Garage Insurance
What is Garage Insurance?
Who is Garage Insurance For?
- Auto repair shops
- Parking garages
- Auto service stations
- Towing or impounding lots
- Auto dealerships
- Body shops
- Auto detailers
- Auto glass installers
- Muffler shops
- Emissions testing centers
- Oil change and lube shops
- Tire and battery repair facilities
Garage and Other Insurance Coverage Types in Ohio
Garage Liability
Inland Marine
Despite the word “marine,” inland marine insurance does not necessarily have any connection with the sea. Rather, it covers moveable or specialized types of property (e.g., computers, art exhibitions, photographic and video equipment, jewelry, golf equipment, construction equipment, etc.) that are transported or temporarily warehoused by a third party. Cargo theft and collisions rank among the most frequent causes of inland marine losses.
There are several examples of inland marine insurance. One of them is installation floaters coverage, a policy that can protect property, usually equipment being installed by a contractor. In other words, installation floaters insurance is a unique kind of builder’s risk coverage often used by contractors.
As an example, suppose you are transporting a custom glass showcase to your client’s shop and your speeding truck bumps into a deep pothole, leading to a large crack in the showcase, meaning that it has to be replaced. If you have an inland marine policy, then you will enjoy coverage for the damaged glass case.
Dealers Blanket
Dealers’ blanket insurance or dealers’ open lot insurance provides physical damage coverage for auto dealers. Broadly speaking, dealers’ open lot insurance can protect against both collision and comprehensive losses. Some policies limit comprehensive coverage.
For example, a policy may only provide “fire and theft” coverage instead of full or comprehensive coverage. There are also policies written on the basis of “Specified Perils or Specified Causes of Loss,” meaning that the provision is only made for specific exposures such as theft, fire, vandalism, flood, hail, and/or wind.
For instance, a policy that only says “fire and theft” will provide coverage for fire and theft for the concerned vehicles. In other words, the holder is excluded from coverage for things like vandalism, hail, wind, and floods.
Garagekeepers
Garagekeepers insurance covers the value of your clients’ vehicles under your care, such as those being serviced, repaired, or attended to at your business premises. If such vehicles are damaged or destroyed, garagekeepers insurance can provide compensation for the loss.
For example, if lightning strikes your auto repair shop building overnight and causes a fire that damages several cars undergoing repairs in your garage. If you are insured, then garagekeepers insurance would cover the loss to your customers’ vehicles.
Workers Compensation
Workers’ compensation insurance or workers’ comp is a kind of liability insurance that provides financial assistance to employees afflicted with work-related sicknesses or injuries while working for a business. Workers’ compensation insurance can offset an injured employee’s medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and part of lost wages. If an employee, unfortunately, dies from a work-related accident or injury, workers’ compensation insurance can also pay for funeral costs and death benefits for the employee’s surviving family.
In several US states, it is mandatory for businesses with employees to have a workers’ compensation insurance policy, although requirements vary according to state. In exchange for accepting the workers’ compensation benefits, the affected employee agrees that he or she will not sue the business for the injury.
Workers’ compensation insurance has a “no-fault” condition, which means that the compensation benefits will be paid no matter who is at fault for the injury – be it the employee or the employer. For example, consider a worker making deliveries for her company with her personal car. If she rear-ends another car on the street, becomes seriously injured, and is hence no longer able to work, workers’ compensation insurance will pay for her medical expenses and part of her lost wages.
Commercial Umbrella
Suppose one of your mechanics gets involved in an accident that results in injuries to many people, and the judgment awards cost way above the limits on your garage liability coverage. How will you offset the remaining balance? One good answer is through the excess protection offered by commercial umbrella insurance.
When your garage policy claims exceed their underlying limits, commercial umbrella insurance extends coverage to crucially take care of the remaining expenses, thus shielding your business from the potentially devastating impact of the exceeded limit on its daily operations, financial stability, and brand reputation. Additionally, commercial umbrella insurance can sit on top of other policies such as workers’ compensation, general liability, and more.
Commercial Property
Commercial property insurance ensures that the value of your business’s physical assets remains intact. If an unforeseen event, such as a natural disaster, impacts your business negatively, having a commercial property insurance policy can help you recover from property damage. When such an incident occurs, the insurance company will pay you for the value of the lost or damaged property In exchange for the premium you pay.
Insurers often use two common property valuation methods:
Replacement cost (RC) coverage — covers the cost of repairing or replacing your property with a similar new item of the same quality without any depreciation deduction.
Actual cash value (ACV) coverage — covers the value of the property at the time of loss on an “as-is” basis which takes cognizance of depreciation and obsolescence of the property.
The premiums on ACV coverage are typically lower than the premiums on RC coverage, due to the latter’s higher potential payout.
