Restaurant delivery driver insurance: what your business needs when drivers deliver
Updated October 20, 2026
When your restaurant's employees deliver in their own cars, your business needs hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA), and each driver needs their own personal auto policy that knows they deliver. HNOA covers your business's liability if a driver hurts someone or damages property while delivering for you. It doesn't cover the driver's own car or the driver's injuries: those fall to the driver's auto policy and to workers' compensation. If the restaurant owns the delivery car, you need a commercial auto policy instead. Insurers set the price; Insureon's median for commercial auto among its small-business customers is $245 a month.
In short
- Drivers' own cars → HNOA for your business, usually added to your general liability or business owner's policy.
- Restaurant-owned car → commercial auto.
- The driver's personal policy still matters. Texas's insurance regulator warns that some personal policies "won't cover driving for business", and that a driver who doesn't tell their insurer could have claims denied.
- Driver injuries → workers' compensation, which each state runs. Texas lets most private employers opt out, but they must tell the state.
- Ask your insurer the questions at the end of this page before the first delivery.
What insurance does a restaurant need for its own delivery drivers?
| Policy | Who buys it | What it covers | What it doesn't cover |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hired and non-owned auto (HNOA) | The restaurant | Your business's liability for injury or property damage caused by a personal, rented or borrowed car driven for your business, such as a delivery | Damage to the car itself, the driver's own injuries, business-owned cars, personal errands and commuting |
| Commercial auto | The restaurant | Cars, vans or trucks the business owns or leases | Employees' own cars (that's HNOA) |
| Personal auto policy | The driver | The driver and their car, under their policy's terms | Some personal policies don't cover driving for business; the driver must ask |
| Workers' compensation | The restaurant | Employees injured at work, including on a delivery | It's set by each state; rules on who must carry it vary |
| General liability | The restaurant | Customer injury and property damage at your business, advertising injury | Car accidents: Insureon points to HNOA and commercial auto for those |
Insureon notes that HNOA is typically added as an endorsement to a general liability or business owner's policy, though some carriers sell it on its own. The Hartford describes non-owned cover as "extra coverage over the employee's personal auto policy".
Does a driver's personal car insurance cover food delivery?
Sometimes. Two state insurance regulators say it plainly:
- Texas Department of Insurance: "Some personal use auto policies may cover you if you get into an accident during a paid delivery", while "Other personal use policies won't cover driving for business." It adds: "Always tell your insurance company if you're driving for business. If you don't, the company could deny your claims, and you'd have to pay." Optional delivery coverage often costs less than a commercial policy.
- Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (March 2020): "Personal automobile policies may not provide coverage for vehicles used for commercial purposes, like food delivery."
So, before a driver's first shift:
- Ask them to tell their insurer they'll deliver for a restaurant, and to add any delivery option the insurer offers.
- Keep a copy of their policy's declarations page on file, and diarise the renewal.
- Make sure your HNOA is in force, so your business isn't relying only on the driver's policy.
Who pays when something goes wrong?
Typical cases for a restaurant whose employees deliver in their own cars. Your policies' wording decides the real answer; use this to frame the questions for your insurer.
| What happens | Which policy is in play |
|---|---|
| A driver rear-ends another car on a delivery and the other driver sues your restaurant | The driver's personal auto policy first; your HNOA covers your business's liability on top of it |
| The driver's own car is damaged in that accident | The driver's personal policy (collision), if it covers business use. HNOA doesn't cover the car |
| The driver is hurt in the accident | Workers' compensation (or, in Texas, whatever your business has chosen instead) |
| A delivery driver slips on a customer's icy steps | Workers' compensation |
| A customer trips over a delivery bag in your dining room | General liability |
| The accident happens in the restaurant's own van | Commercial auto |
| The driver crashes on the way home after their shift | Generally the driver's personal policy: Insureon says HNOA doesn't cover personal errands or commuting |
What does delivery driver insurance cost per delivery?
Insurers price HNOA and commercial auto on your business, area, drivers and limits, and there's no published HNOA average. As a placeholder, we use Insureon's $245 a month median for commercial auto (its customers' policies), the same figure as in our in-house delivery cost breakdown. Replace it with your quote.
| Deliveries a month | Insurance per delivery at $245 a month |
|---|---|
| 300 | $0.82 |
| 600 | $0.41 |
| 1,200 | $0.20 |
What the numbers say:
- Insurance is a small line per delivery next to wages, payroll taxes and mileage ($11.83 a delivery in the pillar's example). It's a big line only for a restaurant doing very few deliveries.
- Low volume? A courier such as Uber Direct sends its own couriers, and you pay per delivery. Menuthere connects your own Uber Direct account outside India. Compare both in the own delivery cost calculator.
What should I ask my insurer before drivers start?
- Does my policy include hired and non-owned auto, and what are the liability limits?
- Does it cover employees delivering food in their own cars, every day, at any hour we're open?
- Do you need a list of drivers, their license numbers or driving records? Is there a driving-record standard a driver must meet?
- If we buy or lease a delivery car, what does commercial auto cost, and who may drive it?
- Are our drivers covered by workers' compensation, and is my payroll class right for delivery drivers?
- Does anything change if a driver is an independent contractor? (Read employees or contractors first.)
- What do you need from us after an accident, and how fast?
Do I need workers' compensation for delivery drivers?
