Commercial auto symbols are the numeric codes in Item Two of the Business Auto Policy declarations that decide which vehicles are covered for each coverage. Symbol 1 covers any auto (liability only), symbol 2 covers owned autos, symbol 7 covers only the specific autos scheduled on the policy, symbol 8 covers hired and borrowed autos, and symbol 9 covers non-owned autos used in your business. If the right symbol is not next to a coverage on the declarations page, that coverage simply does not apply to that vehicle.
This is the single most consequential, and most overlooked, line on a commercial auto policy. Here is how the symbols work under the ISO Business Auto Coverage Form (CA 00 01 11 20).
Covered Auto Symbols
Covered auto symbols are the numeric codes in the Business Auto Policy declarations that decide which vehicles are insured for each coverage. If the right symbol is not listed next to a coverage, that coverage does not apply to that vehicle.
How do covered auto symbols work?
The Business Auto Policy (BAP) declarations list every available coverage, liability, medical payments, uninsured motorist, comprehensive, specified causes of loss, collision, towing, with a "Covered Autos" box beside each one. The symbol (or combination of symbols, such as "1" for liability and "7" for physical damage) entered in that box defines which vehicles that coverage reaches. Section I of the coverage form defines each symbol.
Before any claim is paid, the first question the adjuster asks is: is the vehicle involved a covered auto for this coverage, per the symbols on the declarations? If the answer is no, the analysis ends there, regardless of fault or limits.
What each symbol means
Here is what each covered auto symbol covers, and which coverages it can support:
| Symbol | Covered autos | Applicable coverages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Any auto, owned, hired, or non-owned | Liability only |
| 2 | Owned autos only (including autos acquired later) | Liability, physical damage, medical payments, PIP, uninsured motorist |
| 3 | Owned private passenger autos only | Same as 2, plus towing |
| 4 | Owned autos other than private passenger | Same as 2 |
| 5 | Owned autos subject to no-fault | PIP where state no-fault law is compulsory |
| 6 | Owned autos subject to a compulsory uninsured motorist law | Uninsured motorist where it cannot be rejected |
| 7 | Specifically described (scheduled) autos only | Liability, physical damage, medical payments, PIP, uninsured motorist |
| 8 | Hired autos, leased, hired, rented, or borrowed (not from employees, partners, members, or their households) | Liability, physical damage |
| 9 | Non-owned autos, including employees' and partners' own vehicles used in the business | Liability only |
| 19 | Mobile equipment subject to a compulsory or financial responsibility law | Liability only |
A handful of details in that table decide most real-world claims:
What does symbol 1 mean?
Symbol 1, "any auto", is the broadest covered auto designation on the BAP. Ownership is irrelevant and the vehicle does not need to be listed on the policy: owned, hired, borrowed, and non-owned autos all get liability coverage. The catch is that symbol 1 cannot be used for any coverage other than liability. Even the most generous BAP pairs symbol 1 on liability with other symbols (2 or 7) on physical damage.
What does symbol 2 mean?
Symbol 2 covers autos the named insured owns, and it automatically picks up additional and replacement vehicles acquired during the policy period, without listing them. It can support every coverage, including physical damage, medical payments, and towing. Liability even extends to non-owned trailers attached to an owned auto.
That breadth is why symbol 2 policies carry an audit provision: more owned autos means more risk, so the premium is recalculated at the end of the term based on the vehicles actually owned. (Symbols 3 and 4 split the same territory, owned private passenger autos versus everything else, so coverages can be tailored by vehicle type.)
What does symbol 7 mean, and where is the trap?
Symbol 7 covers only the specific autos scheduled in the declarations, coverage by coverage. Item Three of the declarations must be checked vehicle by vehicle: the sedan may carry comprehensive and collision while the delivery van carries liability only. The trap is newly acquired autos. With symbols 1 through 6 (and 19), owned vehicles acquired mid-term are covered automatically for the rest of the policy period. Symbol 7 is different, a newly acquired auto is covered only if both conditions are met:
- The insurer already covers all autos you own for that coverage, or the new auto replaces a vehicle that had that coverage, and
- You notify the insurer within 30 days of acquiring the vehicle (or by policy expiration, whichever comes first).
