I hired a new driver — what do I need to do?
Tell your agent before the new driver drives a work vehicle. The insurer checks the driver's record, age and license, then approves them, charges more, or declines. Skipping that step can lead the insurer to deny a claim, add a surprise bill at the end of the policy year, or cancel the policy; check your own policy wording and ask your agent.
- Give your agent the new driver's name and license number before they drive, and wait for the insurer to confirm.
- Each insurer sets its own limits on age, experience and violations, so a driver one insurer accepts another may decline.
- Permission to drive is a backstop, not a substitute for listing the driver, and it does not cover an employee's own car.
Why does my insurer want every driver listed?
Because who is driving is the biggest factor in whether you will have an accident claim. It prices your policy on the people who will be behind the wheel, so it wants a name and license number for each.
One insurer's guide says anyone who operates a commercial vehicle should be named on the policy, including employees who drive only occasionally, business partners and independent contractors. It warns that a claim involving a driver the policy excludes may be denied or treated as a breach of the policy. (Source: Westfield Insurance)
Another underwriting guide notes that no addition takes effect until a licensed agent confirms it. (Source: Wexford Insurance)
What does the insurer check on a new driver?
The driver's record from the state, the class of license, and the driver's age and experience. Each insurer sets its own cut-offs, so ask your agent for the standards before you hire.
The record the state keeps on a driver, which lists license status, violations, suspensions and accidents, is what insurers call a motor vehicle record. Federal safety rules show how far back a typical check reaches: a trucking company they cover must request it from every state that licensed the driver in the past three years, in the driver's first month. (Source: Title 49, section 391.23 of the Code of Federal Regulations)
One commercial trucking insurer publishes its standards, which show how specific they get. Its record must be under 30 days old, the driver must be 23 to 70, with two years of continuous experience in a similar vehicle, no more than one accident or three minor violations in the past three years, and no major violation in the past five. (Source: Cover Whale) Yours will differ.
License class matters too. Underwriters check that the license class and endorsements match the vehicle and that the license is current. (Source: Wexford Insurance)
What happens if I don't add the driver?
Depending on the policy and your state, the driver can be excluded from coverage, the insurer can use the omission as a reason to cancel, or you can be billed extra at the end of the policy year.
Many commercial auto policies are priced on an estimate and checked afterward in a review called a premium audit. For commercial auto, one agency's guide says the auditor looks at how your vehicles are used and who drives them, and that missing data often leads to higher estimates. (Source: Pie Insurance) The guide to the year-end insurance audit explains the process. One large insurer says extra premium owed is added to your next bill. (Source: The Hartford)
A driver who does not meet an insurer's standards can lead to a premium increase, cancellation or non-renewal. (Source: Cover Whale) Undoing a policy as if it never existed (rescinding it) is harder for an insurer and depends on state law: an Illinois court refused it in a personal-auto case where the insurer's proof was a 35% higher premium. (Source: Traub Lieberman)
Does my policy cover someone I let drive a work vehicle?
Often yes, as a backstop. Coverage for anyone you give permission to drive a vehicle you own is called permissive use, but it has exceptions and it does not replace listing the driver.
The standard business auto form covers anyone using a covered vehicle with your permission, subject to five exceptions. (Source: Rough Notes) Permission can be disputed. The article's example is an employee who breaks a written rule and takes the company truck on a personal errand: that employee may not count as an insured, and the business could face the claim alone. Check your own policy wording and ask your agent.
What if the new driver uses their own car for work?
Your business can still be sued after their accident, and your regular business auto policy generally does not treat their car as covered. Liability coverage for vehicles your business does not own, such as rentals and employees' cars on work errands, is called hired and non-owned autoHired and Non-Owned Auto Liability coverage for accidents in vehicles your business does not own, such as rentals or an employee's personal car used on a work errand. Insurers call it hired and non-owned auto. more →.
The employee's personal policy may also protect the employer and pays first, so the two share the employee's limits. Your own excess limits do not reach the employee unless an endorsement adds employees as insureds. (Source: Rough Notes) Our commercial auto coverage page shows how it fits with the rest of the policy.
What should I keep on file for each driver?
A copy of the license, the driving record you or your insurer pulled at hire and each year after, and a note of when you told your agent and when they confirmed. Keep it for as long as the person drives for you, and for years after.
Trucking companies regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration must keep a driver file combining the application, the state driving record, the annual record review and the medical certificate, for as long as the driver works for them and three years afterward. (Source: Title 49, section 391.51 of the Code of Federal Regulations) Most small businesses are not bound by that rule, but it is a sound model.
- The basics: license copy, signed application, driving record at hire, and the record each year.
- Your insurer trail: the date you sent the driver's details and the written confirmation back.
Frequently asked questions about adding a driver
Ask your agent. One insurer's guidance says anyone who operates a commercial vehicle should be named, including occasional drivers.
Yes. The guidance above puts business partners and independent contractors on the list of people who should be named.
It can. A clean record may change little, while violations or thin experience can raise the price or lead the insurer to decline the driver. Ask for the price before the driver starts.
Hiring someone to drive for you?
Send us the driver's details and the vehicles they will use, and we will check them against your policy and the insurer's standards.