12.1 Business Auto Coverage Form and Covered Auto Symbols
Key Takeaways
- The Business Auto Coverage Form (CA 00 01) defines covered autos by numeric symbol, not by a year/make/VIN schedule.
- Symbol 1 (any auto) is liability-only; physical damage commonly uses Symbol 7 (specifically described autos).
- Symbol 7 requires reporting newly acquired autos within 30 days to keep physical damage; broad symbols 1-6 need no reporting.
- Symbols 8 (hired) and 9 (nonowned) close gaps for borrowed and employee-owned vehicles used in the business.
- A combined single limit pools BI and PD into one cap, paying more flexibly than split limits.
Business Auto Coverage Form and Covered Auto Symbols
Commercial auto exposures for most non-fleet businesses are written on the ISO Business Auto Coverage Form (CA 00 01), paired with the Commercial Auto Declarations (CA DS 03) and the common Commercial Auto Conditions. The current widely used edition is the 11 20 (November 2020) revision, though many state exams still reference earlier 10 13 and 03 10 editions. The exam expects you to know that the BAP is a self-contained form: it provides liability, physical damage, and medical/uninsured-motorist supplements all in one document, unlike the personal auto policy that is split by named insured.
How the form is organized
The BAP has five numbered sections that mirror the personal auto policy but use different vocabulary:
- Section I – Covered Autos (the symbol chart)
- Section II – Covered Autos Liability Coverage
- Section III – Physical Damage Coverage
- Section IV – Business Auto Conditions
- Section V – Definitions
A critical exam trap: the BAP never lists vehicles by year/make/VIN to define WHO is covered. Instead, it assigns a single-digit covered auto symbol (1 through 9, plus 19) on the declarations next to each coverage. The symbol — not a vehicle schedule — controls what counts as a covered auto for that line.
The covered auto symbols
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 1 | Any auto (broadest; used for liability) |
| 2 | Owned autos only |
| 3 | Owned private passenger autos only |
| 4 | Owned autos other than private passenger |
| 5 | Owned autos subject to no-fault |
| 6 | Owned autos subject to compulsory UM law |
| 7 | Specifically described autos (the schedule) |
| 8 | Hired autos only |
| 9 | Nonowned autos only |
| 19 | Mobile equipment subject to compulsory/financial-responsibility law |
Symbol 1 can only be used for liability — it is never used for physical damage, because you cannot pay collision/comprehensive on "any auto" the insured does not own.
Symbol pairing logic and automatic acquisition
Underwriters pair symbols to engineer coverage. A typical liability schedule uses Symbol 1 (any auto) so newly acquired and borrowed vehicles are covered with no reporting. Physical damage usually uses Symbol 7 (specifically described autos) so the carrier rates only the units it has values for, often supplemented by 8 and 9 to cover hired and nonowned exposure.
When Symbol 7 is used, the newly acquired auto clause grants automatic coverage but requires the insured to report the new vehicle within 30 days (and pay premium) to keep physical damage. Symbols 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 grant automatic coverage with no reporting requirement, which is the chief advantage of broad symbols.
An insured's declarations show Symbol 1 for liability and Symbol 7 for physical damage. The insured buys a replacement truck and does not report it. Forty days later it is totaled in a covered collision. What is the likely result?
Hired and nonowned exposures
Symbol 8 (hired autos) covers vehicles the insured leases, hires, rents, or borrows — but specifically EXCLUDES autos borrowed from employees. Symbol 9 (nonowned autos) covers vehicles owned by employees, partners, or members used in the business. Together, 8 and 9 close the gap for a company whose staff drive personal cars on errands.
Exception trap: a vehicle leased for more than 6 months under Symbol 8 is treated like an owned auto for some purposes. And Symbol 9 nonowned liability is excess over any insurance on the employee's own vehicle.
Worked numeric: rating with combined single limit
A contractor insures liability under Symbol 1 with a $1,000,000 combined single limit (CSL). A CSL is one pooled limit for bodily injury and property damage combined, unlike split limits (e.g., 100/300/50). After an accident causing $700,000 bodily injury and $250,000 property damage, the insurer pays the full $950,000 because it is under the single $1,000,000 cap.
Under a split limit of 250/500/100, the same loss would cap bodily injury at $250,000 per person and property damage at $100,000 — paying only $350,000. The CSL's flexibility is why most commercial accounts buy it.
Mobile equipment vs autos
A frequent exam distinction is when a piece of equipment is an "auto" versus "mobile equipment." Mobile equipment (bulldozers, forklifts, cranes not licensed for road use) is generally covered under the CGL, not the auto policy. But Symbol 19 brings in mobile equipment that a state requires to carry compulsory or financial-responsibility insurance because it travels on public roads — closing a gap the CGL would otherwise leave open.
The declarations as the control document
Because symbols live on the Commercial Auto Declarations (CA DS 03), the declarations are the single most important page for determining coverage scope. Each coverage line — liability, comprehensive, collision, medical payments, UM/UIM — has its own symbol entry, limit, and deductible. A vehicle can be a covered auto for liability but not physical damage if different symbols appear on those lines. When auditing a policy, always read across each coverage row before concluding what is and is not insured.
Medical payments and UM under the BAP
The BAP can add Auto Medical Payments to pay reasonable medical expenses for occupants of a covered auto regardless of fault, plus Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists coverage for insureds injured by at-fault drivers lacking adequate limits. These supplements use their own symbols; producers must verify the UM symbol matches the state's compulsory-UM symbol (often Symbol 6) so mandated coverage attaches.
Why symbol selection is an exam favorite
The ISO symbol system lets one form serve a sole proprietor and a 500-unit fleet. Producers should map each client's exposures to symbols: owned units (2-4), the no-fault and UM compulsory symbols (5, 6), the schedule for physical damage (7), and the borrowed/employee gaps (8, 9). A common producer error is buying Symbol 7 for liability to save premium, leaving newly acquired vehicles with only 30-day automatic liability instead of the seamless protection Symbol 1 provides.
Which covered auto symbol can ONLY be used to provide liability coverage and never physical damage?