Garage Insurance
In addition to coverages associated with normal business insurance policies, as an owner of an auto service business you need special coverage tailored to protect your business and your customer's vehicles.
Garage insurance has several options and requires an insurance specialist to guide you and recommend the best coverage to protect your business.
PIA has been tailoring insurance programs for gas stations, service stations, auto repair shops, auto body shops and all segments of the automotive services industry for over 30 years. We represent two exclusive programs that are only available to agencies who specialize in this segment of the business community. Our programs not only provide cost savings, but excellent coverages as well. A Garage Liability Policy is a hybrid of General Liability and Auto Insurance.
Broad Form Products/Completed Operations coverage provides for the resultant damage, but not for damage to the product itself or the work performed. Please be certain you're covered for that. With respect to premises and operations, it is important for you to be properly covered for slips or falls into an open pit. Also important are coverages for allegations of employment related discrimination, false or misleading advertisements, personal injury and errors or omissions in the administration of employee benefits
One of the most important things to consider is how you are going to insure your customer's vehicles. This is called Garagekeepers coverage.
Legal Liability - Coverage is provided when, as a result of your negligence, you become legally liable for damage.
- For example: You are test-driving a customer's car and collide with a parked car.
- This is the most commonly written form of Garagekeepers
coverage, but it is very dangerous for you, as the garage owner. Consider:
You have the care and custody of your customer's second-largest investment,
but if the car is damaged, you are not covered unless you were negligent
or legally liable. For example, damage to your customer's vehicle where
you may not be negligent include:
- Hail storm.
- Vandalism on a locked, lighted lot.
- You are test-driving the car and are hit while stopped at a stop light.
Direct Excess/Customer Excess - This approach, again, provides coverage for damage to a customer's vehicle in cases where you are legally liable or negligent. In addition, it provides stop-gap coverage when:
- You are not legally liable, but the customer has no collectible physical damage insurance.
- You are not legally liable, but the customer has a substantial deductible. Without your coverage, the customer would be expected to submit the claim to his carrier and handle his own deductible.
Direct Primary/Customer's Auto - Coverage is provided regardless of your negligence or legal liability.
- For example: Your customer's car is vandalized while locked in your fenced, lighted lot.
- This is the coverage we recommend. You want to be
in a position to provide coverage regardless of legal liability, if anything
should happen to your customer's vehicle while it is in your care, custody
or control. Some contracts allow you to control the claim, in cases where
you are not legally liable, and decide yourself which claims you wish
your insurance company to pay. Some examples of claims where you might
wish to have that option:
- Rear-ended while test-driving.
- Hail storm.
- Vandalism.
- In each of these cases, you would have the option of providing coverage to your customer -- helping to protect the second-largest investment that most of your customers will make in their lifetimes.
What kind of coverage do you need?
As a bare minimum you should carry:
- Garage Liability to insure against third party negligence claims.
- Garagekeepers Liability to insure your customers cars in your care, custody and control.
- Property to insure buildings, office equipment, employee's tools, stock, loss of income, and inventory.
- EDP to insure your computer hardware and software equipment.
- Crime to insure against employee theft, and theft of monies and securities.
In addition to the above types of coverage you may need:
- Workers Compensation which is required by law if you have any employees.
- Auto Insurance if your company owns any vehicles.
- Umbrella Liability Insurance for extra protection.
- Pollution Insurance to insure against soil and water contamination and clean up expenses.
- Underground Storage Tank Pollution Insurance for gas and service stations with underground tanks.
Other considerations that we highly recommend are:
- Employment Practices Liability to insure against employee suits arising from sexual harassment, wrongful termination, and discrimination.
- Fiduciary Liability to insure against employee suits arising from employee benefit plans.
- If your organization has a website we also recommend Media Liability Insurance.
Take a look at some of our recent success stories. Click here.
To get your free, no hassle quote call PIA toll free now, 800-596-7333 or fill out our easy on line form by clicking here.