Using Your Personal Car for Work in Maryland, DC and Virginia
Key takeaways
- A standard personal auto policy does not exclude ordinary business driving in your own car, pickup or van. That surprises people in both directions.
- Coverage is excluded while carrying people or property for a fee, including any period logged into a rideshare or delivery app.
- A vehicle titled to your business is not covered on a personal policy at all and needs commercial auto.
- Maryland minimum liability limits are 30/60/15 and DC minimums are 25/50/10, low enough that a serious injury claim can reach the employer.
- Hired and non-owned auto liability is the coverage that protects a DMV business when employees drive their own cars for work.
Almost every week someone tells us the same thing: I only use my car for work once in a while, so I am fine. Sometimes that is true. Sometimes it is not, and the difference is rarely where people expect it.
There is a popular version of this answer online that says a personal auto policy never covers business use. That is not quite right, and getting it wrong in either direction costs people money.
What your personal auto policy actually says
Most personal auto policies in Maryland, DC and Virginia are built on the industry standard form, and that form does contain a business use exclusion. But read the rest of it. The exclusion states that it does not apply to the maintenance or use of a private passenger auto, pickup or van, or a trailer used with one of those vehicles.
In plain language: your own sedan, pickup or van, driven to a client meeting, a job walk, the bank or a second office, is generally still covered. The business use exclusion was written to catch commercial vehicles, not the car in your driveway.
So what does get excluded?
The four ways this goes wrong
Carrying people or property for a fee
This is the exclusion that bites. The standard form excludes a vehicle used as a public or livery conveyance. The 2018 revision went further and named transportation network platforms directly, which means coverage is off during any period the driver is logged in, not only while a passenger is in the car. Waiting for a match counts.
Carpooling where riders chip in for gas, and volunteer driving for a charity, are carved out and stay covered. Paid delivery and rideshare are not. If someone in your household drives for a delivery app, that belongs in a conversation with your advisor rather than in a claim file.
The vehicle is titled to the business
If the truck is registered to the LLC, it is not a covered auto on a personal policy in the first place. No exclusion analysis required. It needs a commercial auto policy. This one catches a lot of newer business owners who bought the vehicle through the company for tax reasons and never moved the insurance.
Your carrier is not using the standard form
Carriers file their own variations. Some add a broader business use exclusion than the standard form, and it sits quietly in the policy until a claim. This is the part no general article can answer for you, including this one. It has to be read on your actual policy.
What you told them when you bought it
If the application said commute and pleasure, and the car is actually running deliveries or carrying tools to job sites five days a week, that is a rating and disclosure problem separate from any exclusion. Describing the use accurately usually costs very little. Not describing it can cost the claim.
The part business owners miss
Everything above is about the driver. Now look at it from the company side.
When an employee runs an errand for you in their own car and causes an injury, the injured party can name the business as well. That is respondeat superior, and it does not require the business to own the vehicle. The employee personal auto liability responds first. When it runs out, the claim looks for the next pocket.
Consider what runs out means here. Maryland minimum liability limits are 30/60/15. DC minimums are 25/50/10. Virginia raised its minimums on January 1, 2025 to 50/100/25, the highest of the three. A single serious injury claim exhausts a 30/60 limit quickly, and a great many drivers carry exactly the minimum.
The coverage that answers this is hired and non-owned auto liability, usually added to a business auto policy. It covers vehicles the company does not own: cars employees use on company business, and vehicles the company rents. It sits excess over the employee own policy. It is typically inexpensive relative to the exposure, and a lot of small businesses across the DMV do not carry it simply because nobody raised it.
What to do about it
- Tell your advisor how the car is really used, including anyone else in the household.
- Ask specifically whether your carrier has added a business use endorsement beyond the standard form.
- Move any vehicle titled to the business onto a commercial auto policy.
- If employees drive their own cars for you at all, ask about hired and non-owned auto liability.
- Look at a personal umbrella, and a commercial umbrella for the business. Auto liability is where most umbrella claims begin.
None of this is exotic. It is a fifteen minute conversation that usually ends with a small change and a much smaller gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my personal auto policy cover driving to client meetings?
Generally yes. The standard business use exclusion specifically does not apply to a private passenger auto, pickup or van. The real exposure sits in rideshare and paid delivery, vehicles titled to a business, and carrier-specific endorsements, not in ordinary business driving.
Am I covered while logged into a rideshare or delivery app?
Usually not. Since the 2018 form revision, coverage is excluded during any period the driver is logged into a transportation network platform, including while waiting for a ride request. Some carriers sell an endorsement that fills part of that gap. Ask before you start driving rather than after.
Can I insure a vehicle titled to my LLC on my personal auto policy?
No. A vehicle titled to the business is not a covered auto under a personal policy. It belongs on a commercial auto policy, and the premium difference is usually smaller than owners expect.
What is hired and non-owned auto coverage?
It is commercial auto liability for vehicles your business does not own: employee personal cars used on company business, and vehicles the company rents. It responds after the employee personal limits are used up, which matters because minimum limits in Maryland and DC are low relative to a serious injury claim.
What are the minimum auto liability limits in Maryland, DC and Virginia?
Maryland requires 30/60/15, DC requires 25/50/10, and Virginia requires 50/100/25 after raising its minimums on January 1, 2025. Minimums are a legal floor, not a recommendation. Most households in the DMV should carry considerably more.
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