# Commercial Auto Insurance Symbols: Which Ones NEMT Brokers Accept

Canonical URL: https://nemtguide.com/glossary/commercial-auto-symbols/ · Updated 2026-10-02

Commercial auto insurance symbols are the numbers on a business auto policy that say which vehicles each coverage applies to. Symbol 1 is any auto, 2 is owned autos, 7 is only the autos listed, 8 is hired autos, and 9 is non-owned autos. Brokers such as American Logistics and WellTrans ask for symbol 1, or symbols 2, 8, and 9, and American Logistics refuses scheduled autos policies.

- Each coverage on your declarations page has its own symbols, and only the vehicles those symbols describe are covered for it.
- With symbol 1 or 2, a van you buy mid-term is covered for the rest of the term. With symbol 7, you must tell the insurer within 30 days.
- Symbol 1 is for liability only, so your physical damage line will show another symbol, such as 2, 4, or 7.
- American Logistics and WellTrans want symbol 1, or 2, 8, and 9. Louisiana health plans also accept 7, 8, and 9.
- Under any symbol, send each broker your vehicle list, and update it before a new van carries a rider.

## What commercial auto insurance symbols mean

A business auto policy does not list one set of covered vehicles. Its declarations page shows each coverage, such as liability or physical damage, with one or more numbers next to it. Those numbers are covered auto symbols. In the standard business auto form, ISO CA 00 01 (the edition 10 13 copy Sonoma County posts), the symbols entered next to a coverage "designate the only 'autos' that are covered" for it.

So one policy can cover your vans for liability under one symbol and for collision under another. The California Department of Insurance's commercial insurance guide (revised June 14, 2024) puts it plainly: coverage can differ by vehicle, and the symbols say which coverage applies to which auto.

The CA 00 01 form defines ten symbols. The last column matters most to a growing fleet: whether a van you buy partway through the policy term is covered without a call to your agent.

| Symbol | Covered autos | A van you buy mid-term |
|---|---|---|
| 1, any auto | Every auto: owned, hired, borrowed, and non-owned | Covered for liability |
| 2, owned autos only | Every auto your company owns | Covered |
| 3, owned private passenger autos only | Only the private passenger autos you own | Covered if it is a private passenger type |
| 4, owned autos other than private passenger autos | Autos you own that are not private passenger types, such as most vans and trucks | Covered if it is not a private passenger type |
| 5, owned autos subject to no-fault | Owned autos that must carry no-fault benefits where they are licensed or garaged | Covered if it must carry no-fault |
| 6, owned autos subject to a compulsory uninsured motorists law | Owned autos that must carry uninsured motorists coverage and cannot reject it | Covered if the same law applies |
| 7, specifically described autos | Only the autos listed on the policy with a premium shown | Only if you tell the insurer within 30 days, and other conditions apply (see below) |
| 8, hired autos only | Autos you lease, hire, rent, or borrow, except from employees, partners, LLC members, or their households | Does not apply |
| 9, non-owned autos only | Autos you do not own, lease, hire, rent, or borrow that are used in your business, including employees' own cars | Does not apply |
| 19, mobile equipment subject to a motor vehicle insurance law | Land vehicles that would count as mobile equipment if such a law did not apply to them | Covered |

Not every symbol can carry every coverage. The Public Entity Risk Management Authority, a California risk pool for public agencies, sets out the limits in its August 2024 guide:

- **Symbol 1** is for liability only. It is never used for physical damage, medical payments, uninsured motorists, or no-fault.
- **Symbols 2 and 4** can carry liability, medical payments, uninsured motorists, and physical damage, but not towing.
- **Symbol 7** can be used for all coverages.
- **Symbol 8** can carry all coverages except no-fault and towing and labor, and it carries medical payments only for funeral directors.
- **Symbol 9** is for liability only.

That is why a declarations page can show symbol 1 next to liability and symbol 7 next to physical damage. For what symbols 8 and 9 cover in daily use, see [hired and non-owned auto insurance](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/hired-and-non-owned-auto/).

## Why scheduled autos (symbol 7) cause trouble with brokers

The difference shows up the day you add a van. With symbols 1 through 6 or 19, the CA 00 01 form covers autos you acquire "for the remainder of the policy period." With symbol 7, a new auto is covered only if both of these are true:

1. The policy already covers all the autos you own for that coverage, or the new auto replaces one that had it.
2. You tell the insurer within 30 days after you acquire it that you want it covered.

Miss either one and the new van has no coverage on that line. Sonoma County's contract insurance guide sums up the two sides: a scheduled autos policy covers only the autos scheduled on it, while owned autos coverage applies to any auto a named insured owns, even one not listed. It also notes that a policy can cover hired, non-owned, and scheduled autos at once.

Brokers write their rules around that gap:

- **American Logistics** will not accept scheduled autos policies from its providers.
- **MTM Health** allows them in its standard agreement (the January 1, 2023 version Pennsylvania posts), but a scheduled auto policy must list each insured vehicle, and you must tell MTM at once about every vehicle added or removed.
- **Louisiana Medicaid health plans** accept symbols 7, 8, and 9. When you add a vehicle, the plan must get an updated copy of your policy showing it is insured before the vehicle is used, under the MCO manual updated May 28, 2026.

