What Is Garage Liability Insurance?

When it comes to the garages that are attached to your homes, your homeowner's insurance policy provides coverage. In some cases, this coverage is located under your dwelling insurance coverage, and other cases it is and other structures coverage. People who are looking for garage liability insurance are looking for insurance for their car dealership, car repair shop, auto service station, or other companies that work directly with automobiles. These types of businesses have unique insurance needs that are not often addressed by general liability policies for businesses. In order to satisfy this need, insurance companies have created garage liability insurance. This policy, in combination with another policy type called garage keepers coverage, offers automobile businesses full protections to help them stay in business and protect them financially.

What Is Garage Liability Insurance?

Garage liability insurance is an insurance coverage plan that is designed specifically for enterprises that repair or utilize automobiles and have unique needs. General commercial liability insurance protects people and businesses if they are found liable or are accused in court of being liable for injuries to a person, or financial harm to them. If a customer falls on the property or a defective product causes damage, commercial general liability insurance will kick in. It also provides coverage if a competitor sues a business as well.

It is possible to get customized insurance plans that only cover specific instances of risk, but many businesses do try to get a commercial general liability policy, also called a CGL. Having blanket coverage can be essential to a business, as it is hard to predict specifically when you will need coverage and what the coverage will be needed for.

Another type of coverage that can be necessary for auto shops is automobile coverage. Commercial general liability policies do not cover the costs associated with vehicles that are operated by a business or owned by them. If your delivery truck causes damage to someone’s property, general liability commercial coverage will not provide coverage for it. In order to get liability coverage for your company’s vehicles, a business auto policy will be needed. These insurance policies are generally designed for companies who utilize automobiles on occasion, though. There are both limits and exclusions that will not make them adequate policies for certain types of companies. Car dealerships and related auto repair companies are often not well-suited for these types of insurance plans. Fortunately, there are other options for these types of companies that can be hugely beneficial. Getting coverage for vehicles that are usually driven by nonemployees takes specialized insurance policies.

The needed insurance policies for these types of businesses are called general liability insurance and garage keepers insurance. Garage liability insurance is a specialized insurance policy that combines general liability protection and business auto liability coverage. This eliminates areas of overlap and caters to car-oriented businesses. Garage liability insurance has an exclusion to it, so garage keepers insurance is also necessary for some companies. General liability insurance does not cover the physical damage to customers cars that are left in your care. Garage keepers insurance provides coverage for these situations. In many cases, commercial insurance companies sell both garage liability coverage and garage keepers coverage.

How Garage Liability Insurance Works

Overall, garage liability insurance works like a regular insurance policy. Before filing a claim, take pictures of the damage and/or make a detailed outline of what you are looking for coverage for. Contact your insurance company to file a claim, and work with the company to negotiate a payout.

Who Needs Garage Liability Insurance?

If your business deals with vehicles and you are not finding normal commercial insurance policies that cover your needs, you may be in need of a garage liability insurance plan. Companies that tend to have these types of policies include car dealerships, auto repair shops, service stations for vehicles, gas stations with repair shops attached, and other companies that deal with the repair or driving of another person’s vehicle.

Garage liability insurance also covers products that are manufactured or sold by a shop. This can include property damage that results from faulty parts installed by your business in a vehicle owned by a customer. These types of claims to have limits to them. It is important to note that if employees drive any vehicles off-premises, they will also need auto insurance coverage as an add-on or separate policy. Sometimes this is included in garage liability coverage, but an additional endorsement, rider, or premium may be necessary.