If you use your personal car for work, you'll need to make sure business use is included in your car insurance policy. This extends your protection so you're still covered if something happens while you're using the vehicle for your job.
What is business car insurance?
Business car insurance is designed for people who use their personal car for both private and work-related driving. It isn’t usually sold as a separate product. Instead, business use is added to an eligible personal car insurance policy so your cover also applies when you’re using the vehicle for work.
This extends your existing car insurance beyond private use, so you’re covered for eligible work-related driving as well.
If you use your car for work without declaring business use, a claim connected to that work-related driving could be affected or declined. It’s important to choose the right use category when you take out the policy and update your insurer if the way you use the car changes.
What counts as business use vs private use?
Business use generally means driving your personal car as part of your work, rather than simply getting to and from your usual workplace.
This can include:
- Travelling between different job sites
- Visiting clients or customers
- Carrying tools, equipment or work-related goods
- Transporting colleagues or staff as part of your work
By comparison, driving from home to your regular workplace is usually treated as commuting rather than business use, while personal errands remain private use even if you happen to do them during the working day.
The exact definition can vary between insurers. Not every insurer offers business use, and some place restrictions on particular activities.
What does business car insurance cover?
The main purpose of business car insurance is to make sure you’re covered while driving for work. If you have an accident or another insured incident during a work-related trip, you can make a claim under the policy in the same way you would for eligible private driving.
Without business use included, a claim could be declined if the insurer finds the car was being used for work in a way that wasn’t covered by the policy.
What exactly you’re covered for will depend on the type of car insurance you choose:
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Comprehensive car insurance
Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your own vehicle as well as damage you cause to someone else’s car or property. It can also cover events such as theft, fire, hail and flooding.
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Third party fire and theft
TPFT insurance covers damage you cause to other people’s vehicles or property, as well as loss or damage to your own car from fire or theft.
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Third party property damage
TPPD is basic insurance that covers damage you cause to another person’s vehicle or property, but not damage to your own car.
Inclusions are generally no different to a personal-use-only policy of the same type. The main difference is that eligible work-related driving is also covered.
Some insurers may also let you add optional cover for business-related items you carry in the vehicle, such as tools, equipment or laptops, up to a set limit. However, this is separate to selecting business use and may only be available with certain insurers or policy types, such as comprehensive cover.
What isn't covered by business car insurance?
Business use doesn’t automatically cover every type of work carried out with a vehicle, or everything being carried in it.
As well as standard exclusions, depending on the insurer and policy, you may not be covered for activities such as:
- Carrying goods or equipment beyond the policy limits
- Using the vehicle for paid delivery or courier work
- Carrying passengers for payment
- Using the vehicle primarily for commercial purposes
- Damage to tools, stock or other business property unless separate cover has been added
If your vehicle is used more heavily for business, or you need cover for goods, equipment, passengers or commercial activities, you may need a different type of insurance. Depending on your circumstances, this could include commercial vehicle insurance, business insurance or rideshare car insurance.
How is business car insurance different from commercial car insurance?
Business car insurance and commercial car insurance both cover vehicles used for work, but they’re designed for vehicles used in different ways. Business car insurance covers a personal vehicle that’s also used for work, while commercial car insurance is intended for vehicles used primarily as part of a business.
Business car insurance is generally suited to people who use the same vehicle for both private and work-related driving, but the vehicle itself isn’t the main way they earn their income.
Commercial car insurance is more appropriate where the vehicle is central to the business or how income is earned. It can also cover a broader range of vehicle types, including vans, trucks and fleets, as well as standard passenger cars. Because it covers higher-risk, work-only usage, it's typically more expensive than business car insurance, too.
How much does business car insurance cost?
The cost of business car insurance can vary depending on the type of vehicle, how much it’s used for work, who drives it, where it’s kept and the level of cover you choose. However, it’s typically more expensive than cover for private use only.
To see how much difference business use can make, we compared quotes for a 2026 Toyota HiLux across three use categories: private use only, private and occasional business use (where the car is still mainly used personally, with some work-related driving on top), and private and business use (where the vehicle is registered for business use or is used more regularly as part of someone's business or occupation).
| Vehicle use | TPPD annual range | TPPD average annual premium | Comprehensive annual range | Comprehensive average annual premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personal use only | $715 – $1,250 | $1,002 | $1,903 – $4,810 | $3,516 |
| Private and occasional business use | $763 – $1,420 | $1,108 | $1,994 – $5,242 | $3,809 |
| Private and business use | $843 – $1,420 | $1,151 | $2,089 – $5,242 | $3,843 |
| Source: Compare the Market, September 2026 Quotes are based on a 35-year-old male driver living in Sydney with a full driver’s licence and no previous claims, driving a 2026 four-door Toyota HiLux SR for 15,000km per year. Quotes assume excesses ranging from $600 to $700. Figures are indicative only and actual premiums will vary depending on your specific profile. |
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In our comparison, adding occasional business use increased the average premium by around $106 a year for TPPD and $293 for comprehensive cover compared with private use only.
Moving from private use only to the broader private and business category increased the average by around $149 a year for TPPD and $327 for comprehensive cover.
The higher premiums reflect the additional risk insurers can associate with work-related driving, particularly where the car is used more often or in a wider range of situations.
The ranges also show why it's worth comparing quotes rather than assuming business use will add a set amount to your premium. Some insurers increased their price only slightly when business use was added, while others charged considerably more.
Why compare car insurance policies through Savvy?
How to get business car insurance with Savvy
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Complete the online form
Enter details about yourself, your driving history and your car, including how the vehicle will be used, making sure you select the appropriate business-use option.
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Compare your options
Look at premiums, excesses, policy limits and exclusions, and whether cover for things like tools or equipment is available.
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Choose your business car insurance policy
Once you’ve found a policy that suits, you can complete your purchase online through the provider.
