When people bring vehicles to auto repair shops, garages, or towing companies for repair or maintenance, they trust these professionals to protect their cars from damage. As service providers, your clients are liable for the vehicles’ safety while in their care. Unfortunately, accidents can and do happen, making both garage liability and garagekeepers liability necessary to protect your clients from financial loss.
What Is the Difference Between Garagekeepers Liability and Garage Liability?
Your clients may have this question when they discuss insurance options with you. Explain that each of these policy types provides distinctive protections. Information regarding each plan helps your clients choose the coverage that is right for them. A garagekeepers plan pays for damages that may occur to customer’s cars while on-site. Garage liability covers the business operations.
What Is Garagekeepers Liability?
This policy protects your clients when accidents occur on their properties that cause damage to customers’ vehicles. This coverage mitigates owner risks by paying for expenses associated with these types of mishaps and unexpected events.
Covered events can include:
- Severe storms
- Fire
- Collision
- Vandalism
- Theft
Exclusions may apply to:
- Inadequate warranties
- Faulty work
- Defective car parts
- Personal belongings of customers
- Non-factory installed sound devices
- Property damage and third-party physical injury resulting from garage operations
What Is Garage Liability?
Standard insurance of this kind covers bodily injury or property damage that happens during regular business operations. It is a must for car dealerships, repair shops, and other similar organizations. This kind of policy pays the legal fees and expenses related to the defense of lawsuits. It protects your clients against third-party legal claims but does not cover the car.
Coverage includes events such as:
- Vehicle damage from on-site equipment
- Damage from products sold or manufactured by the company
- Third-party injuries from falls or other accidents
- Discrimination or dishonesty claims
- Damages caused by an accidental collision of a business vehicle with another car or property
Exclusions to this coverage include:
- Damage to your clients’ own products
- Property under the custody, care, or control of your clients
- Injuries or damages caused by pollution
- Automobiles used for professional racing
- Employee injuries
What Businesses Need Garagekeepers Insurance?
For companies that work servicing vehicles, both garage liability and garagekeepers liability are applicable policies. To avoid gaps in coverage, you should recommend that your clients choose both plans. The following businesses benefit from this strategy:
- Auto body or repair shops
- Oil change companies
- Tow truck operations
- Emissions testing sites
- Detailing businesses
- Sound system installation stores
- Windshield installation companies
- Valet operations
Garagekeepers insurance safeguards auto service companies by protecting their customers’ vehicles while on-site. When used in conjunction with garage liability coverage, the two plans work together to provide a comprehensive solution for your customers.
