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LimitsStandard / Universal

Commercial Auto - $1M CSL

What this clause says

Commercial Automobile Liability covering all owned, hired, and non-owned vehicles with a combined single limit of not less than $1,000,000.

What this means in plain English

Auto liability covering company vehicles and employees driving on company business.

What it means for a CDMO program

The hidden trap is "hired and non-owned" - if you do not own vehicles you may have dropped this coverage to save premium, but the MSA still requires it. Hired/non-owned auto is cheap (often under $1,500/year) but is a frequent gap.

How this evaluates

The Decoder applies these rules in order; the first match wins.

  • auto › csl is at least $1M → Compliant: Auto CSL meets $1M.
  • auto › hired non owned only is set → Borderline: Hired/non-owned only - verify the policy form satisfies the MSA, which usually requires symbol 1 (any auto).
  • auto › csl is not set → Gap: No commercial auto coverage indicated.

See this in your MSA

Map this clause against your sponsor MSA.

Run the Decoder

Related clauses

Common questions about this clause

Questions about limits

Commercial Auto - $1M CSL - common questions

When do CDMOs need commercial auto coverage?

Whenever you have owned, leased, or hired vehicles used in operations - including delivery vans, sales fleet, or equipment trailers. Most sponsor MSAs require $1M combined single limit. Pure office operations with no fleet typically can use a non-owned/hired auto endorsement on the CGL.

What does "combined single limit" mean?

Single limit applies to bodily injury and property damage combined. Older auto policies use split limits ($250K BI per person / $500K BI per accident / $100K PD). The combined single limit is simpler and now standard in commercial auto.

Does my fleet need to be on the COI to my sponsor?

Yes if your work involves transporting sponsor materials or visiting sponsor sites. The sponsor may require additional insured status on the auto policy via a CA 20 48 endorsement.