Restaurant InsuranceAuthority

Commercial Auto Insurance for Food Businesses

Bodily injury and property damage your business is liable for in an at-fault accident, plus legal defense — and physical damage to the vehicle itself (collision, theft, fire, vandalism). A food truck’s built-in cooking equipment is usually covered under property, not the auto liability portion.

Reviewed by J. Robert Smith, Licensed Insurance Agent (NPN 10378680). Last updated .

Commercial auto insurance covers vehicles your food business owns and drives — paying accident liability, collision, and theft that personal policies exclude once a car is used for business. Food trucks, caterers hauling equipment, and restaurants running delivery all need it. Insureon reports food-truck commercial auto averages about $170/month; MoneyGeek puts the national per-truck cost near $259/month (2026).

What it covers
Bodily injury and property damage your business is liable for in an at-fault accident, plus legal defense — and physical damage to the vehicle itself (collision, theft, fire, vandalism). A food truck’s built-in cooking equipment is usually covered under property, not the auto liability portion.
Who needs it
Any food business that owns or leases vehicles titled to it — food trucks, caterers with vans, restaurants with delivery cars. Businesses whose employees drive their own cars for deliveries need Hired & Non-Owned Auto (HNOA) instead of, or alongside, commercial auto.
Typical cost
Food-truck commercial auto: ~$170/month ($2,041/yr) Insureon median; ~$259/month national per-truck average per MoneyGeek (2026), ranging roughly $115 (PA) to $439 (MI). Caterer commercial auto ~$160/month. HNOA for delivery: ~$300–$1,200/yr.
Varies by state?
Yes — requirements and pricing differ by state.

Your personal auto policy will not cover business driving

This is the most common and expensive gap food-service owners hit. Personal auto insurers exclude — or sharply reduce — coverage when a vehicle is used for deliveries, catering runs, or ferrying supplies, and can deny a claim outright if they determine the vehicle was used commercially. That can leave the driver and your restaurant personally exposed after a serious crash.

The fix depends on who owns the car. If the vehicle is titled to the business, you need commercial auto. If employees use their own cars for deliveries, you need Hired & Non-Owned Auto (HNOA) — a liability-only coverage that protects the business when a worker’s personal policy falls short. Many restaurants carry both.

Hired & Non-Owned Auto: the delivery and errand gap

Hired & Non-Owned Auto (HNOA) is liability-only coverage for when an employee drives a personal, rented, or borrowed vehicle on restaurant business — a delivery, a catering drop-off, a supply or bank run. It pays third-party injury and property damage plus legal defense, but it does not repair the employee’s own car, cover the food or equipment being transported, or provide workers’ compensation for the driver.

The mechanics matter: the employee’s personal auto policy is primary, and HNOA sits behind it as excess or gap coverage — responding when the personal limits run out or, more often, when the personal insurer denies the claim because the car was being used for business (a use most personal policies exclude). Delivery apps add nuance: DoorDash and Uber Eats carry their own commercial coverage while a driver is actively delivering, so a restaurant that relies solely on them may not need HNOA — but the moment staff make direct deliveries, cater, or run errands, the gap reopens. HNOA is usually an inexpensive endorsement on a BOP or general liability policy, commonly $300–$1,200 a year.

For a food truck, the vehicle is the biggest single line

On a fixed-location restaurant, auto is a minor coverage. On a food truck it is often the largest premium line, because the vehicle is the business — a total-loss exposure carrying live cooking equipment. Insurers price in the fire risk of running propane, fryers, and grills inside a moving vehicle, and look closely at where and how often the truck operates.

What owners don’t expect

  • Personal auto policies exclude business use — delivery or catering driving can void a worker’s own coverage and leave the restaurant exposed.
  • HNOA is liability-only: it does not repair the employee’s own car, cover cargo/food in transit, or provide workers’ comp for the driver.
  • HNOA is excess/gap — the employee’s personal policy is primary and pays first; HNOA responds when it’s exhausted or denied for business use.
  • Using DoorDash/Uber Eats doesn’t close the gap — the moment an employee makes a direct delivery, catering run, or errand, the restaurant needs HNOA.
  • On a food truck, commercial auto is typically the biggest premium line, not an afterthought.

Common questions

My drivers use their own cars for deliveries — do I need commercial auto?

You likely need Hired & Non-Owned Auto (HNOA) rather than a full commercial auto policy. Your drivers’ personal insurers can deny a claim for business use, leaving your restaurant liable for the gap. HNOA is liability-only and relatively cheap — roughly $300 to $1,200 a year — and protects the business when a worker’s personal policy falls short.

Commercial auto covers vehicles titled to the business; HNOA covers employees driving their own cars and rented vehicles. A restaurant that delivers with staff cars needs HNOA even if it owns no vehicles.

We only deliver through DoorDash and Uber Eats — do we still need HNOA?

Possibly not for app deliveries, since those platforms carry commercial coverage while a driver is actively delivering. But if any employee ever uses a personal car for catering, special orders, supply runs, or during an app outage, that exposure isn’t covered by your BOP or general liability — and Hired & Non-Owned Auto fills it cheaply.

The gap opens the moment an employee drives their own vehicle on your behalf outside the app. Many restaurants that “only use apps” still send staff on bank runs and supply pickups.

What is the most important food truck insurance coverage?

Commercial auto is typically the largest line, near $2,041 a year at Insureon’s median, because the vehicle is your most valuable and most-claimed asset. General liability, around $500 a year, comes second and is often required by venues. A BOP adds property coverage for the kitchen equipment built into the truck.

Owners who budget only for general liability badly under-insure, because they leave the truck itself — the thing most likely to generate a claim — underprotected.

Why do caterers need commercial auto insurance?

Caterers transport food, equipment, and staff between the kitchen and event sites, so vehicles are a core part of operations and a real accident exposure. Insureon’s median commercial auto for caterers is about $164 a month, or roughly $1,963 a year, and delivery radius is a leading cost factor.

A personal auto policy generally excludes business use, so a caterer relying on personal vehicles for events may find a claim denied exactly when it matters.

Sources

Cost examples are illustrative national figures gathered from public filings and industry surveys. They are not quotes. Your actual premium depends on your state, carrier, revenue, payroll, location, and coverage selections. Restaurant Insurance Authority is an insurance marketing and referral service, not an insurer or licensed agency. We connect business owners with licensed independent commercial-lines agents who specialize in food and beverage. Questions? Call (855) 480-1410.

Talk to an agent who insures food & beverage every day

A licensed commercial-lines agent who specializes in restaurants and bars will review your coverage, close the gaps that catch owners, and show you what a program actually costs — before anything is bound.

Get a QuoteCall (855) 480-1410