Hired and non-owned auto insurance — HNOA for short — is liability coverage for vehicles your business uses but doesn't own: the trucks you rent and the personal cars your employees drive for work. It's one of the cheapest coverages you can buy, it fills a gap that general liability specifically excludes, and most small-business owners don't realize they're exposed until an employee causes a wreck on the way to the bank. If anyone ever drives for your company — even in their own car, even if you own no vehicles at all — this is the endorsement you almost certainly need.
The name is doing two jobs. "Hired" covers vehicles your business rents, leases short-term, or borrows — the box truck you grab for a big delivery, the van you rent for a two-week job. "Non-owned" covers your employees' personal vehicles when they drive them for company business: running to the supply house, dropping off a deposit, driving between job sites, picking up lunch for the crew on the clock.
What it pays is third-party liability — the bodily injury and property damage the driver causes to other people. If your employee rear-ends someone on a supply run, HNOA responds to the other driver's injuries and vehicle damage. What it does not do is repair your employee's car or the rental itself; it's liability protection for the business, not physical-damage coverage for the vehicle.
Here's the trap. Owners assume one of two policies has them covered, and usually neither does:
So a $12/hour employee runs a red light on a company errand, seriously injures someone, and their personal policy tops out at $25,000 against a $300,000 claim. The remaining $275,000 lands on your business. That's the gap. HNOA closes it, and it costs a rounding error compared to the exposure.
Far more businesses than realize it. You should carry HNOA if anyone connected to your business ever drives for work purposes, including:
Critically: if your business owns no vehicles at all, HNOA is often the only auto liability you have. No owned autos doesn't mean no auto exposure — it usually means the exposure is entirely uninsured until you add this.
This is the good news. For a small business with no owned vehicles, HNOA is among the least expensive coverages on the menu — typically roughly $150 to $600 a year when added as an endorsement to a general liability or business owner's policy, priced off your payroll, driver count, and how much driving the work actually involves. Businesses with heavy delivery, many drivers, or regularly rented box trucks pay more, and a standalone policy costs more than an endorsement. But in almost every case the premium is trivial next to the six-figure liability it addresses. That lopsided math is exactly why agents recommend it so reflexively.
These two are often confused. Commercial auto insures the vehicles your business owns and titles — liability plus, if you add it, physical damage to your own trucks. Hired and non-owned auto insures the vehicles you use but don't own — rentals and employee cars — liability only.
| Commercial Auto | Hired & Non-Owned (HNOA) | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | Vehicles you own & title | Rented + employee-owned vehicles used for work |
| Liability to others | Yes | Yes |
| Physical damage to the vehicle | Optional (comp/collision) | No (unless hired-auto phys-dam added) |
| Typical buyer | Business with an owned fleet | Business with no fleet, or one that fills gaps |
A business with a fleet usually needs commercial auto for the owned trucks and HNOA to close the rental/employee-car gap. A business with no owned autos usually needs only HNOA. An agent who shops your whole program — not just the line you called about — will spot which of the two you're missing.
Three practical moves that keep this coverage doing its job:
For the bigger picture on stacking liability limits, see our explainer on general liability cost for Southeast trades and how the whole program fits together.
Bettr Coverage is an independent commercial insurance agency serving Georgia and the wider Southeast. We write every line of commercial coverage — workers' comp, general liability, commercial auto, hired-and-non-owned auto, property, umbrella, and cyber — and we shop each account across multiple carriers rather than defend one company's rate. The hired-and-non-owned gap is exactly the kind of thing a real agency catches and a quote mill misses: it's cheap, it's easy to overlook, and it's the difference between a manageable claim and a lawsuit against your business. We look at your whole program together, owner-to-owner, and tell you where you're exposed before an accident does.
Bettr Coverage reviews your workers' comp, GL, auto, hired-and-non-owned, property, umbrella, and cyber across multiple carriers — one agency, one relationship, the whole program checked for gaps together.
Get a free coverage reviewLiability coverage for vehicles your business uses but doesn't own — rentals ("hired") and employees' personal cars driven for work ("non-owned"). It pays third-party injury and damage the driver causes, not damage to the vehicle itself.
Almost any business whose employees ever drive for work — even with no owned vehicles. Contractors, restaurants with delivery, home-service firms, offices with staff who run errands, and anyone who rents trucks.
Often roughly $150–$600 a year as an endorsement for a business with no owned autos, priced off payroll, driver count, and driving exposure. Heavy delivery or many drivers cost more.
No. GL specifically excludes auto-related bodily injury and property damage. That exposure needs an auto policy — HNOA or commercial auto.
It may respond first, but personal policies often limit business use and carry low limits. When it's exhausted or denied, the injured party sues the business. HNOA protects you from that spillover.
Not under standard HNOA — it's liability-only. Add hired-auto physical damage, buy the rental company's waiver, or rely on a card benefit if you rent regularly.
For general information only. Not a quote or contract of insurance. Cost ranges are illustrative, not filed rates, and vary by payroll, driver count, exposure, carrier, and underwriting. Coverage terms, exclusions, and availability differ by policy and carrier — confirm specifics with a licensed agent. Coverage subject to policy terms and carrier appetite.