## Which symbols NEMT brokers and health plans accept

Most of the programs below want your auto liability to reach owned, hired, and non-owned autos. That is symbol 1 alone, or symbols 2, 8, and 9 together. These are the rules in each document, with its date. Limits are written as a combined single limit or as split limits.

| Broker or plan | Liability symbols it asks for | Other rules on the same list |
|---|---|---|
| [American Logistics](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/american-logistics/), provider FAQs (as of October 2026) | Any Auto, or Owned plus Hired Autos Only plus Non-owned Autos Only. No scheduled autos policies. | $500,000 combined single limit, insurer rated B or better, no livery exclusion |
| [WellTrans](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/welltrans/), Indiana agreement (revised October 16, 2025) | Any Auto, or symbols 2, 8, and 9 | $1,500,000 per accident for taxis, sedans, and vans, or a higher city or county taxi minimum |
| Louisiana Medicaid health plans, MCO manual (updated May 28, 2026) | Symbol 1; symbols 7, 8, and 9; or symbols 2, 8, and 9 | $300,000 combined single limit, or $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 split limits |
| [Verida](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/verida/), Georgia provider page (as of October 2026) | "All Owned, Hired, and Non-Owned" coverage | Insurers rated A- or better, and a list of the vehicles on the auto policy |
| [MTM Health](https://nemtguide.com/brokers/mtm-health/), standard agreement (January 1, 2023) | Any and all vehicles used for MTM trips | $500,000 combined single limit. A scheduled policy must list each vehicle. |

Two more lines on these lists trip up certificates. WellTrans wants your certificate to describe your business as "for hire transportation." Louisiana wants it to say the coverage is for a Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Vehicle. Your state, plan, or broker may ask for more, so check [NEMT insurance requirements](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-insurance-requirements/) and the [Louisiana guide](https://nemtguide.com/states/louisiana/) where they apply.

## Reading the symbols on your certificate: an example

Brokers usually see your symbols on a [certificate of insurance](https://nemtguide.com/glossary/certificate-of-insurance/), not your policy. The auto liability section of the ACORD 25 certificate has a box for each common symbol, labeled by name, not number: any auto (1), owned autos only (2), scheduled autos (7, which the policy form calls specifically described autos), hired autos only (8), and non-owned autos only (9). Sonoma County's guide says that "any auto" checked on a certificate means non-owned, hired, and all owned autos are insured.

**Example.** You run five wheelchair vans. Your declarations page shows symbols 7, 8, and 9 next to liability and symbol 7 next to physical damage, so your agent checks scheduled, hired, and non-owned on the certificate.

- **Louisiana health plans** accept it, since 7, 8, and 9 is one of their three options.
- **WellTrans** does not, since it wants any auto or 2, 8, and 9.
- **American Logistics** does not, since it refuses scheduled autos policies.

Now you buy a sixth van on March 3. Under symbol 7, you have until April 2 to tell your insurer, and the van can be covered only because your policy already covers all five vans you own. Your Louisiana plan needs the updated policy before the van's first rider, and MTM wants to hear about it at once. If your liability line showed symbol 1 or 2 instead, the van would be covered for liability from the day you bought it, though each broker still needs it on your vehicle list.

## How to get the right symbols on your policy

1. **Pull your declarations page.** Find Item Two, which shows the covered autos for each coverage, and the symbols next to Covered Autos Liability.
2. **List what each broker and plan asks for**, using the table above and each contract.
3. **Ask your agent to quote symbol 1 for liability**, or symbols 2, 8, and 9, if any broker refuses scheduled autos. Ask what the change does to your premium.
4. **Keep physical damage on the symbol that fits**, since symbol 1 cannot be used there.
5. **Order one certificate per broker** with the right boxes checked and the wording each one requires.
6. **Report every new van** to your insurer and to each broker before it carries a rider, and never later than 30 days under symbol 7.

For what a full NEMT insurance program costs and what moves the premium, see [NEMT insurance cost](https://nemtguide.com/guides/nemt-insurance-cost/).

## Frequently asked questions

### What does symbol 1 mean on a commercial auto policy?

Symbol 1 is "any auto," the broadest symbol on the standard business auto form. It covers owned, hired, and non-owned autos, and autos you buy during the policy term. When a coverage shows symbol 1, no other symbol is needed next to it. It is used for liability only, so your other coverages show other symbols.

### Is symbol 7 the same as scheduled autos?

Yes. Symbol 7, "specifically described autos," covers only the autos listed in the declarations with a premium shown. On a certificate of insurance it appears as the box marked scheduled autos. A van you buy later is covered only if you tell the insurer within 30 days and the policy already covers all your owned autos for that coverage, or the new van replaces one that had it.

### Do I need symbols 8 and 9 if my policy shows symbol 2?

Usually, yes. Symbol 2 covers only autos your company owns. A rental van while yours is in the shop is a hired auto (symbol 8), and a dispatcher's own car on a work errand is a non-owned auto (symbol 9). American Logistics and WellTrans both ask for 2, 8, and 9 together when the policy does not use symbol 1.

### Why does my physical damage coverage show a different symbol than my liability?

Because symbol 1 cannot be used for it. A guide from California's Public Entity Risk Management Authority (August 2024) says symbol 1 is for liability only, not for physical damage, medical payments, uninsured motorists, or no-fault. Physical damage on your vans can be written on symbol 2, 4, or 7. Broker rules on symbols are about your auto liability line.

## Official resources

- [Public Entity Risk Management Authority: Understanding Auto Coverage (what each symbol means)](https://www.permarisk.gov/wp-content/uploads/202408_Newsletter_Auto_Symbols.pdf)
- [California Department of Insurance: Commercial Insurance Guide](https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/09-comm/commercialguide.cfm)
- [NAIC: Find your state insurance department](https://content.naic.org/state-insurance-departments)