Garage Insurance, Garagekeepers Liability

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Garage Insurance and Garagekeepers Liability

Bankers Insurance helps auto repair garages succeed.  We specialize in insuring repair shops and represent many insurance companies that offer tailored garage insurance packages.  As an independent insurance agency, we aren’t tied to only one.  We can quote your garagekeepers liability with many and present you with your options.  Let us shop your insurance for you.

Garage Insurance Program

We can insure

  • General Auto Repair
  • Quick Lubes
  • Body Shops
  • Muffler Shops
  • Transmission Shops
  • Dealerships
    • New and used vehicles
    • Franchised and non-franchised
    • Auto Dealerships
    • Motorcycle Dealerships
    • RV Dealerships
  • Towing OK
  • Roadside Assistance
  • Heavy Truck / Tractor Trailer / Semi Repair
  • Farm Equipment Repair
  • Motorcycle Repair
  • All Others
  • Small shops to multi-state operations

We Offer

  • Many garage insurance companies
  • Complete insurance packages or single policies
  • Quality insurance products and competitive pricing
  • Experience, expertise, and “no excuse” customer service
  • Garage Liability
  • Garagekeepers Liability
  • Comprehensive dealership packages
  • Business auto, including towing operations and on-hook coverage
  • General Liability
  • Umbrella / Excess liability
  • Property
  • Workers Compensation
  • Employee Benefits

Garage Insurance

We want your business to thrive. We want your business to thrive. Bankers Insurance offers our auto repair clients the same care they provide their own. We have served auto repair garages for years and offer an auto repair garage insurance program specific to your industry.  It is packed with extra features to suit your business and can be extensively tailored to offer an OEM fit.  We can offer liability coverage for when your mechanics are test-driving vehicles, garagekeepers liability insurance coverage for damage to your customer’s autos while in your care, your mechanics’ tools, and of course the liability associated with your work and repairs.

Every auto repair business is different, so we make our garage insurance policies flexible.  If your business tows vehicles, tows for other businesses, picks up or delivers client vehicles, performs roadside repair, operates a car dealership, or specializes in any particular kind of repairs, let us know your insurance questions.  Contact Us for a no-obligation insurance review where we will explain your risk exposures in clear, understandable terms.

Garage Insurance Quote Request

Garage Insurance Quote Request

  • Prefer a quote by phone? Call (877) 606-1375.
  • We currently only quote new clients located in DC, MD, NC, SC, TN, VA, & WV.
Quote, Garage Insurance
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Garage Insurance / Garage Liability Coverages

We offer garage insurance and garagekeepers liability from many “A” rated insurance companies. Depending upon your needs, one company may suit your situation better than another. We are never locked into only one. At Bankers, our client’s interests guide the process.


Garage Liability

Garage insurance garage liability protection. Picture of exterior of an auto repair garage.
Garage insurance tow truck towing insurance. View or rear quarter of a red tilt bed tow truck on a highway carrying a gray sedan.

For an auto repair business, garage liability is similar to combining general liability and business auto. It can include:

  1. Premises Liability:  Protection should a client or supplier or any third party be injured on your premises.
  2. Products / Completed Operations:  Should your work cause injury to someone or damage something. For example, if a few days after replacing the brakes on your client’s sedan the wheel should come loose and causes an accident. In such a situation, the completed operations portion of the garage insurance policy would pay injuries to people and repair bills for other vehicles.
  3. Business auto:
    • Owned autos: Coverage for liability and physical damage for cars and trucks owned and operated by the garage itself. These can be vehicles used to pick up parts, tow trucks, or personal autos furnished to owners.
    • Clients Autos: When test-driving client vehicles, should your employees cause an accident, this coverage protects the business for associated liability. Depending upon how the insurance policy is written, damage to your client’s vehicle itself is usually offered under the garagekeepers portion of the policy.
    • Hired and Non-Owned Auto Liability: If your business ever rents vehicles or sends employees on errands in their own vehicles such as picking up parts or the mail, this offers protection should your business be found liable for accidents caused in such a situation.
    • On-Hook Coverage: If your operations include towing, special coverage is needed to cover the vehicles being transported. Limits are specified on the policy for this coverage and can be tailored to your needs. We have one client that requested a $50,000 limit since they tow passenger-type vehicles and another client that requested a $350,000 limit since they tow semi-tractors.
    • Dealer Tags: If your business also operates a dealership, the number of dealer tags to be covered will be specified in this section.

Garagekeepers Liability

Garage insurance garagekeepers liability coverage. Interior of an auto repair garage.

Garagekeepers liability coverage protects your business for damage to your clients’ vehicles while in your care. When a client drops a vehicle off to a garage, they expect it to be returned in the same (or hopefully better) condition.

There are a variety of reasons a garage could be considered liable for damages to a client’s vehicle. For example, we had one client’s mechanic back a vehicle out of a stall with the car door open, striking it against a post, damaging the door. That was an obvious example where our client was liable for the damages. But consider that we had another client’s garage catch on fire in the middle of the day due to a lightning strike. The fire spread rapidly and the entire structure burned to the ground with several vehicles still inside. The client hadn’t done anything wrong, thus they weren’t negligent in any manner. Should our client’s insurance policy have responded in such a situation and pay for those damaged vehicles?

