What It Covers

Hired & Non-Owned Auto (HNOA) covers liability that arises when your business uses vehicles it does not own. Hired Auto covers rented or leased vehicles used for business purposes — such as a rented flatbed for a large delivery or a rented van for transporting a crew. Non-Owned Auto covers employee-owned vehicles when those vehicles are used for company business — including driving to a client site, running a business errand, or making a pick-up at a supplier. HNOA provides liability coverage only (not physical damage) for these vehicles, and it responds after the driver's personal auto policy.

Why It Matters for Welding Businesses

When an employee is at fault in an accident while driving their personal vehicle on company business, your business can face liability claims even though you don't own the vehicle. Personal auto policies often exclude business use or provide inadequate limits for commercial claims. Similarly, a rented truck or van used for a business delivery creates liability exposure for your business that your commercial auto policy may not automatically cover if the vehicle isn't listed. HNOA closes both gaps for a modest premium.

Who Needs It

Welding businesses that occasionally rent vehicles — flatbeds for oversized deliveries, vans for crew transport, trucks for equipment hauls — and businesses whose employees use personal vehicles for company tasks such as driving to a client site, picking up materials, or attending vendor meetings. Independent welders, welding contractors, fabrication shops, machine shops, and testing and inspection firms all typically have some non-owned auto exposure.

Common Triggers

Employees driving personal vehicles to client sites, supplier pickups, or vendor meetings; renting a truck, flatbed, or van for a one-time delivery or haul; employees using company credit cards for business travel in personal vehicles.

Welding Industry Examples

• A fabrication shop's estimator uses their personal truck to pick up raw materials at a steel service center and is involved in an at-fault accident on the way back.

• A welding shop rents a flatbed truck for a large structural component delivery and the driver causes a minor collision at the delivery site.

• A shop manager drives their personal vehicle to a client's facility for a project meeting and causes a fender-bender in the client's parking lot.

• A welding contractor's project manager uses their own car to run to a supply house for emergency consumables and is rear-ended — the business faces a claim for the worker's injury.

• An NDT firm's inspector drives their personal vehicle to a third-party inspection site and is at fault in an accident on the highway.