Garage/Repair Shop

Your repair shop may be susceptible to many risks, such as claims due to bodily injury, property damage, personal injury, and more. For example, if a customer accidentally trips and falls while on the premises of your repair shop, you can become exposed to a potential lawsuit and held financially responsible for any injuries that result from the accident.

Commercial general liability insurance is an absolute necessity for every repair shop. This type of protection provides broad coverage for premises, operations, completed operations and advertising, and personal injury. It will also pay to defend any covered lawsuit or action regardless of its merit. Coverage can be purchased as a separate policy and can be tailored to your specific needs.

When a gas tank explosion causes an uncontrollable fire, your commercial property and everything within it can suffer a significant loss. This can have a detrimental effect on your repair shop business.

Commercial property insurance can help protect the property your business owns or leases, including things like equipment, inventory, furniture, and fixtures. Whether you own your building or lease your workspace, commercial property insurance can be purchased separately or can be combined with other necessary coverage to protect your business’ physical assets.

The nature of your business means you’re responsible for valuable cars, trucks, and other automobiles. As a repair shop owner, you’re trusted to safeguard vehicles belonging to others. This responsibility brings with it potential liability of being held financially responsible for property damage caused to these vehicles while in your care, custody, and control.

You should purchase physical damage coverage, referred to as garagekeepers coverage, designed to help you protect your customers’ property and your business in the event that accidents, injuries, or property damage occurs. This protection covers the costs that arise from unfortunate and unforeseeable events, not bad workmanship, faulty parts, or warranties.

You’re constantly moving your tools from one area of your repair shop to another, exposing your business to potential loss due to damage or theft. And without your specialized tools and equipment, your repair job may come to a screeching halt.

You can purchase special equipment insurance designed to protect your tools and equipment on the move. The policy will cover equipment for a variety of losses, including fire, explosion, vandalism, theft, collision with other equipment or objects, and overturning.

If one of your employees receives an injury or becomes ill due to a work-related occurrence, you are required by law to have the proper coverage in place.

Workers' compensation protects your employees should a job-related injury or sickness occur during the course of employment. This coverage is required by law and may vary by area, so be sure that you understand your obligations for all physical locations where your business operates in and all physical locations where you hire your employees.

As a repair shop owner, you have many exposures associated with your business vehicles–owned or leased. With a fleet of cars, trucks, vans, or other types of vehicles used in the course of business, a single accident can potentially put your business in financial jeopardy.

Business auto insurance provides coverage for vehicles owned or leased by a repair shop and provides coverage for bodily injury, property damage, and other exposures, and could include comprehensive and collision coverage as well.

Losses and lawsuits are quite common in the repair shop business, and settlements can be substantial. If your business is found to be responsible for damage or injury, you could be facing a large liability loss that exceeds the basic limits of your standard policy.

You should consider purchasing a commercial umbrella insurance policy which provides higher limits, typically between $2,000,000 and $10,000,000, and often broadened coverages. Coverage is extended over various policies, including general liability insurance, business auto, and directors and officers liability insurance.