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Using your Personal Vehicle for Business Use – Things to Consider
There are a few things you need to consider if you plan on using your vehicle for any type of business use. Business use could include part-time or full-time ride share or meal deliveries or goods or tools to sites or customers’ premises.
Firstly, it’s important to understand that personal car insurance doesn’t cover loss or damage to your car or damage to other people’s property unless you have let your insurer know and they have agreed in writing. The underwriter is likely to charge an additional premium for the increased risk or, in some cases, decide to not continue the personal insurance policy and ask that you purchase commercial motor vehicle insurance to cover the new activities and personal use.
Commercial insurance policies are tailored to cover all sorts of business activities, and they can offer more choice of cover and options.
So, until you talk to your insurer or insurance adviser and discuss your plans, if you get into an accident while using your personal car for business purposes, your insurance company may deny part or all of your claim.
Other things to consider are Business registration, CTP Insurance and tax.
Using your personal car for even a small amount of business use can impact the type of motor vehicle registration and CTP (personal injury) insurance required. As this varies from state to state and territory, it’s recommended that you look into these locally.
Finally, you may be able to deduct motor vehicle expenses, such as petrol, maintenance, and insurance, from your tax. This partly reflects the increased wear and tear and higher maintenance on the vehicle. You’ll have to speak to an accountant to get advice as to what’s best for your type of use.
So, it’s important to keep your insurance adviser up to date on your vehicle usage. They can provide advice about the right cover, ensuring that you don’t have any gaps in cover.
The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author; they are not reflective or indicative of M3’s position and are not to be attributed to M3. They cannot be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the author.