In such a case, it depends upon options within the garagekeepers insurance policy. And that all depends upon how our clients want their policy to respond. Options from least coverage to greatest include:

  1. Legal Liability:  If a garagekeepers insurance policy is written on a legal liability basis, it only offers coverage if the client is legally liable. In the lightning example above, it wouldn’t pay because our client did nothing wrong. They were showing all due care at the time. The owners of the damaged vehicles would have to collect against their own insurance policies. This is the most affordable means of coverage, but many garage owners want additional coverage.
  2. Excess:  When written on an excess basis, coverage is the same as legal liability, but offers excess coverage if a client’s policy is not sufficient. In the lightning example, if a client didn’t have enough coverage on their vehicle, the garagekeepers excess coverage would pay the difference. Some auto repair shop owners still want more coverage, so the last option is a popular choice.
  3. Direct Primary:  This is the broadest coverage for your clients’ vehicles while in your care. It offers coverage on a primary basis. In the lightning example, it would pay for all burned vehicles, up to the limits of the policy, no matter whether liability was established or not. In order to keep clients happy, direct primary garagekeepers insurance coverage a popular choice.

Auto Dealer Liability

Garage insurance auto dealers open lot insurance. Rows of colorful vehicles in a dealer lot.

Some auto repair businesses also sell vehicles or operate an auto dealership. Auto dealer insurance, often called Dealers Open Lot, offers coverage for the vehicles owned by the business while held for sale. Limits are typically specified at a maximum per vehicle and for the lot in total. Be certain to understand your deductibles and how they respond should a single event, such as a catastrophic hail storm, occur.


Property

Garage insurance property coverage. Exterior of an auto repair garage building.

An auto repair shop can require a significant investment in facilities, lifts, tools, and diagnostics equipment. See our Property page for full details.  Coverage can include:

  • Buildings and contents
  • Business income and extra expense. See our business income calculator to estimate your exposure.
  • Outdoor pumps and tanks
  • Canopies
  • Signs
  • Personal property of others
  • Equipment breakdown
  • Electric surge or power interruption damage to computerized equipment
  • Employee dishonesty
  • Newly acquired buildings

Inland Marine

Garage insurance inland marine coverage. Picture of road side assistance auto mechanic with mobile tools and equipment that can be covered by inland marine.

Inland marine insurance is a broad category that can include:

  • Property and equipment in transit, such as that used for roadside assistance.
  • Property and equipment off-location
  • Mobile equipment, such as forklifts and cranes
  • Tools and equipment coverage for employees
  • Business computer systems for hardware and software and restoration of data

Workers Compensation

Garage insurance workers compensation coverage. Group car mechanics performing maintenance.

Workers compensation insurance protects against one of the largest risk exposures to a garage businesses. In the event of a work-related injury, workers compensation pays the employee for health expenses and a portion of lost wages. For the business, it protects it from being sued for the injury under tort law. Subcontract mechanics may still be considered employees under workers compensation law, even if they are 1099 employees, and often sue employers for work related injuries. Be sure your business is protected and receiving competitively priced rates.

For more detail, check out our workers compensation webpage. Requirements by state differ, so contact us with questions.


Other Auto Garage Insurance Coverages

Garage insurance other insurance coverages. Close up of tools with car on lift in auto repair garage.

Whether these coverages are standard or optional in your garage insurance package, consider whether you have exposure for each and ask your insurance agent regarding obtaining a quote.

  • Umbrella / Excess Liability. This coverage increases your garage insurance limits on the underlying policies to whatever level is desired. For example, if your business has an underlying business auto liability limit of $1,000,000, but you need a $4,000,000 limit, a $3,000,000 umbrella would increase your liability limits to the required amount.
  • Mechanic’s professional liability
  • Title Errors and Omissions
  • Federal Odometer Errors and Omissions
  • Truth in Lending Errors and Omissions
  • Blanket contractual liability
  • Blanket additional insureds
  • Product recall expense
  • Broadened products coverage
  • Pollution

Additional Garage Services from Bankers Insurance

Our garage insurance clients enjoy the following services we offer, most at no-cost, just by asking:

  1. Risk analysis: Surveys and checklists specific to your auto repair garage. Whether you perform general auto repairs, specialize in muffler and brakes, or only do body work – whatever your operations – we have a survey that will identify risks and offer solutions how to reduce them.
  2. Employee Manual: We offer employee manuals that can be tailored to the garage industry and your needs. Standard manuals cover operations including auto repair, auto body, and auto dealerships.
  3. Safety Flyers and Training Materials: Use them for safety meetings and toolbox talks. Creating a culture of safety is one means to communicate to your employees you care for their well being with the added benefit of reducing claims.
  4. Updates on FDA and OSHA Regulations
  5. Many Others: If we don’t already offer it, we’ll search for a means to get it.

Reference all the other tools and resources we offer for management, human resources, and benefits.

Why Bankers Insurance?

Anyone can be an order-taker.  Bankers Insurance is different.

We don’t expect clients to be garage insurance experts. Take advantage of our experience. We can explain options and help you determine coverage that suits your needs.

As your insurance agent, we strive to know you. Only then can we suggest coverage that fits your specific business. We look for coverage gaps to help offer complete protection. With us, you get the benefit of:

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