What Is Garage Liability Insurance?
Garage liability insurance serves as a specialized form of insurance designed specifically for businesses in the automotive industry. This coverage is essential for entities like automobile dealerships, parking facilities, tow-truck operators, and repair shops, offering a layer of protection for property damage and bodily injury resulting from everyday operations.
It’s important to note that garage liability insurance differs from garage-keepers coverage.
How Garage Liability Insurance Works
Garage liability insurance functions as an umbrella policy that provides comprehensive coverage for businesses in the automotive industry. This type of insurance enhances a business’s general liability policy by safeguarding against bodily injury and property damage arising directly from garage operations.
Before purchasing a policy, it’s crucial for business owners to ensure that the garage liability coverage supplements rather than replaces their core business liability coverage.
Coverage includes protection for customer injuries on business premises, employee dishonesty, and damage from products sold or services rendered. Additional options may cover business vehicles and faulty parts installed in customers’ vehicles.
Despite its extensive coverage, garage liability insurance does not protect against property damage, theft, vandalism, or on-site vehicle accidents. Coverage limits are listed for basic and additional items with potential aggregate limits.
Commercial general liability insurance also provides varying coverage levels, protecting businesses against premises-related claims and damages incurred from products.
Garage Liability Is Not Garage-Keeper Coverage
Unlike garage liability insurance, garage-keepers insurance specifically addresses property damage to customers’ vehicles while in the care of the business, including instances like road test drives and storage outside of operating hours. This coverage extends to vandalism and theft, requiring separate policies for businesses with multiple locations.
Other Business Insurance Products
In addition to garage liability insurance, businesses can explore various insurance products to mitigate other operational risks:
- Employment practices liability insurance safeguards against claims relating to discrimination or harassment.
- Professional liability coverage protects against negligence claims from errors or omissions.
- Property insurance covers equipment, inventory, and furniture, requiring additional coverage for events like floods or earthquakes.
- Business interruption insurance compensates for income loss during operational disruptions.
- Workers’ compensation insurance provides mandatory protection for employees’ medical needs, lost wages, and death benefits.
- Adding additional insured parties under commercial liability insurance enhances coverage for specific partnerships or contracts.
In conclusion, garage liability insurance plays a pivotal role in safeguarding automotive businesses from potential liabilities, while distinct from garage-keepers coverage and complemented by a range of additional coverage options to address varying operational risks.