The Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance has ordered insurers to cover delivery vehicles on personal auto insurance policies, according to a memorandum sent March 23 from Commissioner of Insurance Mark V. Afable. They must also cover hired drivers and non-owned automobiles as a rider on a restaurant’s general liability insurance if requested. Both are to be offered at no extra cost to policyholders. The new order comes after Gov. Tony Evers ordered the closure of restaurants except for takeout or delivery.
Personal automobile policies do not typically provide coverage for vehicles used for commercial purposes, like food delivery. As a result, in the absence of any other action, many of the anticipated temporary food delivery drivers would be uninsured. The office stated it would be impractical and untimely for these drivers to temporarily obtain coverage for this limited purpose, so they are ordering that insurers shall not deny a claim under a personal auto policy solely because the insured was engaged in delivering food on behalf of a restaurant impacted by the restaurant closure. The order applies to all personal auto policies in effect on or after March 17, 2020.
