Fast parts runs, covered vans.
Commercial auto, hired and non-owned auto, coverage for parts in transit, general liability and workers' comp for auto parts delivery fleets, from a store's two pickups to a distributor's routed vans.
By Sam Alishahi · CA Insurance License #4348151 · Reviewed October 2026 · How this page is researched
Short trips, and a lot of them
Parts delivery is a driving business first. A runner makes many short stops a day between a store or warehouse and the repair shops, dealers and fleets it supplies, much of it in city traffic with a customer waiting on the part. Underwriters start with who drives, what they drive and how far they go.
I write the vehicles your business owns on a commercial auto policy, add hired and non-owned auto when anyone drives a personal car for you, and sort out coverage for the parts on board and for drivers hurt lifting or unloading. Stores, dealer parts departments and contract delivery companies are each set up for how their drivers are actually employed and paid.
- Commercial autoLiability and physical damage for the pickups, vans and box trucks you own or lease.
- Hired and non-owned autoYour business's liability when a driver uses a personal car or a rental.
- Parts in transitStock on board that's stolen, dropped or damaged before it's signed for.
- Workers' compDrivers injured in a crash or while carrying batteries, rotors and cores.
What underwriters will ask
Having these ready means I can go to market on the first call. The quote form asks for the same things, and anything you don’t know yet can wait.
- Vehicles: year, make, VIN, weight rating and where each one is parked overnight.
- Drivers: names, dates of birth, license numbers and years of driving.
- Routes: cities or states, stops per day and hours on the road.
- Customers: your own store, a distributor contract or dealers.
- Pay: payroll, and whether drivers are employees or contractors.
- History: current auto policy and loss runs.
Auto parts delivery insurance, answered
Do my runners need a commercial auto policy?
Vehicles the business owns or leases do. When a runner uses a personal car, hired and non-owned auto protects your business if that driver causes a crash on your delivery, but it doesn't repair the driver's car, and many personal policies limit coverage for driving goods for pay. Ask drivers to confirm what their own policy allows.
Who pays if parts are stolen from a van?
The auto policy's physical damage coverage repairs the van, not what's inside it. Parts on board need cargo or inland marine transit coverage, written for the value you carry on your heaviest day. Whether the parts are yours or the distributor's until signed for depends on your contract, so send it with the application.
Can my drivers be 1099 contractors?
In California, the ABC test presumes a worker is an employee unless the hiring business proves all three parts, including that the work is outside its usual course of business. A delivery company's drivers doing its deliveries rarely clear that part. Employees need workers' comp.
Do I need a USDOT number for parts vans?
FMCSA requires one for vehicles used in interstate commerce with a weight rating or combined weight of 10,001 pounds or more, among other triggers, and some states require one for intrastate carriers too. Most parts pickups and vans fall under that weight, but a box truck or a route across a state line can change the answer. I check each vehicle against the rules.
What do underwriters look at first?
Driver records, then the vehicles, where they're parked overnight and how far they go. Clean motor vehicle records and a written rule on who may drive give an underwriter more to work with, because a parts fleet is on the road all day.
Do you offer auto parts delivery insurance outside California?
Yes. Clients across the country send the same quote form. Sam Alishahi is licensed in 48 states and Washington, DC and places policies there directly. In Florida and Washington, where Sam's licenses are still being issued, a partner agency in your state helps in the meantime. The shopping across carriers works the same way. Rules, minimums and markets differ by state — see truck insurance by state or insurance requirements by state.
Send the vehicle list. I'll shop it.
Your vehicles, drivers and where you deliver are enough to start.
Alishahi Insurance · Saman Alishahi, independent insurance broker, California License #4348151. General information, not a quote or a promise of coverage; coverage depends on underwriting and the terms, conditions and exclusions of the policy actually issued. Some policies may be placed with nonadmitted (surplus lines) insurers, which are not members of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA).
Tell me how to reach you. I’ll take it from there.
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(877) 711-4545Answered 24/7 · CA License #4348151
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