Think you know the Difference between Garage Liability and Garagekeepers Liability?

If you’re in the auto industry, you’re going to occasionally come across the terms garage liability and garagekeepers liability coverage. Confused? Don’t worry; even people who work in the insurance field find it confusing.

What is garage liability insurance? 

Garage Liability is the first type of insurance purchased by Auto Repair, Auto Body, New/Used Car Dealerships owners, and any other business in the Auto Services Industry protects your company from lawsuits when typical accidents occur in your business operations, such as a customer tripping and falling in your shop or damaging your customer’s property.

For example, a mechanic at a repair shop is moving a customer’s vehicle into a bay. He accidentally runs over a customer’s foot as he is doing so. The customer has a broken foot and must be granted medical attention by a doctor. Garage Liability Insurance would help pay for medical costs and any damages associated with this accident.

What is garagekeepers liability coverage? 

Garagekeepers liability is for customer vehicles that you have in your care custody and control but doesn’t own. It covers the damage to cars your shop is servicing. All garages should have garagekeepers to protect them from liability when operating their business.

As an example, you just finished doing a brake job on the customer’s vehicle, and your mechanic takes the car for a test drive to make sure the brakes are working and winds up getting rear-ended on the street, inflicting damage on the body of the customer’s vehicle. Garagekeepers liability insurance would cover the repairs to the body of the customer’s vehicle.

Garage liability does not cover cars left in the care of a garage; it covers liability for specific business operations and the use of automobiles.

Garagekeepers liability insurance will protect you if you cause accidental damage to a customer’s car.

Author:

Josh Mitchell
CEO Freedom Coverage Insurance