage door, for instance).

2. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage. Put simply, this is liability coverage for yourself/your drivers if the other party hits you but they're driving without insurance, or without enough insurance. This one can get complicated, so I'll break it down in another blog.

3. Collision. This coverage is optional, but you should really weigh the pros and cons before declining to add it to your policy. This pays for damage to your business vehicles when you or your employees are the ones who ran into someone or something else. Liability covers the cost for the other party's vehicle or property, but Collision covers your vehicle's damage if you're at fault. It also applies for when you drive into stationary objects, like buildings, trees, parking garage overhangs, drive-thru restaurant awnings, and so on. If a moving object (other than a vehicle) hits your car, it falls under the next coverage...

4. Comprehensive. This optional covers pretty much any physical damage to your vehicles that isn't a vehicle-on-vehicle collision. Hitting a deer, vehicle fires, hail damage, flood damage, glass breakage, rock damage, theft, rogue street signs being thrown about by a tornado that smack into the side of your panel van, vandalism like freshly-keyed-scratches right after you got the old work truck repainted, etc.

5. Medical Payments/Expense. This is for the medical bills of you/your drivers and their passengers in an accident, regardless of who is at fault. Personal Injury Protection is also available in some states, which can cover lost wages and other related costs. Some health insurance policies exclude injuries from auto accidents, so this coverage would be essential in those cases. It is optional, but definitely doesn't hurt to have.

6. Roadside Assistance. Also known as Towing coverage, plus assistance with fuel delivery, tire delivery, locking your keys inside the vehicle, jump-starting or battery delivery, and sometimes minor mechanical repairs.

7. Rental Reimbursement. This covers the cost of a replacement vehicle while your damaged one is undergoing repairs. It often has a set limit per day that it covers, and is usually paid back to you after the fact (hence the term "reimbursement"). It will also usually come with a maximum number of days and total max dollar amount reimbursed, often displayed as "$100/day, $3000 max per claim/occurrence".

I recommend carrying all of these coverages for your standard fleet policies and your personal auto policies, as well. I'll get into the more complex and absolutely necessary coverages for large custom-use vehicles in Part 2. Stay tuned!