Miss the 30-day notice and there is no coverage for the new vehicle for that coverage. A replacement inherits only the coverages the replaced vehicle carried, replace a liability-only van and the new van has liability only.
What do symbols 8 and 9 mean? (Hired and non-owned autos)
These two symbols cover vehicles your business uses but does not own, the exposure most businesses underestimate.
Symbol 8, hired autos
Symbol 8 applies to autos you lease, hire, rent, or borrow, excluding vehicles borrowed from your employees, partners, LLC members, or members of their households. It is commonly entered under comprehensive, specified causes of loss, and collision to buy hired auto physical damage coverage, so damage to a rental truck is insured. The form requires a written contract for the hired auto's use. Note that hired autos that come with a driver provided are not covered autos, an endorsement exists to add that back.
Symbol 9, non-owned autos
Symbol 9 covers autos used in connection with your business that you do not own, lease, hire, rent, or borrow, chiefly employees', partners', or LLC members' own vehicles used on company business. Two things to understand:
- It protects the business, not the driver. If a producer at an insurance agency causes an accident while driving her own car on agency business, symbol 9 gives insured status to the agency, not the employee. Her Personal Auto Policy is primary, and the agency's BAP sits excess. The Employees As Insureds endorsement (CA 99 33) closes that gap for the driver, and a parallel endorsement exists for partners and LLC members.
- It is liability only. There is no physical damage coverage for a vehicle your business does not own.
If a covered auto you own is out of service for breakdown, repair, servicing, loss, or destruction, the BAP automatically extends liability to a non-owned temporary substitute, no symbol 8 needed for that scenario. But physical damage on the substitute rental still requires symbol 8 (or a loss damage waiver from the rental counter). Renting a car at the airport is not a temporary substitute.
Which symbols should your business carry?
Choosing symbols is a four-step exercise:
Inventory how vehicles actually enter your operations
Owned fleet, leased units, employee-owned cars on business errands, rentals during travel, borrowed trucks, mobile equipment that travels public roads, each maps to a symbol. Equipment used at the jobsite rather than on the road is a general liability and contractors equipment question instead.
Ask for the broadest symbols your insurer will give
The common strong combination is symbol 1 for liability plus symbols 2, 8, and 9 (or 7 plus 8 and 9 with disciplined reporting) across the other coverages. Symbols 8 and 9 are inexpensive relative to the exposure they close.
Read Item Two line by line at renewal
Confirm the symbol next to each coverage. A policy can show symbol 1 on liability and still leave a rented box truck's physical damage uninsured because symbol 8 is missing from the comprehensive and collision lines.
Coordinate the BAP with your CGL
The BAP and CGL are designed to dovetail, autos on the road belong to the BAP, mobile equipment in use at a site belongs to the general liability policy. Placing both with the same insurer helps avoid disputes over which policy owes a borderline claim.
Here is how those symbol choices play out when a claim actually hits:
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between symbol 1 and symbol 7?
Symbol 1 covers any auto, owned or not, listed or not, but for liability only. Symbol 7 covers only the vehicles specifically scheduled on the declarations, coverage by coverage, and newly acquired vehicles must be reported within 30 days or they are not covered. Symbol 1 is the broadest designation, and symbol 7 is the narrowest.
Do I need hired and non-owned auto coverage if my business owns no vehicles?
Usually yes. If employees ever run business errands in their own cars, or the business rents or borrows vehicles, the business can be sued for accidents in vehicles it does not own. Symbols 8 and 9 (or a hired and non-owned auto endorsement on another policy) cover exactly that exposure, general liability policies exclude it.
Does symbol 9 cover my employee when they drive their own car for work?
No, symbol 9 protects only the named insured business. The employee relies on their own Personal Auto Policy, which pays first, the business auto policy is excess. The Employees As Insureds endorsement (CA 99 33) can be added to give the employee insured status under the business policy.
Are newly purchased vehicles automatically covered?
It depends on the symbol. With symbols 1 through 6 or 19, owned autos of the described type acquired mid-term are covered automatically for the rest of the policy period. With symbol 7, automatic coverage applies only if the insurer covers all your owned autos for that coverage (or the vehicle is a replacement) and you report the acquisition within 30 days.
This guide is for educational purposes and summarizes standard ISO policy language. Your policy's specific terms, conditions, and endorsements control. Talk to a licensed broker about your actual exposures.