Article

Personal use of company owned/leased vehicles

Do you allow personal use of your company owned/leased vehicles to employees for their use during or after hours?  This is a common benefit companies will offer to attract and maintain valuable staff; however, it’s important to understand and control the added exposures this creates for your business.  The types of use permitted, restraint requirements, authorized drivers, and the radius of permitted personal use are just some of the considerations a company should outline in their related policies. 

If family members of your employee, such as their spouse, are permitted to drive the company owned vehicle, policies should ensure these permitted family members are approved and vetted using the same driver screening procedures utilized for all staff upon hire and at a minimum annually thereafter.  Family members authorized to drive company-owned vehicles should be required to read and sign your organization’s safe driver policies, including a commitment to remain distraction-free while driving and report all motor vehicle moving violations to your management team. 

Personal miles driven and related tax implications should be discussed with your legal counsel and tax advisor.  Polices should also include collision reporting requirements immediately following the collision or as soon as reasonably possible.  All vehicles should be equipped with appropriate accident reporting and insurance documentation kits. 

Policies should address where the vehicle will be parked (off-street parking requirements) when not in use at the employee’s residence to mitigate theft and struck-while-parked collisions.  Fueling controls, passenger considerations, and appropriate usage including the possible towing of trailers or securing transported items on the roof are also important items to consider within your policies.     

For additional information on this subject and other elements of an effective fleet safety program please visit our Hanover Risk Solutions website and have your management team view Hanover’s Organizational Fleet Safety Program found via the following link:  Organizational Fleet Safety Program - Overview (hanover.com)  This informative presentation is designed to help your leadership team establish the nine key elements of a Fleet Safety Program including: 

  • Policies
  • Driver qualification
  • Training
  • Supervision
  • Driver motivation
  • Vehicle maintenance
  • Vehicle inspection
  • Accident reporting
  • Accident investigations

This material is provided for informational purposes only and does not provide any coverage or guarantee loss prevention. The examples in this material are provided as hypothetical and for illustration purposes only. The Hanover Insurance Company and its affiliates and subsidiaries (“The Hanover”) specifically disclaim any warranty or representation that acceptance of any recommendations contained herein will make any premises, or operation safe or in compliance with any law or regulation. By providing this information to you. The Hanover does not assume (and specifically disclaims) any duty, undertaking or responsibility to you. The decision to accept or implement any recommendation(s) or advice contained in this material must be made by you.

LC 2022-321