Hired and non-owned auto insurance covers your business's liability when a vehicle it does not own is used for its work: an employee running a bank deposit in their own car, a manager in a rental at a conference, a van borrowed from a supplier for a delivery. If that driver injures someone, the injured party sues the driver and the business, and a personal auto policy defends the driver, not the company. HNOA puts the business's share of that liability on the business's own policy. It is delivered on a business auto policy through two covered-auto symbols, 8 for hired autos and 9 for non-owned autos, or as an endorsement to a business owners policy or general liability policy when the business owns no vehicles at all.
What HNOA does not do is just as important. It is liability-only: it does not repair the employee's car, does not pay the employee's own injuries, and does not follow the employee on personal errands or the commute.[1] If your business has any vehicle exposure beyond company-owned trucks, request a commercial auto quote and tell us how employees actually drive; the symbols on the declarations page should match that answer.
Hired and non-owned auto liability (HNOA)
Liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage a business becomes legally obligated to pay because of an accident involving a vehicle the business hires, rents, leases or borrows (hired auto) or a vehicle used in the business but owned by someone else, such as an employee (non-owned auto).
Who needs hired and non-owned auto coverage?
Any business whose people drive for it in vehicles the business does not own. The exposure is broader than most owners assume:
- Employees using personal vehicles for work. Deliveries, client visits, supply runs, driving between job sites, taking the deposit to the bank.
- Rentals. Cars rented for travel, vans rented for an event, trucks rented for a move or a large job.
- Borrowed vehicles. A vehicle lent by a customer, vendor or family member for a business task.
- Contractors and trades. Crew members driving their own trucks to job sites are a non-owned exposure even when the company also owns vehicles; this is why a contractor's business auto policy usually carries symbols 8 and 9 alongside symbol 7 for the owned trucks.
- Sole proprietors and very small firms. If the owner drives their personal car for work and the business is a separate entity, that entity has a non-owned exposure the personal policy does not address.[1]
The trigger is legal liability. If an employee causes a crash while on company business, the injured party's lawyer names the company because the employee was acting for it. Without HNOA, the company defends that suit out of pocket, or looks to a general liability policy that excludes auto liability. Our general liability overview explains why the CGL's auto exclusion is close to absolute.
How do symbols 8 and 9 deliver the coverage?
On the ISO business auto coverage form (CA 00 01), the vehicles a policy covers are chosen by numeric symbols on the declarations, not by a list of definitions. Our commercial auto symbols guide walks through all of them; two matter here.
| Symbol | What it covers | IRMI definition | Common gaps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8, hired autos | Liability for autos the named insured leases, hires, rents or borrows | Excludes autos leased, hired, rented or borrowed from employees, partners, LLC members or members of their households[2] | Physical damage to the hired vehicle is a separate coverage; rentals from employees fall under symbol 9 |
| 9, non-owned autos | Liability for autos used in the business that the named insured does not own, lease, hire, rent or borrow | Under the business auto policy, "specifically applies to vehicles owned by employees and used for company business"[3] | Protects the business; the employee's own liability needs CA 99 33[4] |
The two symbols together are what people mean by "HNOA" on a business auto policy. A business that also owns vehicles typically shows symbol 7 (specifically described autos) or symbol 2 (owned autos only) for those, and adds 8 and 9 for the rest. A business that owns nothing can carry a business auto policy with only 8 and 9, or take the same coverage as an endorsement on another policy.
What does HNOA not cover?
| HNOA pays | HNOA does not pay | |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party bodily injury | The other driver's or pedestrian's medical bills and the lawsuit against your business | Injuries to your own employee driving the car (that is workers' compensation) |
| Third-party property damage | Repairs to the other vehicle or property your driver damaged | Damage to the employee's own car or to the rental itself |
| Defense costs | Legal defense of the business for a covered accident | Defense of the employee personally, unless CA 99 33 or a similar endorsement is added |
| Use | Business use: errands, deliveries, client travel, driving between sites | Personal errands and the daily commute |
| Vehicles | Hired, rented, leased, borrowed and employee-owned vehicles used for the business | Vehicles the business owns (those belong on the owned-auto symbols) |
Each row on the right has its own solution.[1] Damage to a rented vehicle is handled by hired auto physical damage coverage, which a business auto policy can add, or by the rental counter's damage waiver. Damage to an employee's own car falls on the employee's personal auto policy, which is one reason many employers reimburse mileage and require employees who drive for work to carry their own liability limits. The employee's personal liability is picked up by the Employees as Insureds endorsement, CA 99 33; without it, IRMI notes, the standard auto forms exclude coverage for the liability of an employee when the employee or a household member owns the vehicle.[4] Injuries to the driving employee are a workers' compensation matter.
Should you add HNOA to a BOP or GL policy, or buy a commercial auto policy?