For example, assume you purchased a piece of manufacturing equipment for $8,000 and insured it for $8,000. A couple of years later, a natural disaster ravages your plant and destroys the equipment. The market value of the two-year-old equipment is $6,000, while a new model still costs $8,000. If you have RC coverage, the insurance company will pay you $8,000, but you will be paid only $6,000 if you have ACV.
Commercial Auto
Commercial auto insurance offers coverage for vehicles owned or leased by your business. If an auto accident occurs, commercial auto insurance (just like personal auto insurance), provides financial compensation if the fault is your business’s or if there is property damage.
Commercial auto insurance includes both liability and property components. The liability aspect protects your business if it is at fault for causing a crash that results in bodily injury or damage to another person’s car or property. The property component protects the value of your car against theft, crashes, and other incidents.
Example of Liability Component (Bodily Injury Liability)
Example of Property Component (Collision Coverage)
Tools & Equipment
Contractors’ tools and equipment insurance or equipment Floater insurance is a type of inland marine insurance for small tools and equipment. It’s ideal for construction and contracting companies as well as installation professionals that work on various sites.
This type of coverage protects movable tools and equipment wherever they are taken and pays for their repair or replacement if they are lost, damaged, or stolen. For example, if an electrician’s toolbox vanishes overnight at a construction site, contractors’ tools and equipment insurance will cover the cost of buying a new electrical toolbox and replacing the missing tools.
Additional Coverages for Garage Insurance
Mechanics E&O
Drive Other Cars Coverage
Drive other car insurance (DOC) offers protection to the executive of a partnership or corporation or their spouse when driving a non-owned car. For instance, a DOC endorsement will help cover your company’s CEO while he’s driving a vehicle, such as a rental car or corporate van, to work.
In a nutshell, if you need to test drive, borrow, lease, or rent a vehicle, other car insurance will extend the coverages you’ve bought for your commercial auto insurance policy (such as physical damage, liability, medical payments, and uninsured motorist insurance) to a non-owned car scenario.
Protections and Indemnity for Boat Repair
Protections and indemnity insurance, often referred to as “P&I,” provides cover to ship owners, operators, and charterers for third-party liabilities that may arise from the commercial operation of entered boats, ships, and yachts, among others. “Third parties” are any individuals other than the ship owner themselves who may have a contractual or legal claim against the ship. P&I insurance is usually facilitated by entering the ship into a mutual insurance association, usually known as a “club.” Shipowners are usually members of these clubs.
The P&I cover complements hull and machinery insurance and related covers and may, among others, include liability for collisions, for example, when a member’s ship collides with another ship or when an entered ship is negatively impacted by a fixed (or floating) object, e.g., a dock, quay, or buoy.
Cyber Insurance
Cyber insurance, or cybersecurity insurance, enables businesses to mitigate the risks of cybercrime, including data breaches. It protects organizations from the cost of internet-based threats affecting IT infrastructure, information policy, and information governance, which are often not covered by commercial liability policies and other forms of conventional insurance.
Though cyber insurance policies tend to vary significantly, most policies offer coverage that includes:
- First-party coverage — the insurance provider pays the organization the expenses it directly incurred due to the cybercrime.
- Third-party coverage — covers damages or settlements the organization is mandated to pay as a result of lawsuits or claims for injuries arising from the organization’s actions or failure to act.
For example, say attackers steal customer data from a company and illegally share it online. First-party coverage will apply to the expenses the business incurred directly due to the security breach, e.g., costs of forensic investigation and recovery, while third-party coverage will apply to lawsuits against the business by customers due to their shared data.
Business Owners Policy
A business owner’s policy (BOP) is a combination of general liability insurance and commercial property insurance, usually provided at a lower rate than purchasing each of these policies separately. A BOP can provide wide coverage against common automotive industry risks, including injuries to customers and damage to business property.
For example, if a fire incident leads to the burning down of your auto body shop, your company owner’s policy can cover the cost of reconstructing it as well as the expenses involved in repairing damaged or destroyed commercial equipment such as compressors, power tools, vehicle lifts, and others.
False Pretense
Garagekeepers Actual Loss Sustained
How Much is Garage Insurance?
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Ellerhorst Russell Insurance Agency will work with you closely to understand your needs and make sure you’re properly protected.
Do You Have the Right Garage Insurance Coverages?
Top Ohio Garage Insurance Agency
If you operate an auto repair shop or any other auto-related shop in Ohio, then you surely need the garage insurance services offered by Ellerhorst Russell Insurance Agency LLC, Ohio’s top garage insurance agency. Since 1915, Ellerhorst has been providing insurance services to various Ohio areas, including Garrettsville, Hiram, Windham, Mantua, and Portage County.
As an independent agency with access to a large number of insurance industry operators, Ellerhorst Russell has an edge when it comes to offering our customers the highest possible value available in the insurance industry today. Best of all, you can easily interact with the same person who sold you your garage insurance policy if you have any questions or concerns.
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