Workers' compensation is run by each state, not the federal government: the U.S. Department of Labor sends private-sector workers to their state's workers' compensation board. The rules on who must carry it differ by state, so check your state's agency. One example of how far they differ: in Texas, private employers can choose to carry workers' compensation, but "it is not required in most cases". A Texas employer without coverage must report that to the state, and must report work injuries with more than one day of lost time.
How Menuthere helps
Menuthere doesn't sell or arrange insurance. What it gives you for the insurer's questions:
- Delivery counts per driver for any period (Pro): deliveries, order value and delivery charges per driver, with an order-by-order list. Useful when an insurer asks how many deliveries you do.
- One record per driver with name and phone, and a Taking orders switch that stops assignments to a driver whose license or insurance has lapsed, without deleting them.
- A courier option: your own Uber Direct account (stores outside India), booked per order, for nights or areas you'd rather not send your own drivers.
More on running your own drivers: in-house delivery for restaurants, how to hire delivery drivers and how to pay delivery drivers.
Run your own drivers with live tracking and no per-delivery fee. then. Plans:.
More own-delivery guides: hiring drivers, job description template, driver pay and mileage, tips, employees or contractors, delivery radius and zones, keeping food hot. The overview with costs: in-house delivery for restaurants.
Frequently asked questions
What insurance does a restaurant need for delivery drivers?
If employees use their own cars, hired and non-owned auto insurance (HNOA) for your business, plus each driver's own personal auto policy. If the restaurant owns the car, commercial auto. Workers' compensation covers employees hurt at work, under your state's rules.
Does hired and non-owned auto insurance cover pizza delivery?
It covers your business's liability when an employee causes injury or property damage while driving their own car for your business, and insurers give pizza delivery as an example. It doesn't cover damage to the driver's car or the driver's own injuries.
Do food delivery drivers need special insurance?
They need a personal auto policy that covers them while delivering. Some personal policies cover a paid delivery and some exclude business driving, so the driver should tell their insurer they deliver and ask about a delivery option. The restaurant should also carry hired and non-owned auto insurance.
How much is delivery driver insurance for a restaurant?
It depends on your insurer, area, drivers and limits, and there's no published average for hired and non-owned auto. Insureon reports a median of $245 a month for commercial auto among its small-business customers. At 600 deliveries a month, that's about 41 cents a delivery.
Is workers' comp required for delivery drivers?
It depends on the state, because each state runs its own workers' compensation system. In Texas, most private employers may choose not to carry it, but they must tell the state. Check your state's workers' compensation agency.
Sources (7)
- Texas Department of Insurance, Delivering packages? What to know about auto insurance: https://tdi.texas.gov/tips/delivering-packages-what-to-know-about-auto-insurance.html (last updated 10/14/2024; read 20 Oct 2026): "Some personal use auto policies may cover you if you get into an accident during a paid delivery"; "Other personal use policies won't cover driving for business."; "Always tell your insurance company if you're driving for business. If you don't, the company could deny your claims, and you'd have to pay."; optional delivery coverage typically costs less than a commercial policy; "some businesses require drivers to have a commercial auto insurance policy". The page's intro covers "restaurant or package delivery".
- Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance, news release (27 Mar 2020): https://www.tn.gov/commerce/news/2020/3/27/tdci-issues-guidance-to-insurance-carriers-on-automobile-coverage-for-restaurant-delivery-drivers-during-covid-19-pandemic.html (read 20 Oct 2026): "Personal automobile policies may not provide coverage for vehicles used for commercial purposes, like food delivery."
- Insureon, Hired and non-owned auto insurance: https://insureon.com/small-business-insurance/hired-non-owned-auto (read 20 Oct 2026): covers liability for injury and property damage from a personal, rented, leased or borrowed vehicle driven for the business; "it covers your business's liability and not damage to the vehicle itself or the driver's injuries"; doesn't cover business-owned vehicles (commercial auto), personal errands/commuting; "typically added as an endorsement" to general liability or a BOP; pizza delivery example. Cost page: https://insureon.com/small-business-insurance/hired-non-owned-auto/cost (updated 21 Aug 2025; read 20 Oct 2026, Wave 1): commercial auto median $245/month, no HNOA-specific figure.
- The Hartford, Hired and Non-Owned Auto Insurance: https://www.thehartford.com/commercial-auto-insurance/hired-non-owned-auto (read in a browser 20 Oct 2026, Wave 1; a fresh fetch timed out on 20 Oct 2026): HNOA "can also help cover auto accidents that happen while your employee is using their personal vehicle for business purposes, like making deliveries"; non-owned coverage "provides extra coverage over the employee's personal auto policy"; "does not cover injuries that happen to you or your staff".
- Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation, Employer resources: https://www.tdi.texas.gov/wc/employer/index.html (read 20 Oct 2026): "private employers can choose to carry workers' compensation insurance coverage, but it is not required in most cases"; non-subscribers "Must report to the state that they do not have coverage" and must report injuries "resulting in more than one day of lost time".
- U.S. Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation: https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workcomp (read 20 Oct 2026): workers of private companies "contact their state workers' compensation board"; OWCP's four federal programs.
- Cost per delivery: $245 ÷ 300 = $0.82; ÷ 600 = $0.41; ÷ 1,200 = $0.20 (Python).