Both routes exist, and the right one depends on whether the business owns vehicles.
| Endorsement on a BOP or GL policy | Business auto policy with symbols 8 and 9 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best fit | Businesses that own no vehicles and have incidental driving exposure | Businesses that own vehicles, have heavy non-owned exposure, or need higher limits |
| How it is sold | Typically added to a general liability policy or business owners policy rather than bought on its own | Written into the business auto declarations with the owned-auto symbols |
| Limits | Often tied to the BOP or GL occurrence limit; check whether it shares the aggregate | Chosen separately; umbrella policies attach more cleanly |
| Physical damage to hired autos | Usually not available | Available as hired auto physical damage |
| Employees as insureds | Depends on the carrier's endorsement | CA 99 33 available on the ISO form |
| Contract certificates | Adequate for many service contracts that ask for hired and non-owned auto | Preferred when contracts require a commercial auto policy with stated limits |
The endorsement route is how the coverage is usually sold to businesses without vehicles, and some carriers also sell HNOA as a stand-alone policy.[1] The CA 99 33 option on the business auto side is the ISO Employees as Insureds endorsement.[4] Whichever route you take, confirm the limits against your contracts. California's compulsory auto minimums rose for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 to $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury and $15,000 for property damage, with a further increase scheduled for 2035.[5] Those are the floor for a personal driver; a business sued after a serious crash needs limits set by its exposure, not by the statute. Our BOP guide covers what the package policy does and does not include before endorsements.
How to set up HNOA correctly
Inventory the driving
List who drives for the business, in what vehicles, how often, and whether anyone rents or borrows vehicles. Include the owner's personal car if the business is an entity.
Pick the vehicle for the coverage
No owned vehicles and light exposure: an HNOA endorsement on the BOP or GL policy is usually the practical route. Owned vehicles, frequent non-owned driving, or contract requirements: a business auto policy with symbols 8 and 9 next to the owned-auto symbol.
Add employee protection where it matters
If employees regularly drive their own cars for you, ask for CA 99 33 so the employee is an insured for that business use.[4] Pair it with a written vehicle-use policy and proof of personal auto insurance.
Decide on hired auto physical damage
If the business rents vehicles more than occasionally, hired auto physical damage on the business auto policy is usually cheaper than buying the counter waiver every time.
Match limits to contracts and exposure
Check any customer contract that names auto liability limits, and make sure an umbrella, if you carry one, lists the auto policy as underlying.
Ready to fix the gap? Start a commercial auto quote and describe how your team actually drives, including rentals and personal vehicles; we set the symbols and endorsements to match. If you only need the endorsement on a package policy, our commercial auto insurance page explains the options.
Frequently asked questions
Does my employee's personal auto insurance cover my business if they crash while working?
The employee's personal policy responds for the employee. It is not designed to defend or pay on behalf of your business, which is a separate defendant.[1] HNOA covers the business's liability; the employee's own coverage still matters for their share.
Does hired and non-owned auto insurance cover damage to the rental car?
No. HNOA is liability coverage for injury or damage to others. Damage to the rental itself is covered by hired auto physical damage on a business auto policy or by the rental company's damage waiver.[1]
If I own no vehicles, do I still need a commercial auto policy?
Not necessarily. Many businesses with no owned vehicles add HNOA as an endorsement to their BOP or general liability policy.[1] A business auto policy becomes the better choice when exposure is heavy, contracts demand it, or you want hired auto physical damage and employee protection.
What are symbols 8 and 9?
They are the covered-auto designations on the ISO business auto coverage form for hired autos (8) and non-owned autos (9). Our commercial auto symbols guide covers all of them.
Does HNOA cover the employee personally?
Not by default. Symbol 9 protects the business. The Employees as Insureds endorsement, CA 99 33, extends non-owned liability coverage to the employee's own liability while driving their car on company business.[4]
This guide is for educational purposes and summarizes standard policy forms and public sources. Your policy's specific terms, conditions, and endorsements control. Talk to a licensed broker about your actual exposures.
The Bottom Line
If anyone drives for your business in a car the business does not own, the business has a liability exposure that personal auto policies and general liability policies do not cover. Hired and non-owned auto liability closes it, through symbols 8 and 9 on a business auto policy or through an endorsement on a BOP or GL policy for companies that own no vehicles. It protects the business, not the employee's car or the employee's injuries, so pair it with CA 99 33, a vehicle-use policy and limits sized to your contracts.
References
- 1.Insureon. “Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance.” https://www.insureon.com/small-business-insurance/hired-non-owned-auto ↩
- 2.IRMI. “Hired Automobile.” https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/hired-automobile ↩
- 3.IRMI. “Nonowned Automobile.” https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/nonowned-automobile ↩
- 4.IRMI. “Employees as Insureds Endorsement.” https://www.irmi.com/term/insurance-definitions/employees-as-insureds-endorsement ↩
- 5.California Legislative Information. “Vehicle Code section 16056.” https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=16056. ↩