As a business that handles other peoples vehicles, you have some expensive items in your care. At any given time, the value of the customer vehicles in your shop and out in the yard may exceed $100,000.
Maybe you’re a tow truck company keeping vehicles overnight. Or you’re a repair shop managing many repairs at once. In the event of theft, vandalism, fire, or explosion that causes damage to your clients’ cars, your business would likely be held responsible, even if you did everything possible to prevent it.
Do you have enough garagekeepers insurance? Let’s take a look!
What is garage keepers insurance?
Okay, first let’s back up a second and go over what garagekeepers insurance is. Garagekeepers insurance can protect your business if you ever keep your clients’ cars in your care, custody, and control. (People who have tow truck businesses or auto body shops, for example, might want to consider it.) It can protect you if your clients’ cars are ever damaged while you’re responsible for them. It covers losses like fire, vandalism, theft, lightning, and explosion.
Do you know the limits?
All insurance has limits. It will only pay so much per vehicle. As you’ve grown your business, you may have kept the insurance you bought 5 or even 10 years ago. It may no longer be adequate coverage for your shop today.
That’s a problem. If you do have a claim that exceeds those coverage limits, you’ll pay the rest out of pocket. Delaying payment leads to a lawsuit that costs you even more.
Check your coverage. Make sure the limits still meet business needs. You have to consider the number of cars you have in your care, custody, and control at any given time and how much they’re worth (on average.) Would you have enough insurance to cover a loss in which all the cars were destroyed?
Would the deductible break the bank?
With most garagekeepers policies, you’ll probably have a per vehicle deductible. Typically, the lower the per vehicle deductible, the higher the insurance premium.
As a business, consider your risk for a multiple vehicle claim. Make sure you could handle a multi-car event. Are you able to cover the per-vehicle deductible? You never know what could happen, and you don’t want to be in a situation where your deductible is a huge financial burden to pay.
How to know if you have adequate garagekeepers insurance
- Pull your existing garagekeepers policy out of the drawer.
- Check to see what your deductible is and what your limits are.
- Review your current business needs.
If you’ve grown your business, chances are that coverage is no longer meeting those needs. It’s important to adjust your insurance coverage as your business changes and grows. Make sure that you have the coverage you need to fully protect your business.
It’s time to check out your options. Can you get better coverage for around or less than what you’re paying now? You’re just a quote away from finding out. Just enter your state and we shop for the best coverage for you. Get your free quote today.
Source:
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2015/04/09/363801.htm