The “Pizza Delivery” Scenario (It Happens in Frisco Daily)

Picture this: It’s 2:00 PM on a Tuesday. You ask your office manager to run to the post office on Preston Road to drop off a check. They take their own sedan.

While merging onto Main Street, they rear-end a Tesla. The driver of the Tesla suffers whiplash and is taken to the ER. The total claim for bodily injury and property damage hits $65,000.

Your employee’s personal liability insurance denies the claim because they were “in the course of employment.” Your General Liability policy denies the claim because it excludes “autos.”

Guess who is writing the check? Your business.

This is not a scare tactic; it is a mathematical reality of operating in a litigious environment. At The Agent’s Office®, we see this specific gap threaten more small businesses than almost any other risk. It is called Hired and Non-Owned Auto (HNOA), and ignoring it is an unforced error.

1. Hired Auto: The “Rental Trap”

Hired Auto Coverage is exactly what it sounds like: it covers liability when your business rents, leases, or borrows a vehicle. This does not apply to cars you own or lease long-term (that requires a standard commercial auto insurance policy).

Who needs this?

• Contractors: You rent a heavy-duty pickup for a specific job in Celina.
• Consultants: You fly to a conference and rent a car in the company name.
• Event Planners: You rent a cargo van for a weekend to haul equipment to the Frisco Star.

If that rental vehicle hits someone, the rental company will try to hold you liable. Without Hired Auto, you are paying out of pocket.

2. Non-Owned Auto: The “Employee” Gap

This is the big one. Non-Owned Auto Coverage protects your business when vehicles you don’t own (specifically employee vehicles) are used for business purposes.

Most business owners assume, “My employee has insurance, so I’m fine.” This is false.

According to the Texas Department of Insurance, personal policies have strict exclusions for business use. Furthermore, if the damages exceed the employee’s limits (which are often the state minimum of $30k/$60k), lawyers will immediately target your business assets to make up the difference.

You need this if employees ever:

• Pick up lunch for the team.
• Drive to a client meeting or job site.
• Go to the bank or post office.
• Run errands for supplies (Lowes/Home Depot runs).

For a detailed breakdown of the mechanics, see our definition on Hired and Non-Owned Auto Coverage.

3. Why Frisco Businesses Cannot Ignore This

If we were operating in a rural town with one stoplight, maybe you could risk it. But we are in Frisco, Texas.

The “Boom Town” Risk Profile

• Traffic Density: The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reported over 30,000 commercial vehicle crashes statewide in 2025. With the explosion of growth along the 380 corridor and the DNT, collision frequency is rising math, not bad luck.
• Litigation: North Texas is a litigious environment. If a commercial entity is even remotely involved in an accident, personal injury attorneys will seek the “deep pockets” of the business owner.
• Construction Hazards: Constant road construction on Preston and Eldorado creates unpredictable driving conditions for your staff, increasing accident probability.

4. The Math: Cost vs. Protection

Here is the stewardship argument. We are talking about protecting your entire business equity for the cost of a few client lunches.

The Verdict: Paying $300 a year to transfer $1,000,000 of risk to an insurance carrier is simply good math. It is one of the highest ROI purchases a business owner can make.

5. The Agent’s Office® Advantage

We don’t just sell policies; we architect defense strategies. As independent brokers in Frisco, we have access to over 75 carriers, including giants like Travelers, Progressive, and Chubb.

We can often add HNOA as a simple endorsement to your existing General Liability or Business Owners Policy (BOP), avoiding the need for a separate, expensive commercial auto policy if you don’t own vehicles.

Don’t set your money on fire by guessing. Let us shop the market and structure this correctly.

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