12.1 Business Auto Coverage Form and Covered Auto Symbols
Key Takeaways
- The Business Auto Coverage Form (ISO CA 00 01) insures business vehicles using covered auto designation symbols (1-9) rather than listing each vehicle per coverage.
- Symbol 1 (Any Auto) is the only symbol that automatically includes owned, hired, and non-owned autos; it is the broadest available.
- Symbols 8 (Hired) and 9 (Non-Owned) close the rental and employee-car gaps; physical damage cannot be written under symbols 1, 8, or 9.
- Each coverage carries its own symbol, so liability is frequently written broader (Symbol 1) than physical damage (Symbol 7).
- Newly acquired autos get automatic coverage with a 30-day reporting window when the symbol in force already embraces them.
The Business Auto Coverage Form
The Business Auto Coverage Form (BACF) is the Insurance Services Office (ISO) standard contract — current edition CA 00 01 — used to insure the cars, trucks, vans, and trailers a business owns, hires, or borrows. Combined with the common policy declarations and conditions, it becomes the Business Auto Policy (BAP). It is the commercial sibling of the Personal Auto Policy (PAP), but it must flex to a risk that may own one vehicle or five hundred and still rent and borrow more.
Rather than list every vehicle against every coverage, the BACF uses covered auto designation symbols to describe whole categories of autos. A symbol is a shorthand that, once entered on the declarations beside a coverage and a limit, switches that coverage on for the autos the symbol describes.
How the Form Is Organized
The form is modular: a coverage exists only when both a symbol and a limit appear on the declarations.
| Section | Function |
|---|---|
| Item Two – Declarations | Named insured, limits, and the symbols chosen per coverage |
| Section I – Covered Autos | Defines symbols 1-9 and the newly acquired auto rule |
| Section II – Covered Autos Liability | Third-party bodily injury and property damage |
| Section III – Physical Damage | Comprehensive, collision, specified causes of loss |
| Section IV – Business Auto Conditions | Duties after loss, two-or-more-forms, subrogation |
| Section V – Definitions | 'Accident,' 'auto,' 'loss,' 'trailer,' 'mobile equipment' |
The Nine Symbols
Because each coverage line carries its own symbol, liability can be written far broader than physical damage — a common real-world structure.
| Symbol | Category | Plain Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Any Auto | Owned, hired, AND non-owned — broadest available |
| 2 | Owned Autos Only | Every auto the insured owns, any type |
| 3 | Owned Private Passenger Only | Owned cars/SUVs only |
| 4 | Owned, Other Than Private Passenger | Owned trucks, vans, specialty rigs |
| 5 | Owned Autos Subject to No-Fault | Owned autos in personal-injury-protection states |
| 6 | Owned Autos Subject to Compulsory UM | Owned autos where uninsured motorist is mandatory |
| 7 | Specifically Described Autos | ONLY the vehicles scheduled on the declarations |
| 8 | Hired Autos Only | Rented, leased, or borrowed (not owned) |
| 9 | Non-Owned Autos Only | Employee or partner personal autos used for business |
Exam trap: Symbol 1 is the only symbol that automatically picks up hired and non-owned exposure. A policy written with Symbol 2 has a gap for rentals (needs 8) and for employee-owned cars driven on company errands (needs 9). Physical damage cannot be written under symbols 1, 8, or 9 because you cannot insure the physical loss of an auto you do not own — physical damage is normally written Symbol 7 (scheduled) or, for newer fleets, by listing autos and using the autos-you-own logic of symbols 2-4.
The Newly Acquired Auto Rule
When a business buys a vehicle mid-term, coverage continuity depends on the symbol in force. The BACF grants automatic coverage for newly acquired autos, but the reporting window varies:
- If the symbol is broad enough to already embrace the new auto (for example Symbol 1, 2, or 4), the new auto is covered automatically and the insured has 30 days to report it.
- If the symbol is Symbol 7 – Specifically Described Autos, a newly acquired auto is covered only if (a) the insurer already insures all autos the insured owns, OR (b) the new auto replaces one previously covered — and the insured must report it within 30 days.
Worked Example: Symbol Selection
A contractor owns 12 pickups and 2 cars, rents box trucks during busy months, and sends estimators in their personal cars. To close all gaps on liability, the agent enters Symbol 1 (Any Auto) for Covered Autos Liability. For physical damage, the carrier insures only owned units, so it uses Symbol 7 listing the 14 owned vehicles. Result: liability covers owned, hired, and non-owned; physical damage covers only the 14 scheduled autos — exactly the intended structure.
Remember: a higher symbol number is NOT broader. Symbol 1 is the broadest; the numbering simply catalogs categories.
A business uses Symbol 2 for Covered Autos Liability. An employee causes an at-fault accident while driving the company errand in the employee's OWN car. How does the Business Auto Coverage Form respond for the employer?
Which statement about the newly acquired auto rule under the Business Auto Coverage Form is correct?
The Covered Auto Symbols - Decode the Declarations
Every Business Auto Coverage Form question turns on the covered-auto symbols entered next to each coverage on the Declarations. The symbol defines exactly which vehicles a coverage protects.
| Symbol | Covered autos |
|---|---|
| 1 | Any auto (broadest - liability only) |
| 2 | Owned autos only |
| 3 | Owned private passenger autos only |
| 4 | Owned autos other than private passenger |
| 7 | Specifically described autos (scheduled) |
| 8 | Hired autos only |
| 9 | Non-owned autos only |
Worked exam point: to give a business the broadest liability protection - including hired and non-owned autos and any vehicle acquired mid-term - the producer enters Symbol 1 for liability. Because Symbol 1 is not available for physical damage, owned-auto physical damage is usually written with Symbol 7 (scheduled) plus Symbol 8 for hired-auto physical damage.
Exam Trap: A business that wants coverage for employees' personal cars used on the job must show Symbol 9 (non-owned); Symbol 2 (owned) alone leaves that exposure uninsured.
Liability Symbol 1 vs. Physical-Damage Symbols
The symbol you assign to each coverage line controls which vehicles are protected, and the rules differ by coverage.
| Coverage | Broadest practical symbol |
|---|---|
| Liability | Symbol 1 (any auto) - owned, hired, non-owned, future |
| Physical damage | Symbol 7 (scheduled) + 8 (hired) - Symbol 1 unavailable |
| Medical / UM | Symbols 2-5 depending on owned-auto classes |
Exam Trap: Symbol 1 cannot be used for physical damage because the insurer must know exactly which vehicles it is insuring for collision and comprehensive. A business that selects Symbol 1 for liability but forgets to schedule its owned autos under Symbol 7 has liability but no physical-damage coverage on those vehicles.